V. Sexual Harassment
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has issued guidelines designed to curtail
sexual harassment. Sexual harassment is unwelcome verbal, visual, or physical conduct
Most of the sexual harassment charges filed involve harassment of women by men. Most
claims of harassment go unreported as victims are reluctant to speak out for fear of
A. Types of Sexual Harassment
Two basic types of sexual harassment have been defined by EEOC regulations and a
number of court cases. Figure 2-2 shows the two types and how they differ. They are
defined as follows:
Quid pro quo is harassment in which employment outcomes are linked to the
Hostile environment harassment exists when an individual’s work performance
B. Preventing Sexual Harassment
A proactive prevention approach is the most effective way to reduce sexual harassment
in the workplace. Companies may avoid liability if they take reasonable care to prohibit
sexual harassment, the so-called affirmative defense. Important elements of the
affirmative defense include:
Establish a sexual harassment policy.
Communicate the policy regularly.
VI. Disability Discrimination
Several federal laws have been enacted to advance the employment of
disabled individuals and to reduce discrimination based on disability.
A. Rehabilitation Act
The earliest law regarding disabled individuals was passed in 1973
and applied only to federal contractors. The Rehabilitation Act de!ned
many of the terms and concepts incorporated into subsequent laws
B. Americans with Disabilities Act
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was enacted in 1990. This
Act applies to private employers, employment agencies, and labor
unions with 15 or more employees and is enforced by the EEOC. State
In 2009, Congress passed amendments to the ADA, which overruled
several key cases and regulations and re2ected the original intent of
the ADA. The effect was to signi!cantly broaden the de!nition of
An area of concern to employers under the ADA (as amended) is individuals with
mental disabilities. A mental disability is defined by the EEOC as “any mental or
psychological disorder, such as an intellectual disability, organic brain syndrome,
For many employers, the impact of the ADA has been the greatest
when handling employees who develop disabilities, not when dealing
with applicants who already have disabilities. As the workforce ages, it
Employers should be prepared to respond to accommodation requests from employees
whose contribution to the organization has been satisfactory before they became
C. ADA and Job Requirements
Discrimination is prohibited against individuals with disabilities who
can perform the essential job functions—the fundamental job
duties—of the employment positions that those individuals hold or
For a quali!ed person with a disability, an employer must make a
reasonable accommodation, which is a modi!cation to a job or
work environment that gives that individual an equal employment
opportunity to perform. EEOC guidelines encourage employers and
Reasonable accommodation is limited to actions that do not place an
undue hardship on an employer. An undue hardship is a signi!cant
difficulty or expense imposed on an employer in making an
The ADA includes restrictions on obtaining and retaining medically related information
on applicants and employees. Restrictions include prohibiting employers from rejecting
individuals because of a disability and from asking job applicants any question about
VII. Age Discrimination Laws
The populations of most developed countries—including Australia, Japan, most
European countries, and the United States—are aging. On one hand, these
changes mean that as older workers with a lifetime of experiences and
skills retire, companies face signi!cant challenges in replacing them
A. Age Discrimination in Employment Act
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) of 1967, amended
in 1978 and 1986, prohibits discrimination in terms, conditions, or
privileges of employment against all individuals of age 40 or older
As with most equal employment issues, a better understanding of
B. Older Workers Bene’t Protection Act (OWBPA)
The Older Workers Bene!t Protection Act of 1990 is an amendment to
the ADEA and protects employees when they sign liability waivers for
age discrimination in exchange for severance packages during
reductions in force. Workers over the age of 40 are entitled to receive
C. Managing Age Discrimination
One issue that has led to age discrimination charges is labeling older
workers as “overquali!ed” for jobs or promotions. Selection and
A strategy used by employers to retain the talents of older workers for
a period of time is phased retirement, whereby employees
gradually reduce their workloads and pay levels. This option is
growing in use as a way to allow older workers with signi!cant
VIII. Religion and Spirituality in the Workplace
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of
religion. The increasing religious diversity in the workforce has put
greater emphasis on religious considerations in workplaces. Faith-based
schools and institutions can use religion as a bona !de occupational
Religious discrimination can take many forms, from hostile remarks to
refusal to hire individuals from different faiths. Problems can also arise
because of conflict between employer policies and employee religious
practices such as dress and appearance. Generally, employers are
A. Managing Religious Diversity
The EEOC recommends that employers consider the following reasonable
accommodations for employees’ religious beliefs and practices:
Scheduling changes, voluntary substitutes, and shift swaps
Changing an employee’s job tasks or providing a lateral transfer
Another issue concerns religious expression. In the last several years,
employees in several cases have sued employers for prohibiting them
from expressing their religious beliefs at work. In other cases,
IX. Managing Other Discrimination Issues
A number of other factors, such as national origin/immigration,
language, military status, and appearance and weight, might lead to
unlawful discrimination.
A. Immigration Reform and Control Acts
The in2ux of immigrants has led to extensive political, social, and
employment-related debates. The Immigration Reform and Control
Act (IRCA), enacted in 1986, requires employers to verify the
employment status of all employees, while not discriminating because
Within the !rst three days of employment, each employee must
complete an Employment Eligibility Veri!cation (commonly called an
I-9) form and provide documents proving that they are legally
The E-verify federal database instantly veri!es the employment
eligibility of employees. Federal contractors are required to use the
B. Language Issues
As the diversity of the workforce increases, more employees have language skills in
addition to English. Some employers have attempted to restrict the use of foreign
The EEOC has issued guidelines clearly stating that employers may
require workers to speak only English at certain times or in certain
Some employers have found it bene!cial to have bilingual employees
so that foreign-language customers can contact someone who speaks
their language. Bilingual employees are especially needed among
C. Military Status Protections
The employment rights of military veterans and reservists have been
addressed in several laws. The two most important laws are the
Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974 and the
Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act
This Act does not require employers to pay employees while they are
on military leave, but many !rms voluntarily provide additional
compensation to bridge the gap between military pay and regular
D. Appearance and Weight Discrimination
Several EEOC cases have been !led concerning the physical
appearance of employees. Court decisions consistently have allowed
employers to set dress codes and appearance standards as long as
they are applied uniformly. Also, employers should be cautious when
X. Diversity Training
Traditional diversity training has a number of different goals. One
prevalent goal is to minimize discrimination and harassment lawsuits.
A. Components of Traditional Diversity Training
There are often three components to diversity training programs:
Legal awareness is the first and most common component. Here, the training
Cultural awareness training helps organizations to build greater
understanding of the differences among people. Cultural
Sensitivity training is more difficult. The aim here is to “sensitize”
people to the differences among them and how their words and
B. Mixed Results for Diversity Training
The results of diversity training are viewed as mixed by both
organizations and participants. Studies on the effectiveness of
diversity training raise some concern that the programs may be
Some argue that traditional diversity training has failed because it
has not reduced discrimination and harassment complaints. Rather
than reducing con2ict, in a number of situations diversity training has
Negative consequences of diversity training may manifest themselves
broadly in a backlash against all diversity efforts. Women and
members of racial minorities sometimes see diversity programs as
inadequate and nothing but “lip service.” Thus, it appears that by
C. Improving Diversity Training effort
Focusing on behavior seems to hold the most promise for making
diversity training more effective. For instance, dealing with cultural
Trainers emphasize that the key to avoiding backlash in diversity
efforts is to stress that people can believe whatever they wish, but at