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CHAPTER 12
Understanding Equal Employment Opportunity
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Define protected groups.
2. Describe antidiscrimination laws that affect organizations.
3. Identify the major federal enforcement agencies for equal employment opportunity.
4. Define employment parity, occupational parity, and systematic discrimination.
5. Define affirmative action.
6. Define sexual harassment.
SUGGESTIONS FOR PRESENTATION
The two exercises suggested at the end of the chapter are discussion oriented (more than most in
this book). Try using those, or develop a role play which deals with EEO issues.
Remember that this topic is one in which deep prejudices can exist, and we usually can’t change
values in a college classroom. It is wise not to get the students into discussions that you can’t
effectively control.
Review the classifieds
Can your students find any legitimate classified ads that have BFOQs for one sex or a protected
class group?
Gather samples of EEO plans
If any of your students can get copies of their employers’ EEO plans, you might compare two or
more. How specific are they? What components are included?
LECTURE OUTLINE
Supervision Dilemma
Jane has been introduced to her company’s affirmative action program. She knows that the
program is controversial and wants to better understand her responsibilities under the program.
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I. What are Protected Groups?
• Although women and African Americans do constitute the two largest groups that
II. Effects of Discrimination
• Examining the make-up of employees of most large organizations generally shows the
results of past discrimination.
o The jobs with authority are held primarily by white males.
• That employment discrimination still exists is shown by statistics on unemployment,
underemployment, and incomes.
o For example, women continue to be employed primarily in the same industries as
they have been in the past—service industries, wholesale and retail trade, and the
public service sector.
o The gap between the incomes of women and men who work full-time continues to be
large—and it is widening.
o Furthermore, even though the situation has been changing, the percentage of African
Americans and Hispanics in supervisory and management positions is still relatively
small.
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III. Antidiscrimination Laws That Affect Organizations
• Many antidiscrimination laws affect organizations.
o The number of employees and the amount of business that the organization does with
the federal government determine which of these laws affect the organization.
A. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
• Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination based on race,
color, religion, sex, or national origin in any term, condition, or privilege of
employment.
o Take court action to enforce law
B. Title VI
• Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination based on race,
color, or national origin in all programs or activities that receive federal financial aid
in order to provide employment.
• Although this law does not prohibit sex discrimination, some federal agencies
prohibit sex discrimination by their own regulations.
C. Equal Pay Act
• The Equal Pay Act was passed in 1963 and was later amended by Title IX of the
Education Amendments Act of 1972.
• This law requires that all employers covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act (and
other included in the 1972 extension) provide equal pay to men and women who
perform work that is similar in skill, effort, and responsibility.
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D. Education Amendments Act
• Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972 extended coverage of the Equal
Pay Act of 1963.
• Title XI prohibits gender discrimination against the employees or students of any
educational institution receiving financial aid from the federal government.
E. Age Discrimination in Employment Act
• This law prohibits discrimination against people 40 years of age and older in any area
of employment.
• This law applies to employers of 20 or more people.
F. Affirmative Action
• The order requires federal contractors and subcontractors to have affirmative action
programs.
o The purpose of these programs is to increase employment opportunities for
women and minorities in all areas of employment.
o These programs are monitored by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance
(OFCC) of the U.S. Department of Labor.
G. Veterans Readjustment Act
• Such contractors and subcontractors with contracts of $10,000 or more must list all
suitable job openings with state employment services.
• Such contractors and subcontractors with contracts of $50,000 or more and 50 or
more employees are required to have written affirmative action programs for
Vietnam veterans and disabled veterans.
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H. Rehabilitation Act of 1973
• The Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which was amended in 1977, prohibits employers
from denying jobs to individuals merely because of a handicap.
• The law applies to government contractors and subcontractors with contracts in
excess of $2,500.
• The act requires contractors to make reasonable and necessary accommodations to
enable qualified handicapped people to work as effectively as other employees.
I. Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
• In May 1990, Congress approved the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA),
which gives the disabled sharply increased access to services and jobs.
• Under this law, employers may not:
o Discriminate in hiring and firing against persons qualified for a job
o Inquire whether an applicant has a disability, but may ask about ability to
perform a job
o Limit advancement opportunity
o Use tests or job requirements that tend to screen out the disabled.
o Participate in contractual agreements that discriminate against the disabled.
• The ADA obligates employers to provide reasonable accommodation to disabled
employees as a means of enabling those employees to perform essential job duties.
J. Civil Rights Act of 1991
• The Civil Rights Act of 1991 permits women, minorities, persons with disabilities,
and persons belonging to religious minorities to have a jury trial and sue for punitive
damages of up to $300,000 if they can prove that they are victims of intentional
hiring or workplace discrimination.
• The law covers all employers with 15 or more employees.
• The law places a cap on the amount of damages a victim of nonracial, intentional
discrimination can collect.
• This act requires that companies must provide evidence that the business practice that
led to the discrimination was not discriminatory but was job-related for the position
in question and consistent with business necessity.
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K. Family and Medical Leave Act (1993)
• The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) was enacted on February 5, 1993, to
enable qualified employees to take prolonged unpaid leave for family and health-
related reasons with fear of losing their jobs.
L. Other Anti-discrimination Legislation
• Discrimination in employment has also been prohibited by court rulings under the
Civil Rights Acts of 1866 and 1870 and the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th
Amendment.
• Discrimination because of race, religion, and national origin has also been found to
violate rights guaranteed by the National Labor Relations Act.
IV. Enforcement Agencies
• There are two major federal enforcement agencies for equal employment opportunity.
o These are the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the
Office of Federal Contract Compliance (OFCC).
