Introduction
Equal employment opportunity (EEO) began when President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 8802 in 1941. Executive Order 8802 ensured that every American citizen was guaranteed equal employment opportunities in World War II defense contracts, regardless of race, creed, color, or national origin. Today, the EEO legislation has affected businesses. The topics discussed will be, how the organization, as well as the individual employee, has rights, the effect it has on the customers, how it can improve an organization’s public relations, how it can diversify the workforce, and the effect it has on Human Resources Management of an organization.
Organization and Employee Rights
A. Equal Pay Act of 1963 “To
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With this act, employers are further protected from discrimination. Employees are allowed to sue employers to enforce the provisions of the act.
Effects on Customers Equal employment opportunity affects the customers in various ways. If the employees working are satisfied and happy, the customer will see it when the employees help them. For example, a customer walks into Burger King to get something to eat, but the cashier is unhappy that a coworker is getting paid more than him for doing the same job and having the same time in the workforce, so the cashier takes it out on the customer. The customer will probably never return to the business again. If the employees work in a happy environment, they will provide better services.
Improvement of Public Relations By applying EEO to an organization, the public relations will improve. In society, one of the main jobs is to keep good appearances. An organization wants to promote that everything in their company works perfectly and equally. By maintaining good appearances, the organization has a greater probability that other organizations will want to work with them. Also, it will attract the best workers because they will want to work for an organization that is fair.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) holds the responsibility of enforcing federal laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or an employee based on a person’s race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity and sexual orientation, national origin, age (40 or older), disability and/or genetic information (U.S. EEOC, 2016a). The EEOC laws cover most employers with at least fifteen employees as well as labor unions and employment agencies (U.S. EEOC, 2016a). The EEOC has the ability to investigate charges of alleged discrimination against employees who are employed by organizations covered by the EEOC. The EEOC not only uses these investigations to protect alleged victims, they also use them as an education tool for organizations. The EEOC conducted an investigation based on racial discrimination in the EEOC v. Alliant Techsystems case, which was settled in 2012 when they paid the alleged victim in relief expenses.
“It’s all about helping the next generations,” says Carli Lloyd. A famous soccer player herself wants to make equal pay achievable for women. Statistics show that full-time female workers, in general, earn about 79 cents for every dollar men make. Women’s equal rights have been a dilemma for a while now, and as the years go on, women are fighting to make it no longer an issue.
As long as an American woman is putting in the same amount of hours with the same qualifications and experience in the same occupation as an American male, and yet taking home a wage that is any lower, she is not being treated fairly as an equal. Contrary to many arguments, it’s undeniable that a wage gap exists, and while there are various ideas as to the most probable cause, there is no reason why this gap should continue to go uncorrected or unchanged. Our government should take concrete steps to close the gender wage gap because it violates women’s rights and equality.
Affirmative action was created to assist minority groups against discrimination, but affirmative action does more harm than what it can do to help. Affirmative action was created with the intention of leveling the playing field so that everyone can have an equal opportunity to be hired or accepted in to a school, but it does the opposite of what it is meant to do. Affirmative action is reverse discrimination against white males, lesser qualified people are admitted into jobs and colleges, and not all people have an equal opportunity to advance.
The mission of the EEOC, as set forth in its strategic plan, is to promote equal opportunity in employment through administrative and judicial enforcement of the federal civil rights laws, education and technical assistance.
The equal employment opportunity commission was formed on July 2, 1965. The United States EEOC is a federal agency that administers and enforces civil rights laws against works place discrimination. President John. F. Kennedy's Executive Order used equal opportunity for the first time in 1961 by instructing federal constructors to make sure that applicants are treated equally without regard to race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. When the equal employment opportunity was first created by the Civil Rights Act, it was only given limited power to punish the employers that did not adhere to this rule. That all changed in 1972 the congress gave the EEOC the authority to sue the employers. The way that employers are treated at work should
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is a “five-member body appointed by the President to establish equal employment opportunity policy under the laws it administers” (p. 827, Twomey & Jennings, 2014). The EEOC is “responsible for enforcing federal laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or an employee because of the person 's race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information” (Overview, EEOC, 2014). These federal laws include Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended in 1972, 1978, and 1991, along with the Equal Pay Act (EPA), and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA).
