1 / 19

Introduction to Legal Issues in Human Resource Management

Introduction to Legal Issues in Human Resource Management. Basic HR Issues to Consider when Creating New Ventures Modified from Marie Mitchell (2006), UN Lincoln, Advanced HR Management. Terms: Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO).

zeke
Download Presentation

Introduction to Legal Issues in Human Resource Management

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Introduction to Legal Issues in Human Resource Management Basic HR Issues to Consider when Creating New Ventures Modified from Marie Mitchell (2006), UN Lincoln, Advanced HR Management

  2. Terms: Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) • Provide Americans an equal opportunity to compete for jobs for which they are qualified • Regardless of race, age, gender, religion, national origin, or disability, • Implies • Evaluation of candidates for jobs based on characteristics that determine success and failure • Fair and equal treatment on the job

  3. Terms: Discrimination • Defined • Giving an unfair advantage (or disadvantage) to the members of a particular group in comparison with the members of other groups • Includes reverse discrimination • Discrimination implies excluding someone unfairly

  4. Federal Anti-Discrimination Laws • Civil Rights Act of 1866 • Gave all citizens right to enter into contracts • No remedies for unjust treatment provided • Civil Rights Act 1871 • Gave individuals rights to sue if they felt deprived of rights guaranteed in Constitution or other laws • Equal Pay Act 1963 • Prohibits wage discrimination based on gender • Equal pay for equal worth (equal skill, effort and responsibility under similar working conditions)

  5. Civil Rights Act (CRA, 1964), Title VII • Prohibits discrimination in employment based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin • Covers • Private employers with 15+ employees • State and local governments • Private and public educational institutions • Private and public employment agencies • Labor unions with 15+ employees • Joint labor/management committees that govern apprenticeship or training programs • Foreign subsidiaries of U.S. organizations employing U.S. citizens • Created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

  6. CRA (1964), Title VII(Cont.) • 1972 Amendments • Prohibit denial, termination or suspension of government contracts to employers sustaining an accepted AA program • Affirmative Action (AA) • Actions appropriate to overcome effects of past or present policies, practices or other barriers to EEO • AA Plans • Development, implementation and maintenance of special efforts to ensure workforce is representative of society where business operates • Required for employers with 100+ employees and with $50,000+ in federal contracts

  7. Civil Rights Act (1991) • Extended Title VII coverage to federal employees • Allows for suing for compensatory and punitive damages • Provided “extraterritorial enforcement,” protecting U.S. employees on overseas assignments

  8. Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA, 1967) • Prohibits discrimination in pay, benefits or continued employment for those 40+, unless a BFOQ (bona fide occupational qualification) • Prohibits mandatory retirement ages, except in cases of public safety (e.g., airline pilots) • Amended by Older Workers Protection Act (1990) • Prohibits discrimination of benefits and requires signing age discrimination waivers at layoff

  9. Pregnancy Discrimination Act (1978) • Prohibits discrimination against pregnant employees • In hiring or employment decisions (promotion) • Employer cannot determine dates of leave • Employer cannot provide health plans that do not cover pregnancy • Requires pregnancy to be treated as any other medical disability • Does not require reinstatement to the same job • Requires reinstatement to an equivalent job

  10. Immigration Reform & Control Act (IRCA, 1986) • Covers • All employers in U.S. • All employees • Mandates • Employer cannot hire or continue to employ “unauthorized—illegal—aliens” • Employers must verify the identity and work authorization of every new employee • Employers may not discriminate based on citizenship or national origin provided workers are legal • Certain illegal aliens must have amnesty rights (e.g., been pardoned) • Regulatory body = U.S. Department of Labor

  11. Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA, 1990) • Prohibits employers with 15+ employees from discriminating against a qualified individual with a disability • Qualified individual – one who is able to perform essential functions of the job with or without accommodation • Employer required to make “reasonable accommodations” for qualified, disabled, employees • “Reasonable” means that it must not put an undue hardship on the employer • Disability – a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities

  12. ADA (1990) (Cont.) • 5 Implications for Employers • Any company open to public will have to be made accessible to those with physical disabilities • Expenses and “undue hardship” • Reasonable accommodation for those qualified with disabilities • Reasonable accommodation include but are not limited to: • Making facilities readily accessible to/usable to disabled • Job restructuring, modifying work schedules, reassignment to other position • Acquiring or modifying equipment or devices, adjusting or modifying examinations, training materials or policies, and providing qualified readers or interpreters

  13. ADA (1990) (Cont.) • Pre-employment testing is permissible only if all employees are subjected to them and cannot be given until conditional offer of employment is made • Employee medical information must be kept separate from other employment files • Pertains to issues of chemical dependency and drug testing

  14. Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA, 1993) • Covers private employers with 50+ employees • Employee must have min. of 25 hrs/wk or 1,250 hrs/yr • Provides employees up to 12 weeks’ unpaid leave/yr for: • Birth, adoption or foster care of child w/in 1 year of child’s arrival • Care for spouse, parent or child with serious health condition • Employees own health condition prevents working • Requires • Continuation of group health coverage during leave • Employee allow to return to same or equivalent job

  15. Regulating Agencies • EEOC Regulates Many EEO Laws • CRA (1964, 1991) and Title VII • Equal Pay Act (1963) • ADEA (1967) • Pregnancy Discrimination Act (1978) • ADA (1990)

  16. Guidelines to Employment Inquiries

  17. Guidelines to Employment Inquiries

  18. Guidelines to Employment Inquiries

  19. Responding to Claim of Unlawful Discrimination • EEOC may • Make determination w/o request for additional information • Request additional information • Hold a fact-finding conference • Things to keep in mind with on-site investigation • Negotiate mutually agreeable date and time for inspection • Ask for description of investigation goals and try to prepare • Review list of employees EEOC wants to talk to, observe or job/work areas they wish to see • Designate company rep to attend all EEOC interviews of managerial employees

More Related