Table of Contents
A common practice of Discriminating is based against individual gender is a common practice, but it violates Civil Rights laws. The chart above chart itemizes several forms of gender discrimination: employment practices, hostile work environment, quid-pro-quo, and sexual orientation. An explanation of the requirements needed to substantiate each type of discrimination will be provided for discrimination defies an individual Civil Rights based on infringement of gender, age, sexual orientation, or religion.
- Employment practices – Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was enacted to combat issues of sexual and gender discrimination, which is treating applicants or employees differently based on their gender and can affect anything from hiring decisions to promotions. Section 703 of Title VII makes it clear that employers cannot fail or refuse to hire or terminate an individual, or discriminate against with respect to wages, term, conditions, or privileges of employment on the bases of race, sex, religion, or national orientation (Bennett-Alexander & Hartman, 2015).
- Hostile work environment – Sexual harassment unreasonably effecting and interfering with an individual’s work performance or creates a hostile, or offensive working environment. The employee is in the protected class listed by Title VII, the conduct must be severe or pervasive to alter the terms or conditions of the plaintiff’s employment and create an abusive work environment for a reasonable person under similar circumstances. Also, because of the conduct the employee subjectively perceives his or her work environment as abusive (Bennett-Alexander & Hartman, 2015).
- Quid-Pro-Quo sexual harassment – Sexual harassment in which the satisfaction of sexual demands is made as a condition of obtaining employment, continuing employment, or is used as the basis for employment decisions. This form of discrimination only needs to occur once (Bennett-Alexander & Hartman, 2015).
- Sexual orientation – Harassment or differential treatment based on the perceived or actual status as gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, heterosexual, on transgender of heterosexual orientation. It involves an employer overlooking an individual for employment, promotions, wrongful termination, solely because an employer or supervisor does not agree with the individual’s sexual orientation. Harassment can include comments regarding the individual’s sexual orientation or repetitive requests for dates. The employee must be part of the protected class according to Title VII, and employees in the same classification who were of a different sexual orientation were not treated adversely (Bennett-Alexander & Hartman, 2015).
Minimizing Liability
Employers should be aware of methods of preventing discrimination in the workplace. Failing to implement practices to curb discrimination can be costly for an employer. Therefore, it is important for employers to take a proactive approach to preventing discrimination form occurring. To achieve his goal, management should adopt the following practices:
- Become familiar with applicable laws – Employers should seek to gain a firm understanding of various discrimination laws. Along with understanding federal laws such as Title VII, organizations must do their due diligence to comply with state and local law as well. For example, many states have enacted antidiscrimination laws which, unlike Title VII, prohibit employers from discriminating against an employee based on his or her sexual orientation. Although an employer may not violate Title VII if terminates an employee because of his or her sexual orientation, that employer could be in violation of the state’s antidiscrimination law. Employers can become familiar with these laws by acquiring the appropriate representatives to train employees periodically (‘How To Prevent Discrimination In The Workplace’, 2016).
- Develop and Implement Antidiscrimination Policies – Create broad policies and procedures that are clearly defined and strictly prohibits discrimination. Policies should include methods for reporting harassment or discrimination as well as a broad anti-retaliatory provision.
- Institute Mandatory Antidiscrimination Training Programs – Develop and institute antidiscrimination programs designed to train employees on how to understand and abide by the employer’s antidiscrimination policy. In addition, the training should be designed to highlight the company’s goal of eliminating harassment and discrimination and promote the organization’s values of professionalism and respect (‘How To Prevent Discrimination In The Workplace’, 2016).
- Investigate Complaints of Discrimination or Harassment – Create appropriate investigatory procedures to effectively resolve employee complaints of discrimination. Ensuring that an investigation is prompt, thorough, confidential and documented. Management must also take swift action if the investigation results determine discrimination has occurred.
- Analyze Business Decisions for Unintentional Discrimination – Be aware of employment practices that may seem neutral, but negatively impacts a protected class of employees. This type of discrimination could include the standardized tests the company uses for its applicants. As a measure of prevention, employers should analyze a d evaluate their business decisions to determine if they adversely impact those who represent the protected class (‘How To Prevent Discrimination In The Workplace’, 2016).
References
- Bennett-Alexander, D. D., & Hartman, L. P. (2015). Employment law for business (8th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.
- FindLaw. (2017). Retrieved from http://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-10th-circuit/1054810.html
- Phillips and Associates. (2017). Retrieved from https://www.newyorkemploymentattorney-blog.com/
- U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (2017). Retrieved from https://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/wysk/lgbt_examples_decisions.cfm
- U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (2017). Retrieved from http://Newsroom Press Releases
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