5.1 The purpose of the Equal Pay Act 1970 is to eliminate discrimination between men and women in terms of pay. One reason that justifies treating employees fairly in relation to pay is that lower earnings make it harder for women to take care of their families. A report from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research found that if women were paid fairly, single women’s income would rise by 13.4%, single mothers would earn
Business environments today display diversity, a numerical composition that reflects different kinds of people, such as men and women of different ethnic origins, educational experiences, and professional backgrounds (Beamish, Morrison, Inkpen, & Rosenzweig, 2003). A vast amount of organizations are emulating a diverse workforce. Fair treatment of employees is the responsibility of the human resource management team within a firm. Footsteps of past generations are the facilitating mechanism allowing today’s generation to participate in a safe and fair workplace. Specific rules and regulations assist in equal employment opportunities for every employee. The Equal Employment
Discrimination in the workplace is typified by failure to treat individuals equally due to biases against various group membership (Triana, Jayasinghe, & Pieper, 2015). The United States enacted the Civil Rights Act of 1964, known as Title VII, to outlaw workplace discrimination of individuals with respect to compensation, terms, conditions of employment, or privileges of employment because of race, color, sex, religion, or national origin. Following Title VII, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) was established to enforce Title VII protocols in the public and private sector (Crumpacker & Crumpacker, 2007). Proceeding 1964, several addendums were legislated to include protection against discrimination for individuals with respect to: sexual orientation, age, disability, pregnancy, and genetic information (Brooks, Doughtery, & Price, 2015). The engagement of any employer in discrimination against members of any previously listed affiliations is not only deemed unethical, but is also considered unlawful in the United States.
The EEOC laws, or Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, are federal laws that enforce employers to not discriminate against applicants of any background. Discrimination by types such as age, disability, equal pay/compensation, genetic information, harassment, national origin, pregnancy, race/color, religion, retaliation, sex, and sexual harassment are all protected under the EEOC laws. It is also illegal for an employer to “discriminate against a person because the person complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination, or participated in an employment discrimination investigation or lawsuit.” (EEOC , n.d.) The EEOC laws are to help serve justice and to create an equal work environment for people of any kind. The EEOC wants to accomplish the goal of having every applicant to feel at home without being discriminated against. These laws not only affect an employer hiring an applicant however; it affects them in firing, promoting, harassing, training, wages, and benefits. The EEOC’s role is to help find out if any applicant is being discriminated against and to help
Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) laws have helped shape the workforce today and they have greatly contributed to the introduction of diversity in the working environment. No longer are people rejected of employment based on their race, gender, age, or disability. The labor force has increased from 62 million people in 1950 to over 159 million people in the labor force today (Toolsi). The passing of the EEO laws proved to be a great advancement in the diversity of the workforce and treatment of employees, but it was a tremendous battle to get where we are today. Before the passing of these laws, unequal treatment was normal and discrimination was common among the majority of employers. This made acquiring employment difficult and caused many people to be unemployed. Three Equal Employment Opportunity laws that helped diminish these discriminatory practices were Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Equal Pay Act of 1963, and the American with Disabilities Act of 1990. For each law, I will describe what it enforces and explain the actions that happened in society and the workplace that made these laws necessary. I will discuss important political figures that contributed to the passing of these laws. Lastly, I will examine how each law has improved human resources and has led to better management of employees overall.
Many of us have heard of or have been made aware of the phrase Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO). But how many of us genuinely comprehend the criterion of EEO and why it subsists? Equal Employment Opportunity laws are designed to give all workers fair consideration on the basis of job performance rather than any irrelevant personal factors. These laws are in place in order to prevent bias, prejudice, bigotry, and inequity against anyone due to physical abilities, race, religion, gender, or age.
Throughout the years the United States has faced many challenges with equal employment opportunities for everyone. The United States has developed The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, also known as the EEOC, to enforce laws that help prevent everyone from being treated unfairly when it comes to employment options. The EEOC has established stipulations and overlooks all of the federal equal employment opportunity regulations, practices and policies (“Federal Laws Prohibiting Job Discrimination Questions and Answers”). Some laws that have been passed are the Equal Pay Act of 1963, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967. Although some discrimination is still a problem, all of these
Discrimination in the workplace occurs when an employee experiences harsh or unfair treatment due to their race, religion, national origin, disabled or veteran status, or other legally protected characteristics. Discrimination is one of the biggest problems people face in the workplace and it must be dealt with forcefully.