Chapter 03 – Providing Equal Employment Opportunity and a Safe Workplace
This opening case explores the controversial comments made by Los Angeles Clipper owner,
Donald Sterling, made to a female friend. The comments were made in private but it was
recorded and made public. He made blatantly racist remarks that went beyond embarrassment
when the Clipper payers protested and threatened a boycott. The NBA commissioner, Adam
Silver then investigated the situation and found that Sterling had violated NBA core values.
Silver fined Sterling 2.5 million dollars and barred him from entering any Clipper facility or being
involved in any personnel decisions. Silver’s decision made a point that the leader or an
organization sets the tone of the organization with their words and actions.
Discussion Question and Suggested Response
1. Do you agree with how Adam Silver handled the situation? Do leaders really set the
tone of an organization’s values?
II. Regulation of Human Resource Management
1. All three branches of the U.S. government – legislative, executive, and judicial – play an
important role in creating a legal environment for human resource management.
2. The legislative branch, which consists of the two houses of Congress, has enacted a
number of laws governing human resource activities.
3. The executive branch, including the many regulatory agencies that the president
oversees, is responsible for enforcing the laws passed by Congress.
2. Some federal agencies involved in regulating human resource management include the
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Occupational Safety and Health
Administration.
3. The president may issue executive orders, which are directives issued solely by the
president, without requiring congressional approval. Some of these executive orders
regulate the activities of organizations that have contracts with the federal government.
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Chapter 03 – Providing Equal Employment Opportunity and a Safe Workplace
4. The judicial branch, the federal court system, influences employment law by interpreting
the law and holding trials concerning violations of the law.
HR How To
Being Strategic about EEO
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced they plan to be
more strategic in how they carry out their mission. The EEOC has chosen six priorities
to focus their compliance efforts on to help reduce and deter discrimination. The six
areas are: eliminate barriers in recruitment and hiring, protect immigrant and migrant
workers considered vulnerable, address emerging issues, enforcing equal pay laws,
preserving access to the legal system by targeting retaliation, and preventing
harassment. Employers should review their selection methods, ensure all employees
know how to avoid harassing any workers, train all supervisors, and keep complete
records of employment decisions.
Discussion Questions with Possible Responses
1.Suppose you are a HR manager in a U.S. company. How would you explain to your
company’s business managers the importance of the EEOC’s strategic priorities?
1. How would you suggest that your department apply these priorities in planning its
management training programs?
A. Office of Federal Contract Compliance Procedures (OFCCP)
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Chapter 03 – Providing Equal Employment Opportunity and a Safe Workplace
1. The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Procedures (OFCCP) is the
agency responsible for enforcing the executive orders that cover companies doing
business with the federal government.
2. Businesses with contracts for more than $50,000 may not discriminate in
employment based on race, color, religion, national origin, or sex and must have a
written affirmative-action plan on file. This plan must include three basic
components:
V. Businesses’ Role in Providing for Equal Employment Opportunity
1. Out of motives ranging from concern for fairness to the desire to avoid costly lawsuits
and settlements, most companies recognize the importance of complying with equal
employment opportunity laws. Management often relies on the expertise of HR
professionals to help in identifying how to comply.
A. Avoiding Discrimination
Discrimination is often difficult to identify and prove. Legal scholars and court rulings have
arrived at some ways to show evidence of discrimination.
1. Disparate treatment is differing treatment of individuals, where the differences
2. Disparate impact is a condition in which employment practices are seemingly
neutral yet disproportionately exclude a protected group from employment
HRM Social
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Chapter 03 – Providing Equal Employment Opportunity and a Safe Workplace
The Discrimination Risk of Using Social Media in Hiring
Many employers are using social media sites to gain more information about applicants prior to
making a hiring decision. A recent Carnegie Mellon University study suggests that screening
candidates with social media contributes to discriminatory hiring decisions. The study
specifically looked at religious affiliations and sexual orientation. EEOC is currently evaluating
the use of social media in the hiring process and the current recommend is to use social media
with caution.
Discussion Questions and Possible Responses
1. Explain how the Carnegie Mellon Study is an example of disparate impact.
2. For the employee characteristics protected by EEO laws, which could you avoid revealing on
a social media career site as LinkedIn? Which would be difficult or impossible to avoid
disclosing?
3. A commonly used test of disparate treatment is the four-fifths rule, which finds
evidence of discrimination if the hiring rate for a minority group is less than four-
fifths the hiring rate for the majority group. This rule compares rates of hiring not
numbers of employees hired. Figure 3.4, Applying the Four-Fifths Rule,
illustrates how to apply the four-fifths rule.
