Employment Discrimination During The United States

As children grow up, they become the person they turn out to be because of experiences and the culture and society they grew up in. Nations are affected in the same sense because the people living in a nation affect how the nation is influenced and builds its character.

Racism is defined as prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one's own race is superior. In the workforce, the issue of racism and discrimination has been brought to the center of conversations around the world. Companies claim to be “colorblind” and not hire somebody based on their race or gender, but the employment rates among minorities and women around the world is significantly lower than the majority in the given country. There is also the growing issue of minorities, such as blacks in america, making significantly less money than whites. This issue affects people all around the world who happen

Through the years, America has made an overall improvement in eliminating discrimination, inequality and slavery and focusing more on inclusion, equal rights, and equal opportunity. Despite a considerable improvement, there are corporations and individuals that often revert to archaic means of treating employees, creating hostile environments. Consequently, different advocacy groups and laws still remain in effect and continue to evolve to protect the citizens and non-citizens of the USA.

Discrimination in the workforce is not only illegal, but it has been the center of controversy for multiple cases throughout its existence. The purpose of this writing is to reflect on particular personal circumstances based around actual events. First will be a clearly defined section of the Title VII, Civil Rights Act of 1964, followed by a brief description of personal experiences involving discrimination, and concluding with a reflection as to how the American workforce is protected by law. The writing will cover any ethically related issues, personal thoughts and ideas, and illustrations of how the law pertains directly to personal events, as well as provide direct links to any and all reference material covered under the purpose of this writing.

In a perfect world, people would be equal in rights, opportunities, and responsibilities, despite their race or gender. In the world we live in, however, we always face all kinds of neglect based on different attributes. All over the United States, certain people treat others with prejudice because of particular features they possess. Unfortunately, prejudice and discrimination occur even in places which, by definition, should be free of all personal prejudices – specifically, in offices and other business surroundings. This tragedy is called workplace discrimination; not every unfair behavior at work, however, can be assessed as discrimination. Discrimination in the workplace happens when an employee experiences unfair treatment due to their race, gender, age, religion, marital status, national origin, disability or veteran status, or other characteristics. Discrimination is one of the largest issues people face in the workplace and it must be dealt with. The U.S. have laws and regulations on discrimination but it still often occurs. Workplace discrimination appears in hiring, training, promotion, firing, and other institutional or interpersonal treatment. Discrimination sometimes causes an employee to leave or quit the workplace, resign from a position, or in more severe cases, to commit suicide or act violently against the discriminators. Discrimination is one of the largest issues many people face in the workplace.

Racism is something that is taught and passed down from generation to generation. If slave owners always thought of African Americans as property and that they are inferior, then their ancestors would only be taught the same thing. It is hard to break generational teachings if someone is taught it. For example, if their parents taught them that all African Americans are dangerous then they will grow up believing that we are dangerous. If you take a look at members of the Ku Klux Klan a lot of the members are generational members that have been taught that white people are inferior and no other race is as great as they are. In actuality, everyone is created even. According to Slavery in America (2009), “slave owners sought to make their slaves completely dependent on them, and a system of restrictive codes governed life among slaves” (2009). Also,

The issue of discrimination is very widely discussed, so widely that laws and statutes have been enacted and are continually addressed every day. This may occur in a courtroom, on the legislative floor or at the employer’s offices, but the fact that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) receives around 80,000 discriminatory filings annually, with 99,922 in 2010, there is little wonder the amount of attention to discrimination is warranted (Walsh, 2013). According to the EEOC’s website, the discrimination claims were more than the annual averages, but less than 99,000 in 2010, at 88,788 in 2014 (“EEOC Releases Fiscal”, 2015). These figures reiterate the importance and diligence in which discriminatory acts must be handled by all parties involved.

Discrimination, unjust judgment on others based on their characteristic which within a company will institutionalize. Institutional discrimination means a group is seen a certain way that an institution encourages or dislike for employee, interns, or student while interpersonal discrimination discriminations against people based on a personal views. Though discrimination was more common in the times of slavery and women as ‘stay at home moms’ but it still exist in the modern times of the last ten years. Everyday American’s face discrimination by companies and institutions based on gender, race, and social class with negative judgment. The negative judgments leads to the unjust treatment such as unequal payment, healthcare coverage and inaccurate stereotypes.

A way to achieve fair employment for all people happened when in 1961 then President John Kennedy, used the phrase “affirmative action” in the United States in which it attributed to Executive Oder 10925”. (Sterba, 2009, p.15) The reality was that businesses needed a way to hold accountability for employee’s r applicants to be treated fairly in promotion decisions and the hiring process. Employment discrimination and segregation was legal in the United States before 1964. White workers and black workers during that time almost never worked together in the same jobs, minorities were grouped in lower paying and less status jobs. During that era, white males held the professional jobs, managerial positions, and the highly

The ruling of this case was a major landmark in United States. It affirmed that the congress could make use of its constitution powers provided under Commerce Clause to make privately owned businesses abide by the provision of Civil Right Act of 1964. In addition, the ruling of this case was a major step in fight against discrimination of African Americans. It illegalized private discrimination for the first time.

“Walmart to ban woman who told customer to 'go back to Mexico,' called another the N-word”(O’Sullivan 1). This is unfortunately the headline of a recent hateful event that happened in Arkansas, United States.

In a plain sense, to discriminate means to distinguish, single out, or make a distinction. In the context of civil rights law, unlawful discrimination refers to unfair or unequal treatment of an individual or group based on certain characteristics, including but not limited to age, disability, ethnicity, gender, race, and religion (What is Discrimination, 2010, para. 1). United States law forbids discrimination when it comes to any aspect of employment, including hiring, firing, pay, job assignments, promotions, layoff, training, fringe benefits, and any other term or condition of employment (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, para. 3). Several laws and regulations have been implemented in the United States to combat discrimination and inequality in the workplace.

For centuries numerous races and minorities were faced with slavery and bigotry with little to no hope for equality, overt racism and sexism was practiced – both women and blacks had little to no rights. It was not until 1865 that business owners were no longer able to use slaves to run their businesses, and then in 1964, the Civil Rights Act created a bill to prohibit job discrimination on the grounds of sex, nationality, religion, race or colour to inhibit employer’s discrimination in the hiring, firing, wage and promotional processes – a rather optimistic promise. With that in mind, fast forward to 2009 and in the United States alone, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) received 95,402 complaints of job discrimination (Huebsch). Evidently, the implementation of a law or two was nowhere near as ground breaking as is needed to make a considerable difference, the only recognizable shift has been from overt to covert

Martin Luther King Jr. once said. “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” After all of the history the world has with slavery, and racism, all that we’ve gone through, and have come from it’s about time that we put our differences aside, and accept each other for what we are, and aren’t. "Racism is based on the belief that physical characteristics account for differences in character and ability, and that a particular race is superior to another." Racism has been going on since before anyone can remember whether it was owning a slave, killing another person just because of the color of his or her skin complexion, or making a racial joke about a classmate. Nobody is

There are different ways of discrimination that occur very often in the workplace. One way of expressing discrimination is denying one a job because of his/her race or gender, or treating others unfairly because of his/her race or gender. Discrimination can lead to quitting a job, and possibly doing something harmful to oneself or to the provoker. More examples of