• In the past, enforcement activities were conducted by many agencies.
o The trend has been toward consolidation of these activities.
V. Interpretation and Application of Title VII and Affirmative Action
• Knowing the laws and executive orders covering antidiscrimination helps avoid court
actions.
o However, the intricacies of the laws and various interpretations by the courts may
confuse even the best-intentioned person.
A. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
• Title VII of the Civil Rights Act has probably been more fully interpreted by the
courts than any of the other antidiscrimination laws.
• The courts have decided that whether the employer intended to discriminate is not an
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important factor.
• There are very few exceptions to Title VII.
o Nearly all organizations are covered to some degree by antidiscrimination laws.
• The few exceptions to Title VII that do exist have been interpreted very narrowly by
the courts.
o It is difficult to justify discrimination by business necessity, as allowed by the
• Another exception to Title VII is discrimination based on a bona fide seniority or
merit System.
o Seniority or merit systems that exclude protected groups from benefits are not
valid exceptions.
o Seniority or merit systems that perpetuate past discriminatory practices are
illegal.
• Contractual agreements between the union and the employer are not legal or binding
if they violate antidiscrimination laws.
• Two methods can be used by the EEOC to determine whether discrimination against
• Large differences in either occupational or employment parity are called systemic
discrimination.
o When systemic discrimination exists, the employer is usually required to
engage in affirmative action.
B. History of Affirmative Action Programs
• Of all the requirements concerned with discrimination, affirmative action programs
are by far the most controversial.
• Some employers and individuals mistakenly refer to equal employment opportunity
as affirmative action.
• Affirmative action refers to an employer’s attempt to balance its work force in all
job categories with respect to sex and race in order to reflect the same proportions as
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those of its general labor market.
• Affirmative action has resulted in several discrimination suits.
o The first real test case in this area was the Bakke case of 1978.
▪ The Supreme Court ruled in Bakke’s favor but at the same time upheld
the constitutionality of affirmative action programs.
o During the latter part of the 1980s, the Supreme Court rendered several
decisions viewed by some advocates as being negative toward affirmative
action programs.
• Most affirmative action programs concentrate on racial and ethnic minorities and
women.
o Religious and national origin minorities have not benefited nearly as much
from such programs.
• Quotas for hiring minorities and women are not required by law
o However, written goals are required under affirmative action guidelines.
o Opponents of affirmative action programs feel that written numerical goals
force inflexible, unreasonable demands on employers.
o Proponents of affirmative action, however, argue that written affirmative action
goals are like any other organizational goal to which quantitative measures are
applied.
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VI. Effect of Antidiscrimination Laws on the Supervisor
• Antidiscrimination laws affect all levels of management.
o Developing policies to comply with these laws is imperative.
o Although these policies are formulated at the upper level of management, they are
implemented at the middle and supervisory levels.
A. Hiring Practices
• The hiring policies and practices of employers may not discriminate against any
person because of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, or age.
o Most government contractors and subcontractors are also legally required to
provide equal employment opportunity to handicapped persons
• Employment application forms that solicit non-job-related information may result in
charges of discrimination.
o The employer must then show that the data were not used to discriminate
against a protected group.
• Testing is another hiring practice that has received adverse attention.
o Any test that adversely affects the employment opportunity of protected groups
must be professionally validated.
• It is not suggested that all tests are unfair or result in discrimination.
o If a test provides an impartial way to identify qualified applicants, it reduces
the use of more subjective judgments that can easily result in discrimination.
• Interviews can also result in discrimination.
o It is imperative that the supervisor in any job interview be willing to evaluate
an applicant on ability and potential
o The supervisor must be aware of the actual job requirements and not use
unrelated criteria as a basis for a decision.
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B. Job Assignments
• Most jobs have pleasant and unpleasant tasks associated with them.
o For the supervisor to assign the more popular or pleasant tasks to one group of
employees may result in charges of discrimination.
o However, charges of reverse discrimination may also result when employers
hire people from the protected groups for a job but do not require them to
perform all the tasks of that job.
C. Performance Evaluation and Upward Mobility
• Subjective performance evaluations can result in discriminatory practices.
o Performance appraisals based on subjective criteria such as attitude,
appearance, maturity, ambition, and personality are easily influenced by
personal bias.
• Supervisors play an important part in the advancement opportunities of their
employees.
o Traditionally, only certain groups of employees were thought to have
advancement potential.
• The supervisor must make an effort to consider all subordinates for advancement.
o The supervisor’s evaluation must be objective and related to the job for which
the employee is being considered.
D. Disciplinary Action
• Discipline must be based on objective considerations.
• Discipline for subjective considerations should be avoided.
• Discipline must be thoroughly documented for all employees.
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VII. A Positive Approach to Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action
• Most people realize that a large number of people have not been utilized or have been
underutilized in the past.
o The opportunity now exists for employing these people more fully.
o Organizations can benefit from this new reservoir of talent.
o The supervisor’s attitude is important to the achievement of these goals.
• EEO and affirmative action programs do not require an employer to hire unqualified
employees.
o Their purpose is simply to give protected groups a fair and equal chance to obtain a
position.
VIII. Preventing Sexual Harassment in the Workplace
• In 1980, the EEOC published guidelines on sexual harassment in the workplace.
• Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical
conduct of a sexual nature are considered sexual harassment under the following
conditions:
o Submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition
of an individual’s employment.
• Organizations are considered responsible for the acts of their managers and supervisors
regardless of whether the specific acts complained of were authorized or even forbidden by
the employer and regardless of whether the employer knew or should have known of their
occurrence.