4. An important distinction between disparate treatment and disparate impact is the
role of the employer’s intent. Proving disparate treatment in court requires
5. One way employers can avoid disparate impact is to be sure that employment
decisions are based on valid measurements. The essence of the measurement is
6. Some employers are also distancing themselves from information that could be
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Chapter 03 – Providing Equal Employment Opportunity and a Safe Workplace
7. EEO Policy: Employers can also avoid discrimination and defend against claims
of discrimination by establishing and enforcing an EEO policy. This policy should:
a. Define and prohibit unlawful behaviors
b. Provide procedures for making and investigating complaints
c. Require that employees at all levels engage in fair conduct and respectful
language
10. Affirmative Action and Reverse Discrimination: In the search for ways to
11. In many cases, white and/or male individuals have fought against affirmative
action and quotas, alleging reverse discrimination. In other words, the
organizations are allegedly discriminating against white males by preferring
women and minorities.
HR OOPs
Lack of Rewards May Explain “Leaky Pipeline”
Many U. S. companies have increasing levels of diversity however research shows that there is
less diversity of women and minorities in higher levels of the organization. This is called a talent
pipeline that is leaky. One possible reason is that many organizations do not measure
performance based on diversity and inclusion. They say these are important factors but there is
very little accountability. It is challenging to work with others different from oneself, however, if
there are rewards and punishments, then individuals will tend to try harder.
Discussion Questions and Possible Responses
1. How might a bonus related to diversity affect the ways executives promote, train, and
develop their employees?
2. What issues of fairness would you need to consider in tying parts of an executive’s bonus
to performance on diversity?
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Chapter 03 – Providing Equal Employment Opportunity and a Safe Workplace
to diversity. If there is too much money, there is a temptation to promote or train for the wrong
reasons.
B. Providing Reasonable Accommodation
1. Especially in situations involving religion and individuals with disabilities, equal
employment opportunity may require that an employer make reasonable
accommodation. This term refers to an employer’s obligation to do something to
enable an otherwise qualified person to perform a job.
2. An accommodation is considered reasonable if it does not impose an undue
hardship, such as expense that is large in relation to a company’s resources.
3. Assuming that it would not present an undue hardship, employers are required to
accommodate religious practices.
4. Accommodations for an employee’s religion often involve decisions about what
kinds of clothing to permit or require.
5. Disability accommodations vary according to the individuals’ needs. Figure 3.5,
Examples of Reasonable Accommodations Under the ADA, indicates what is
considered to be reasonable accommodations.
C. Preventing Sexual Harassment
1. Sexual harassment refers to unwelcome sexual advances. The EEOC has
defined the types of behavior and situations under which this behavior constitute
sexual harassment. Preventing sexual harassment includes managing the
workplace in a manner that does not tolerate threatening or intimidating
employees through sexual behavior.
2. In general, the most obvious examples of sexual harassment involve quid pro quo
harassment. This means that a person makes a benefit or punishment contingent
upon an employee’s submitting to or rejecting sexual advances.
3. A more subtle and possibly pervasive form of sexual harassment is to create or
permit a hostile working environment. This occurs when someone’s behavior in
the workplace creates an environment in which it is difficult for someone of a
particular sex to work.
4. Although a large majority of sexual harassment complaints received by the EEOC
involve women being harassed by men, a growing share of sexual harassment
claims have been filed by men.
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Chapter 03 – Providing Equal Employment Opportunity and a Safe Workplace
5. To ensure a workplace free from sexual harassment, organizations can follow
some important steps:
a. First, the organization can develop a policy statement making it very clear that
sexual harassment will not be tolerated.
b. Second, all employees, new and old can be trained to identify inappropriate
workplace behavior.
c. Organizations can develop a mechanism for reporting sexual harassment in a
way that encourages people to speak out.
d. Management can prepare to act promptly to discipline those who engage in
sexual harassment as well as to protect the victims of it.
D. Valuing Diversity
1. The United States is a diverse nation and becoming more so.
2. The practice of valuing diversity has no single form, it is not written into law or
business theory. Organizations that value diversity may practice some form of
affirmative action. They may have policies stating their value of understanding
and respecting differences.
3. Valuing diversity need not be limited to categories protected by law.
VI. Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH ACT)
1. Like equal employment opportunity, the protection of employee safety and health is
regulated by the government.
2. In 1970, Congress enacted the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH ACT). It is
the most comprehensive U.S. law regarding worker safety.
3. The OSH Act authorized the federal government to establish and enforce occupational
safety and health standards for all places of employment engaging in interstate
commerce.
4. The OSH Act divided enforcement responsibilities between the Department of Labor
and the Department of Health.
