There are a number of laws passed to ensure people are accorded the right treatment. For instance, all people are entitled to equal opportunity in the workplace. To ensure, this is achieved; an equal employment opportunity workbook is prepared to guide the employers on the necessary steps to take. Equal Employment Opportunity Compliance workbook is a comprehensive document guiding human resource professionals, with the aim of ensuring compliance with the Equal Employment Opportunity laws. The guide provides practical recommendations for development and implementation of EEO policies that enable professionals to deal with emerging issues in the workplace. The guide also provides a clear outline of the actions to be taken when there are discrimination issues. As such, the policies prevent litigation and coverage necessary to cushion employers from costly and time-consuming litigation fully. Generally, equal employment opportunity laws seek to eliminate all forms of discrimination in the workplace.
Historical context of Emergence of EEO Laws
EEO laws started with the passage of the equal pay Act of 1963. To bring equality in employment decisions, the Congress passed what was known as Title VII of the civil rights Act of 1964. According to the act, it is unlawful to discriminate employees or potential employees on the basis of their color, religion, race, nationality, or gender. Title VII also makes it unlawful to employ or promote unqualified people.
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Title VII was intended to prevent employers in the private sector, with at least 15 employees, from engaging in discriminatory activities in the workplace. In 1972, Title VII OF THE Civil rights Action was expanded to cover public employers. The act together with provisions of the U.S Constitution, such as the Fourteenth Amendment and its enforcing legislation formed the legal mechanisms for protection of African American women from employment discrimination in the public sector.
Age Discrimination Employment Act of 1967 also made it illegal for employers to deny one a working opportunity due to his age. The act made it legal for people aged 40 to 70 to be considered for job opportunities. The act was later on amended in 1974 to include state and local governments. The executive order prohibits age discrimination in federal employment. The Department of Labor was tasked with enforcement of ADEA, but the role was later transferred to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 1978.
There were also other laws prohibiting discrimination of people in the workplace. An example of such laws was the Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1963, which intended to prohibit discrimination against people with disabilities. Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, on the other hand, covered employers in the private sector and those in the state and local governments (Rabin, 2003).
Criteria used
The first step major criteria used in the determination of EEO and affirmative action compliance and noncompliance involves checking whether the employment practice has an unequal or adverse impact on the groups covered by law. The laws protect employees as well as job applicants against employment discrimination involving unfair treatment on the basis of color, sex, genetic information or gender. It also protects employees against harassment by managers or even co-workers. According to the law, employees should also be given reasonable workplace when needed. There is, however, need to understand that the law may not cover all employees or employers. The degree of coverage may vary depending on the type of employer, a number of employees involved as well as the type of alleged discrimination. To ensure compliance with the law, anyone who feels he or she is being discriminated based on his or her background, he or she should place a charge of discrimination. EEOC requires employees and applicants to place such charges before filing any lawsuits against their employers this applies to all laws except for the Equal Pay Act. The job of the EEOC is to carry out an investigation of the charges placed against employers in order to establish whether the alleged discrimination has occurred. To ascertain this, EEOC requires employers to keep records, whether a charge has been filed against them or not. When a charge has been filed, the employers are obliged to produce their records. The EEOC then collects data about the affected employee.
The second major criteria involve the determination of whether the practice is job-related or otherwise relevant to the organization. To achieve this, the selection rates is done with the intention of finding out whether the actions of an employer have an adverse impact on the employee or an applicant. If the EEOC finds out that the actions have an adverse impact, it will take an enforcement action based upon the impact.
Comparing and contrasting several different EEO laws
There are different EEO laws with their main difference being that they were passed at different periods. An example of such a law is the 29 code of federal regulations (C.F.R). The law provided regulations defining the function of supervisors, counselors, and witnesses in upholding equal employee treatment. Another law focuses on people with disabilities and was founded in 2008. It is known as Americans with Disabilities Act and Rehabilitation Act.
The most recent one was signed into law on November 27, 2012, by President Obama. The law is known as the whistleblower protection enhancement act of 2012, going by the acronym WPEA. The law seeks to protect federal employees who raise the alarm on discriminatory acts and information about irregularities such as fraud or abuse.
EEO laws mean staying free from discriminatory acts. Both the federal and the state government guarantee EEO rights to all people.
One such law is the affirmative action plan that defines the standards of an employer to proactively recruit, hire and promote women, minorities as well as the disabled in the society. The affirmative action provides a good way of amending historical wrongs and eliminating the current effects of past discrimination. Affirmative action plans include increasing the number of people from the minority groups to work in an organization, either private or public.
The main similarity between different EEO laws is that they all intend to protect employees from being discriminated against by their employers. The laws advocate for equal treatment of all persons regardless of their religion, nationality, sex, or race. The laws require employers to have respect for differences and treat all employees equally. Job opportunities and promotions should only be extended to people who are qualified (Gutman et al., 2010).
Best Practice Recommendations on how to abide by many EEO laws
The first step would be to training human resource managers and employees under the EEO laws so that they can abide by them. Creating awareness is the first step towards giving employees their rights. A strong EEO policy should be implemented and should target the top management of the organization. Managers, supervisors, and employees should all be trained and made to understand that they will be held responsible for any violation of the laws (Robinson & Franklin, 2013).
An inclusive culture should also be cultivated in the workplace. This will make everybody comfortable, fostering an environment of professionalism and respect for all people irrespective of where they come from or their gender.
Another important thing would be fostering open communication as well as early dispute resolution mechanisms. This will minimize chances of misunderstanding. Alternative dispute resolution mechanisms should also be put in place to help in resolving EEO problems.
To further make the working environment friendlier, a neutral objective should be established with the aim of avoiding subjective employment decisions based on hidden biases.
When it comes to recruitment, hiring, and promotion, neutrality should be exercised in the entire exercise. Only those who are qualified should be recruited or promoted. The management should conduct the exercise with EEO principles in mind.
The management should also make sure that the selection criteria is inclusive of al racial groups. On the same note, when promotion opportunities arise, open communication should be made to all eligible employees to enhance transparency of the exercise.
When it comes to the development of the potential of employees, managers and supervisors should do so with EEO in mind. They should provide mentoring and training that is inclusive of all workers regardless of their background (Ménard & Shirley, 2008).
Managers and supervisors should also protect their employees against retaliation. The employer should guarantee his employees that there will be no consequences if they report activities of discrimination. This will make the employees comfortable, feeling that their rights are respected by the employer.
There should also be a strong anti-harassment policy. Each employee I the organization should be trained on the contents of the policy so that they can follow it strictly. The policy should include a clear description of the complaint process, providing accessible avenues of complaint (Snell et al., 2015).
Conclusion
EEO laws provide for equal treatment of employees in the workplace. Managers and supervisors have the role of ensuring the laws are meaningful by observing them. Employees should be allowed to report cases of denial of their rights. Even though they are different in terms of the period in which they were passed and their area of focus, the laws have a common goal of creating a friendly working environment where everybody is treated with respect.
References
Gutman, A., Koppes, L. L., & Vodanovich, S. J. (2010). EEO law and personnel practices . New York: Psychology Press.
Ménard, C., & Shirley, M. M. (2008). Handbook of new institutional economics . Berlin: Springer.
Rabin, J. (2003). Encyclopedia of Public Administration and Public Policy : AJ (Vol. 1). CRC Press.
Robinson, R. K., & Franklin, G. M. (2013). Employment regulation in the Workplace: Basic compliance for managers. ME Sharpe.
Snell, S. A., Morris, S. S., & Bohlander, G. W. (2015). Managing human resources . Nelson Education.
