Human Resources Management Exam 1 Essay

Bent, J.R., (2011). The telltale sign of discrimination: probabilities, information asymmetries, and the systematic disparate treatment theory, University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform, 2011, Volume 44, Issue 4, p. 797

2. Give some examples of ethical issues that you have experienced in jobs, and explain how HR did or did not help resolve them.

The last decade has produced an explosion of racial employment discrimination lawsuits. These lawsuits have resulted in record-breaking settlements. By federally mandating every business to review the history, impact and proposed policy of Article VII these lawsuits may subside. Reviewing Title VII is a step corporate America must soon make or continue to loose much needed revenue. Our team will discuss the history of Title VII, the impact of Title VII in the workplace, who is and who is not covered under Title VII as well as propose policies that companies should have in place to avoid Title VII violations.

In a perfect world, there would be no need for laws protecting people from employment discrimination; however, in this often-unjust world, discrimination continues. Hence, federal and state protections exist for certain groups of people sharing common characteristics. Some of these protected classes are race, religion or creed, gender, and disability (EEOC, 2015). In the legal case of Ritter v. Auntie Ruth’s Furry Friends (ARFF), Ritter claimed she became the target of age discrimination after the business was sold to two people under the age of thrty. The following is an overview of the case that highlights how ignorance of or willful disregard of the rights of others can be a costly mistake. While laws are unlikely to change the minds of those who seek to discriminate, those breaking the law must be held accountable.

Federal (Title VII) and State legislation prohibit intentional discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin and prohibit both “disparate treatment” and “disparate impact” discrimination.

The costs and benefits current, native workers see when the number of H-1B visas distributed are increased, is depended on several factors. One factor is the age of the current, native worker. In a study conducted by Sari Pekkala Kerr, stated that there is a substitutionary effect, that occurs with young skilled immigrants workers, versus older, current native workers (4). This is a cost to older, current native workers, but a benefit for younger, current, native workers. Younger, current, native workers are more complementary to young, skilled immigrants. Another factor is the skill set held, by the current, native worker. By having more skilled workers, generally speaking, regardless of citizen or immigration, will increase the productivity and innovation in the firm. This is a benefit for specialized, current, native workers.

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.

Companies that discriminate on basis of a host of job-irrelevant issues, comprising race, sexual orientation, gender, disability, age and ethnicity put themselves at a competitive disadvantage as opposed to companies that appraise employees solely on their credentials and qualifications to work well. Given the high rates of discrimination encountering the workforce today, discrimination based on racial discrimination and sexual orientation represents an actual hazard to the profitability of companies (Oeo.tufts.edu, 2015). This essay discusses the non-discrimination policy of the Home depot company.

Managers and employers are cautioned to pay close attention to these court cases as to avoid performance and legal action related to post 9/11 backlash. These cases identified organizations that were unsuccessful in having discrimination cases dismissed because there was a “failure to promptly correct improper behavior when brought to its attention” and retaliation and/or abuse from managers or co-workers (Borstoff 2011 & Malos 2010, p. 307).

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is a federal Law that prohibits employers from discriminating against employees on the grounds of sex, race, color, national origin and religion (www.aauw.org). Thus far in our lectures we have discussed the strategies used by various minority groups who have been discriminated against in violation of Title VII. There has been land mark decisions made from the hard fought fights by, African Americans, Women, Mexicans and Jewish alike. Their challenges of non-compliance and enforcement of Title VII brought successes that didn’t come without sacrifice, division and in some cases physical harm.

Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, offended parties may sue businesses who separate on the premise of race, shading, sex, religion, or national cause. Managers who purposefully separate are evident possibility for a claim, yet the courts additionally permit offended parties to demonstrate risk if the business has treated classes of individuals diversely utilizing clearly nonpartisan work arrangements. The dissimilar effect hypothesis of obligation will succeed if the offended party can demonstrate that these job approaches had the impact of barring persons who are individuals from Title VII's ensured classes. When dissimilar effect is built up, the business must legitimize the proceeded with utilization of the technique or methodology

If an employer treats some job applicants who are protected under the civil rights laws less favorably than others because of their protected status, the applicant may have a Title VII claim. A causal connection between the applicant's protected status and less favorable treatment may be proven under a disparate treatment theory. Equally important, proof of discriminatory intent is required in a disparate treatment case. The employer's motivation and intent can be proven through circumstantial evidence that the job applicant was treated less favorably than similarly situated job applicants outside of the protected class. Essentially, the burden of proof for a Title VII disparate treatment case is based upon the burden-shifting test that the United States Supreme Court articulated in McDonnell Douglas Gorp. v. Green. In this influential case, the Court established the well organized framework to determine whether employment discrimination occurred due to disparate treatment. To prove a prima facie case in an employment discrimination case based on disparate treatment, a plaintiff must show that he/she is a member of a protected class who applied for and was qualified for a position but was rejected based on his protected status. The

In this situation there are 4 main stakeholders that are presented; the employees with the H-2B visas, the American employees in the same industry, the employer companies and the U.S. government. Considering each stakeholder’s situation we see that there is a variety of interests in this case and the way it develops. First off the main interest for the employees holding an H-2B visa have a main interest in making money in the US to create a better life for themselves and their families. Also they have the interest of getting the opportunity of entering the U.S. and attempting to acquire

Jefferies was successful in his pursuit and as a result, his exclusionary sentiment permeated the workplace culture of the organization at every level; from the sprawling 300-acre headquarters in the woods of Ohio to each individual retail outlet. At the heart of this culture was the “Looks Policy”, an unforgiving guide to how employees should present themselves at work. This policy governed every aspect of an employee’s appearance from the number of times they rolled the cuffs of their jeans to the tone of their skin, which was preferably ‘sun kissed’. Not only did this policy contribute to a negative work environment where employees felt they were constantly being evaluated on the basis of their physical attributes alone, but it also led to human rights violations wherein job applicants were denied employment on the basis of their race and/or religion. In a 2004 class action lawsuit filed against the retail giant, several thousands of former A&F employees alleged the company discriminated against African-Americans, Latinos, and Asian Americans in its hiring practices as well as its advertisements. The claimants also purported that non-white employees were frequently relegated to the back-of-store tasks where they would not be visible to store patrons. A&F settled the lawsuit out of

Human Resource Management involves a wide array of functions that encompasses the time from when an employee enters an organization to the time the employee leaves the organization. The specific activities that are involved in HRM include job design and analysis, recruitment, orientation and placement, development and training of the personnel, employee remuneration, and performance appraisal (Aswathappa, 2007: 5). This paper shall focus on three main activities which are recruitment, training, and personnel development. When it comes to recruitment, it is incumbent upon the Human Resource Manager to bring into the workforce, employees that are both wiling and competent to accomplish specific tasks. The work of recruitment goes hand in