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Legal Compliance I. MANA 4328 Dennis C. Veit dveit@uta.edu. Staffing Laws. Classifying Employees FLSA and Internal Revenue Code Equal Opportunity Civil Rights Acts (1964 and 1991) ADA and ADEA Affirmative Action Executive Order 11246 Immigration Immigration Reform and Control Act
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Legal Compliance I MANA 4328 Dennis C. Veit dveit@uta.edu
Staffing Laws Classifying Employees • FLSA and Internal Revenue Code Equal Opportunity • Civil Rights Acts (1964 and 1991) • ADA and ADEA Affirmative Action • Executive Order 11246 Immigration • Immigration Reform and Control Act Wages and Benefits • Equal Pay Act
What are the differences? • Diversity • Equal Employment Opportunity • Affirmative Action
Equal Opportunity vs. Affirmative Action Equal Opportunity • Employment practices must guarantee equal opportunity to employees and applicants based on protected class differences. • Composition of workforce depends on applicants as long as all groups have equal opportunity. Affirmative Action • Employment practices should encourage a workforce that reflects the gender and racial composition of the local population. • Companies should seek applicants and provide opportunities for underutilized minorities to guarantee representation in the workforce. • No business is ever required to hire someone not qualified for a job.
Equal Opportunity vs. Affirmative Action Equal Opportunity • Applies to private employers with more than 15 employees. • Defined by a number of laws and court cases • Enforced by the EEOC • EEOC responds to complaints Affirmative Action • Applies to government contractors and court-ordered employers. • NO affirmative action requirements for others. • Defined by Executive Order 11246 • Written document with targets for minority hiring. • Enforced by the OFCCP • OFCCP responds to complaints and conducts audits
Primary EEO Laws • Title VII of the Civil Rights Act 1964 • Civil Rights Act of 1991 • Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 • Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA)
Protected Groups • Race • Color • Religion • Sex • National origin • Age • Disability
Civil Rights Act of 1964 Title VII (a) It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer – (1) to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual's race, color, religion, sex, or national origin; or (2) to limit, segregate, or classify his employees or applicants for employment in any way which would deprive or tend to deprive any individual of employment opportunities or otherwise adversely affect his status as an employee, because of such individual's race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
Civil Rights Act of 1964 Title VII (a) It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer – DISPARATE TREATMENT (1) to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual's race, color, religion, sex, or national origin; or ADVERSE IMPACT (2) to limit, segregate, or classify his employees or applicants for employment in any way which would deprive or tend to deprive any individual of employment opportunities or otherwise adversely affect his status as an employee, because of such individual's race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
Court Cases • Griggs v. Duke Power (1971) • Adverse impacts must be job related • Discriminatory intent not sufficient defense • McDonnell Douglas vs. Green (1972) • To establish prima facie in disparate treatment cases
Disparate Treatment Adverse Impact Plaintiff He or She demonstrates: a) Protected class b) Was qualified c) Was rejected d) The job remained open “McDonnell-Douglas Test” Statistical Tests: 4/5’ths Rule Defendant Provides a clear and specific job‑based explanation for actions. Demonstrates Job relatedness (validity) and business necessity Plaintiff Must prove that rejection was discriminatory. Proves that an alternative practice is available that has less adverse impact Presentation of Evidence
Selection Rate Tests • 4/5ths RULE The selection rate for any protected group should be no less than 4/5ths or 80% of the selection rate for the group with the highest rate of selection. If SR1 *.8 > SR2, then Adverse Impact. • Number Hired • Selection Rate (SR) = • Number of Applicants
4/5ths Rule Assume 200 employees were selected from a pool of 500 applicants (200 black and 300 white). Of the employees selected 60 were black and 140 were white. Selection Rates: White = 140 / 300 = 46.7% Black = 60 / 200 = 30% 4/5ths Rule: .467 X .8 = .374 = 37.4% Since 30% (actual selection rate) is less than 37.4% (4/5ths comparison selection rate) evidence of discrimination exists.
Defense of Discrimination • Merit • Judged on an individual basis • Bona Fide Occupational Qualification • Must be present for all who hold that job • If is required for the job then it does not matter that it has adverse impact • Business necessity • Seniority
Civil Rights Act of 1991 • Followed Wards Cove Packing vs. Antonio (1989) • Prohibits “race norming” of tests. • Plaintiffs can sue for punitive damages in cases of intentional discrimination. • Adverse impact prohibited for each piece of a selection system. • Burden of proof on the employer. • Prohibits quotas in selection.