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Chapter 03 – Providing Equal Employment Opportunity and a Safe Workplace
5. Under the Department of Labor, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration
(OSHA) is responsible for inspecting employers, applying safety and health standards,
and levying fines for violations.
6. The Department of Health is responsible for conducting research to determine the
criteria for specific operations or occupations and for training employers to comply with
the act. Much of the research is conducted by the National Institute for Occupational
Safety and Health (NIOSH).
A. General and Specific Duties
1. The main provision of the OSH Act states that each employer has a general duty
to furnish each employee a place of employment free from recognized hazards
that cause or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm. This is called
the act’s general duty clause.
2. Figure 3.6, OSHA’s Form 300A, shows a sample of the annual summary that
must be posted, even if no injuries or illnesses occurred.
3. The act also grants specific rights, for example, employees have the right to:
a. Request an inspection
4. The Department of Labor recognizes many specific types of hazards and
employers must comply with all the occupational safety and health standards
published by NIOSH.
5. The general duty clause requires employers to be constantly alert for potential
sources of harm in the workplace and to correct them.
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Chapter 03 – Providing Equal Employment Opportunity and a Safe Workplace
B. Enforcement of the OSH Act
1. To enforce the OSH Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration
conducts inspections.
2. An OSHA inspection typically has four major components:
a. First, the compliance officer reviews the company’s records of deaths,
injuries, and illnesses
3. Following the inspection, OSHA gives the employers a reasonable time frame
within which to correct the violations identified.
4. If the violation could cause serious injury or death, the officer may seek a
restraining order from a U.S. District Court. This order compels the employer to
immediately correct the problem.
5. If citations are issued, they must be posted in a prominent place near the
C. Employee Rights and Responsibilities
1. Employees have a duty to report hazardous conditions.
2. Along with employee responsibilities go certain rights:
3. Under OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard, organizations must have
chemical.
D. Impact of the OSH Act
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Chapter 03 – Providing Equal Employment Opportunity and a Safe Workplace
1. The OSH Act has succeeded in raising the level of awareness of occupational
safety.
2. Figure 3.7, Rates of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses, shows the trend of
these two items over a period of time.
3. Many industrial accidents are a product of unsafe behaviors, not unsafe working
conditions.
4. Because conforming to the law alone does not guarantee their employees will be
safe, many employers go beyond the letter of the law.
VII. Employer-Sponsored Safety and Health Programs
1. Many employers establish safety awareness programs to go beyond mere compliance
with the OSH Act and attempt to instill an emphasis on safety. These programs have
three primary components:
Best Practices
Morton Salt’s Prizewinning Safety Program
Morton Salt is one of the most dangerous industries; mining. However, this company has
earned the accolade of “America’s safest companies.” This is a purpose priority of Morton Salt
and they have a premier safety program which includes the following four points. First,
employees report any “near miss” to a supervisor so they can prevent accidents. Second, they
hold an annual safety day at all facilities where production stops for training and team building.
Third, the company invites safety suggestions and prizes go to employee if their idea is
selected. Fourth, the company participates in OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Program (VPP).
This is a unique honor and very few companies are chosen by OSHA to participate. The bottom
line is that the employees benefit the most from these programs because they have a safe and
healthy work environment.
Discussion Questions and Possible Answers
1. How does Morton Salt’s safety program surpass the requirements of the OSH Act?
2. How might a human resource manager at Morton Salt support the company’s efforts to
promote worker health and safety?
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Chapter 03 – Providing Equal Employment Opportunity and a Safe Workplace
A. Identifying and Communicating Job Hazards
1. Job hazard analysis technique is a safety promotion technique that involves
breaking down a job into basic elements, then rating each element for its
potential for harm or injury.
2. Technic of operations review (TOR) is an analysis method for determining
which specific element of a job led to a past accident. This method poses some
special challenges for high-tech companies, where workers may be exposed to
materials and conditions that are not yet well understood.
3. McShane Construction Company combined job analysis with mobile computing
technology when it signed on with Field ID to provide the software for its safety
inspections.
4. To communicate with employees about job hazards, managers should talk
directly to their employees about safety.
5. In communicating risk, managers should recognize that different groups of
individuals may constitute different audiences. Supervisors and trainers need to
use vocabulary that employees will understand, and they need to ask for
feedback in a culturally appropriate way.
6. Safety concerns and safety training needs also vary by age group. According to
the Bureau of Labor Statistics, injuries and illnesses requiring time off from work
occurred at the highest rate among workers between the ages of 45 and 54;
workers aged 55 to 64 were the next highest group. Safety training needs to
address the needs of all age groups.
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