Benefits Of A Diverse Workforce

Gomez-Mejia, L., Balkin, D., & Cardy, R. (2012). Managing Human Resources (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall.

Workplace diversity is when there is diverse culture of individuals in the workplace. It is when there is a value placed on the variety of ideas, race, ethnicities, religion, gender, sexuality and orientation, which is flourishing in an environment. Depending on your employer and workplace, workplace diversity can vary based off several different factors. Usually, there is a preferential standpoint taken on the matter and it can be either display a high or a low context culture of diversity. According to Mason (2013) Workforce diversity has been described as “a double-edged sword; it has the potential for positive and negative outcomes” (p.659). Workplace diversity is important in a business setting because it carries forward a combination of different types of people to work together in unity, encourages uniqueness, innovative, creative approaches, and supports interesting divergent ideas to accomplish tasks or goals.

This says it is unlawful to discriminate against people at work because of their religion or belief. The regulations also cover training that is to do with work.

First, does the change in work schedule truly prohibit this individual from practicing their religious beliefs/responsibilities.

The United States is one of the most culturally and religiously diverse countries in the world. The founding fathers of the United States wanted to ensure that its people would have the ability to practice their religion with no threat of persecution. In order to accomplish the goal of religious freedom and continue to ensure that all people of any religion would be free to practice their religion, the United States passed Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that prohibits an employer from discriminating based on the religious views of its employees. As the citizens of the United States spend a large amount of time in their places of employment, religious practices that these employees feel are necessary for the true observance of their religion must be accommodated by the employers. This law contends that in cases where the accommodation of religious practices of its employees does not create undue hardships, an employer must make reasonable accommodations for employees to practices the beliefs of their religion. As the demographics of the United States continues to change with more religiously diverse people immigrating to the country, employers are coming under more pressure to ensure they are taking all possible precautions to accommodate the religious practices of its employees. These precautions are important as the once an employee has established a bona fide complaint of religious discrimination, the burden of proof then falls on the employer to prove they

Reasonable Accommodation & Religion: The law requires an employer to reasonably accommodate an employee's religious beliefs or practices, unless doing so would cause difficulty or expense for the employer. This means an employer may have to make reasonable adjustments at work that will allow the employee to practice his or her religion, such as allowing an employee to voluntarily swap shifts with a co- worker.

In our company’s case the former employee alleges that enforcement of company’s new shift policy is discriminatory because the policy requires employees to work on a religious holy day.

Yes. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that under the ministerial exception of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and the Free Exercise and Establishment Clauses of the First Amendment it is lawful for religiously affiliated organization to discriminate based on religion in the form of any tangible job action; as long as the

In 1964 the Civil Rights Act Title VII was passed. This law prohibited employers from discriminating in employment based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin (AAUW, 2016). The Act enforces that it is the obligation of the employer utilize reasonable accommodation for the religious practices of employees after the informs what his or her particular religious needs. The employer has a right to refuse a specific need if an undue hardship can be proven (LLI, 1992).

Employers and employees can not make harassing or discriminatory comments towards others on the basis of religion

The following recommendation is for Mr. Williams, President and CEO of Fluorescent Light Fixtures, from the human resources department with a recommendation to approve religious prayer accommodation three times a day for Mr. Suleiman, a Sunni Muslim, during his scheduled work shift at our plant in St Louis Missouri. Mr. Suleiman was recently hired and his first workday will be 31 August 2014, working the day shift from 0800 – 1700, Sunday through Thursday. During his initial orientation session that all new employees attended on 18 August 2014, he submitted his religious accommodation request to his assigned supervisor. The request is to be allowed to pray three times a day (noon, afternoon, sunset) for approximately 10 minutes a session. The following where reviewed by the human resource department, manufacturing department and our litigation department, in our review process for either recommending approval or disapproval of his request (1) The religious practice, (2) Federal and state laws, and (3) Undue burden or hardship for the company if approved. Let’s review each of these points in more detail.

Diversity is what makes people different, not just culturally but in human differences. Having a multitude of differences in the workforce gives an organization the ability to use many ideas to reach a common goal. A person could say that a diverse group of people together in one room can accomplish greater achievements than a room filled with the same types of individuals. Managers understand the concept of diversity, and how important diversity is to the success of a company’s ability to implement programs that continue to develop a harmonious and diverse workplace. The recognition that diversity is a reality in the workforce has generated an enormous amount of activity over the years among leaders in business, government, and civil

Religion in the workplace can bring up some of the most difficult issues employers have to face. Resolving these issues requires understanding the law and balancing the business's needs with an employee's desire to practice his or her religion. One of the most contentious conflicts is between an employee's desire to take time off and the potential reduction in productivity and profitability. In ruling on Title VII religion cases, the courts have held that employers aren't required to accommodate employees' religious activities when it involves increased financial costs, transferring supervisory personnel or employees from other departments resulting in inefficiency, or discriminating against other employees or violating seniority systems. Accommodations that don't constitute undue hardship to the employer include voluntary substitutions or employee "swaps," flexible work schedules, floating or optional holidays, staggered work hours, and allowing employees to make up lost time. Transfers and job changes also are options if they don't cause reduced efficiency or

In today’s society there are many culturally diverse people in the workforce. Most organizations can no longer make the assumption that every employee has similar beliefs or expectations. When entering into the global marketplace, people are considered one of the most valuable resources to an organization’s success. A well-managed culturally diverse workforce has the potential to thrive if managed correctly; or if mismanaged, there can be devastating negative attributes. With great expectations, culturally diverse employees can foster positive outcomes in the workplace. A company’s acknowledgement to embrace diversity and change, and implement the value of management techniques are

While knowing the law and how best to serve those who have individual needs is the obvious place for leaders to begin, some supervisors find this difficult in the workplace. Surprisingly, creating a culturally inclusive workplace is actually quite simple according to lawyer Dawn Bennett-Alexander in her TedTalk on Practical Diversity (2015). In her talk, Bennett-Alexander discusses the