Equal Opportunity Defined Protected Classes • Race, color, religion, sex and national origin • Age and disability (added through ADA and ADEA) Reverse discrimination Disparate treatment vs. Adverse Impact Private employers with more than 15 employees. EEO does NOT require preferential treatment Quotas are illegal http://www.eeoc.gov/abouteeo/overview_practices.html
EEO Applied • Organizations with more than 15 employees. • Uniform Guidelines onEmployee Selection Procedures • EEO does NOT require preferential treatment - Quotas are illegal • Must keep records of applicants for 6 months • Employer must show practices are “job-related for the position in question and consistent with business necessity” • Company Defenses • Merit • Bona Fide Occupational Qualification • Business Necessity • An “alternative employment practice” must be accepted if shown to meet the business necessity and have less adverse impact.
EEO vs. Affirmative Action • Equal Employment Opportunity • Collection of laws that apply to all organizations • Aimed at ending discrimination • Affirmative Action • Executive Order 11246 • Applies only to (1) government and contractors (2) court orders and (3) voluntary programs. • NO affirmative action requirements for others. • Written document with targets for minority hiring.
Enforcement Agencies Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) • All private employers with more than 15 employees • EEO – 1 for more than 100 employees Office Of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) • Government contractors or sub-contractors. • Covers approximately 26 million or nearly 22% of the total civilian workforce. • OFCCP requires a contractor to engage in a self-analysis for the purpose of discovering any barriers to equal employment opportunity. • Investigates complaints of discrimination.
Affirmative Action Program (AAP) • Develop a written program for each establishment • Identify potential problems in the participation and utilization of women and minorities. • Gives the specific procedures and the good faith efforts to provide equal employment opportunity. • If there is underutilization, provides gives targets (not hard quotas) and timetables. • Expanded efforts in outreach, recruitment and training.
AAP Statistics • Flow Statistics • Examines selection rates by group • 4/5 th’s rule / Std. Deviation Rule • Availability and utilization analyses • Employee distribution compared with local population • “Stock Statistics” • Concentration Statistics • Examining placement of women and minorities by job category
Availability Analysis U.T. System determines minority availability by: • The minority population in the surrounding labor market. • The minority unemployment rate in the surrounding labor market. • The percentage of the minority workforce as compared with the total workforce in the surrounding labor market and Texas. • The availability of promotable and transferable minorities within U. T. System Administration. http://www.eeoc.gov/stats/jobpat/2000/pmsa/2800.html http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/eeoindex.html
Utilization Analysis • Compares the % percentage of minorities and women in each Job Group with the calculated % availability of minorities and women. • "Underutilized" is defined as having fewer than would reasonably be expected by their availability.
How to Proceed? • What can companies do to navigate the differences between targets and preferences (which are legal) vs. quotas and reverse discrimination (which are illegal)?
ADEA (1967) and Age Discrimination • Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 • Protects employees 70 million workers over 40 • Nearly 50% of workers • Cases most often arise from layoff or dismissal • It is legitimate to consider salary in layoffs • No standard of “reverse discrimination” for age suits • Disparate impact rules apply • Adams vs. Florida Power Corp • Dismissed by the Supreme Court 2002 • Smith vs. City of Jackson • Affirmed by the Supreme Court 2005
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) • Discrimination is prohibited against individuals with disabilities who can perform essential job functions with reasonable accommodation unless it would cause undue hardship. • Employers not required to change work rules if they are business necessity. • OFCCP vs. Ozark Airlines (1986) – employers must prove applicant could not perform the job safely.
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) • Disability is a physical or mental impairment that affects a major life activity. • Essential vs. marginal job functions • Categories of "reasonable accommodations": • changes to a job application process • changes to the work environment • changes to the way a job is usually done • employee training
Undue Hardship • “Undue hardship” means significant difficulty or expense. • Not only financial difficulty • Those that would fundamentally alter the nature or operation of the business. • Every request for reasonable accommodation should be evaluated separately taking into account: • Nature and cost of the accommodation needed • Overall financial resources of the business • Number of persons employed by the business • Impact of the accommodation on the business
Record Keeping • EEOC requires that employers keep all personnel records for one year after termination. • Written descriptions of benefits plans (such as pensions) and any seniority or merit system. • Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the Equal Pay Act, require employers to keep payroll records for at least three years. • All records relevant to wages including wage rates, job evaluations, and seniority and merit systems.
Employment Information Report (EEO-1) • EEO-1 survey is authorized by Title VII and the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972. • All employers with 15 or more employees are required to keep employment records as. • Employers are required to file an EEO-1 report on an annual basis if they: • Employ 100 or more employees • Employ 50 or more employees and have Federal contracts totaling $50,000 or more.
This all means…. • Make sure that selection criteria are fair. • Use validated selection tests. • Use the same procedure for all applicants. • Collect data and keep records. • Only ask job-related questions. • No medical exams before making job offers. • No business is ever required to hire someone not qualified for a job.