The Human Resource department continues to be challenged with the grooming policies that are in place in many organizations. In the case of Mr. Polk, he is much like many others that want to be able to express themselves in representation of their beliefs. However, he did violate the grooming policy and to allow him to be in violation is a reverse discrimination to others that stay in compliance. In this situation, Fedex clearly had a grooming policy of “reasonable style”(Bernadine & Joyce, 2012). According to the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission, preferential treatment can not be given to an employee on the basis of race, color, religion, sex and national origin (Underwood, 2016). Mr. Polk chose to challenge this grooming policy based
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
Despite Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the federal law which bans gender and race discrimination in employment, advancement, and termination, ethnic discrimination and prejudice in the workplace is still a very pertinent issue. In fact, racial discrimination is the most common kind of discrimination workers report to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency in charge of enforcing Title VII. Prejudice in the workplace is shown in a variety of forms, is either obvious or subtle, and at times may occur without employers even realizing it. As the General Manager of a popular restaurant in Texas, I witnessed such racial discrimination and prejudice firsthand and saw how detrimental it is to the success of
In 1973 a thirty-three year-old Caucasian male named Allan Bakke applied to and was denied admission to the University of California Medical School at Davis. In 1974 he filed another application and was once again rejected, even though his test scores were considerably higher than various minorities that were admitted under a special program. This special program specified that 16 out of 100 possible spaces for the students in the medical program were set aside solely for minorities, while the other 84 slots were for anyone who qualified, including minorities. What happened to Bakke is known as reverse discrimination. Bakke felt his rejections to be violations of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th
When returning back to Wanzek’s after layoff I had noticed in my paycheck I had lost $2 an hour in pay when I had received a $2 raise and a gift certificate before layoff. I did report the loss of wage to Tina Harrison in Human Resources and she would e-mail Phyllis at Headquarters. Anthony Butler has
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.
Although many companies set dress codes, proper training should take place explaining the need for possible exceptions due to necessary accommodations, especially for management (Durant, 2017). While a grooming policy is instituted for various reasons, such as safety, professional image, as well as avoidance of inappropriate employee choices, modifications must be considered for religious beliefs or disability needs unless that accommodation puts undue hardship on the company (Bernardin & Russell, 2013). Loss of customers due to their concern over the appearance of an employee is not considered a hardship. In fact, the Court in EEOC v. Abercrombie reiterated that Title VII requires that “favored treatment”, not just neutrality” should prevail when a religious belief clashes with the employer dress and grooming policies (King, 2016). Likewise, an employer’s perception that customers may have a problem with a certain look, is not a valid reason that a person is not hired. In most cases, if the company reasonably should have known that a particular part of an applicant’s appearance is due to a religious belief, even if the applicant does not address the issue, the company is still held to the standard of accommodation. One possible exception to that “should have known” rule may be if the
1- Chalabi, M. (2014, March 28). Three leagues, 92 teams and one Black Principal Owner. Retrieved August 27, 2015 from
Lately the United States media has been focused on the unfair treatment many people receive based on their skin tone, whether it is the recent police brutality against African Americans or the focuses the 2018 presidential election has put on illegal immigration. Unfortunately the media has avidly avoided any subject that may be considered reverse discrimination also known as reverse racism. Reverse discrimination is a phenomenon in which members of majority groups receive unfair treatment in attempt to remedy earlier discrimination against minorities. Many people believe that reverse discrimination is becoming more prevalent part of modern society, by creating equal opportunity’s this issue can be easily reduced.
Discrimination is nothing new to our society or is it something that should be taken lightly and for many decades our Nation has endured many conflicts that have tested the will of Americans over the decades and it is evident that as we have become more diverse so too has our workforce. Although, we are in the twenty first century the goal is to understand why prejudice and discrimination is still so prevalent and how we can do better while trying to bring together our different backgrounds, skills, and experiences still has proven to be an issue that minorities are constantly fighting as they struggle to find there place in society. Through an array of well-educated researchers showing how diversity is nothing new to our society, but if we are to continue to grow and move forward we must be able to understand that with diversification we can foster a strong and inclusive economy that is built to last and nurture a nation that will continue to lead the world as standard setter.
Reverse discrimination first gained notoriety in the 1970’s and has blossomed into a serious concern as to whether the protection of minorities discriminates against the majority (Does Affirmative, 2009). The affirmative action law was written to protect individuals of all races not just minorities. Managers should be educated on the positive impact of discrimination through professional development trainings and seminars, implementing white papers is a great way to deal with discrimination in the workplace. Meritocracy and diversity often seem to be at odds and a certain tension arises when the two are considered when hiring decisions are made (Walton, Spencer, & Erman, 2013). Jerry Falwell Sr. once said your greatest opportunity is often
In the middle of this debate, we have the moderate. They tend to want to compromise between both views and try to take the golden mean of any political issue. A reflection of this compromising trait would be to take race and sex out of the equation and “considering socioeconomic status” (Potter 2013). Since the target of the Liberals is to help the disadvantaged, lower classes blacks and hispanics, then why not make is for all races in that class to help please the Conservative more since reverse discrimination “reverse discrimination” (Williams 2017). This can be seen in places like Oklahoma with their “State Question 759” where they made it illegal to take race, sex, color, national origin,religion, or sexual orientation...” into considering
When a person is discriminated against their race, gender, and age. This is some of the most evident forms of discrimination. I believe the most qualified person should receive the job, regardless of race or ethnicity. When employers disrupt workplace discrimination, legally they can be sued by the person or persons and receive bad publicity. When a employee hurts from unfair treatment due to their race and religion. Proving discrimination is difficult as is can occur in a number of work-related areas, during your initial hiring phase, during training or even after you get the job and have to participate in job evaluations. As far as ethnicity goes, Americans come in every color, shape, and size and a successful business is one that understands
Life is full of laws, unjust and just. But what makes a law unjust? Is it just discrimination or, could it be more. People have always been treated differently depending on race, whether you know it or not there has always been discrimination in our society. We have laws and business practices that supports discrimination known and unknown, these laws that unjust laws are practiced on a daily basis. One way to define an unjust law is one that shows favor to group or another. A philosopher named Robert k. Fullenwider believes the only way to fix this is not by making new laws in order to reverse the damage that has been done. On the other hand martin Luther king Jr believes that we need laws in order to right the wrongs unjust laws of the past.
While the world has unanimously advanced and is more accepting of change, the workplace continues to be a place of discrimination, prejudice and inequality. Discrimination is broadly defined to ‘distinguish unfavourably’, isolate; and is context based (Pagura, 2012). Abrahams (1991) described the workplace as an ‘inhospitable place’ where gender disparity and wage gaps persist (Stamarski & Son Hing, 2015). Among other states and countries, the Australian government actively implements and passes laws to protect and maintain equal employment rights. While the objective of these laws is ‘to eliminate discrimination,’ the regulatory mechanisms in the legislation are largely ineffective at achieving this ultimate goal (Smith, 2008). However,
Based on similar issues in the past many have sued their employers for discrimination and won due to their beliefs. For example, Sikh men have beards and many employers have discriminated against them for something they believed in. For Christopher Polk he grew dreads because he wanted to practice Rastafarian beliefs which falls under the same category as the Sikh men who wore beards. Mr. Polk should most definitely be able to have dreads even though there is a grooming policy in place with his employer. FedEx policy stated “reasonable styles” which indicated that different styles other than long straight hair or ponytails are the only “reasonable styles” are acceptable. Given that Mr. Polk was hired then fired by the same company should tell