Chapter 3 Homework Questions Consider Although The Pregnancy Discrimination Act

Unlock access to all the studying documents.

View Full Document

Chapter 3: Legislation

Chapter 3

Legislation

Table of Contents

Content

Page No. in the IM

Chapter Outline

Chapter Objectives

Lecture Notes and Teaching Suggestions

Key Facts (and Associated Questions)

Selected Features and Cases for Discussions

Questions to Consider (End of Chapter)

Actions and Exercises

Suggested Test Questions

Chapter Outline

1. Introduction and Overview

2. Historical Background

4. Other Relevant State, Local, and City Ordinances

6. Future Federal Acts: What’s Ahead?

7. Diversity in the Judiciary and its Effects on Judicial Decisions

9. Key Terms

11. Actions and Exercises

Chapter Objectives

After completing this chapter, readers should have a firm understanding of diversity-

related laws, executive orders, and court rulings in the United States and selected

diversity-related laws in other countries. Specifically, they should be able to:

Chapter 3: Legislation

legislation in relation to race, sex, religion, age, disability, and work and family

status.

Lecture Notes and Teaching Suggestions

This chapter introduces the reader to key legislation related to diversity in organizations

and helps establish a foundation for understanding the historical background that

necessitated much of the legislation and how legislation helps facilitate diversity in

organizations. The chapter explains key laws in chronological order because this helps

readers understand the historical context and how laws were drafted to respond to

Instructors should emphasize to their students that a firm understanding of the laws and

some of the experiences of individuals seeking employment or working in organizations

is important to understand why the laws are needed. The persistence of egregious

treatment and discrimination also emphasizes the need for people to view diversity as

important, not just for the avoidance of lawsuits or compliance with laws. Instructors

should also strongly emphasize to their students that most people who experience unfair

Chapter 3: Legislation

that in the United States and the United Kingdom there are many similarities in diversity-

related concerns, along with similarities in governmental attempts to reduce

discrimination. Anti-discrimination laws and ordinances were passed to reduce, if not

terminate, discrimination against certain groups of people. Instructors should also

emphasize the need for diversity is in the judiciary and how it would affect judicial

decisions.

In addition to the questions to consider and actions and exercises, a good, simple

assignment for this section would be to have students find the most recent two or three

months of Litigation Settlement reports from the EEOC’s website (eeoc.gov) and choose

Key Facts (and Associated Questions)

The questions that follow each “Key Fact” are helpful in the stimulation of a class

discussion. (Selected key facts include discussion points in this Instructors’ Manual.

Instructors may emphasize different key facts depending on the needs/interests of

students and instructors). Instructors may wish to have their students formulate questions

that are relevant to the key facts and use them for class discussion.

• Although the Equal Pay Act has been in existence for more than five decades,

women in the United States still earn less than 80 cents for each dollar that men

earn. Sex segregation limits the effectiveness of the Equal Pay Act.

Question: Why is sex segregation of jobs so prevalent?

As a quick exercise, instructors should have their students write down what they

think are the top five jobs that employ women and the top five jobs that employ

Chapter 3: Legislation

• Title VII of the U.S. Civil Rights Act is the country’s most comprehensive civil

rights legislation, prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion,

sex, and national origin, but discrimination persists.

Question: How effective has Title VII been in reducing discrimination?

Readers’ perceptions about this question will vary. While some may think that it

has been very effective, others may think that there may be more that could be

• Charges of discrimination reached their highest ever in 2010; retaliation surpassed

race as the highest allegation among all statutes and remained higher through 2014.

Question: Given the number of years of attention that was paid toward these issues,

why do you think that the discrimination rates are increasing instead of decreasing?

Some managers and employees may not have had any training and may not be

aware of relevant laws. Although some of the organizations where discrimination

Chapter 3: Legislation

• In the United Kingdom and Australia, age discrimination against applicants and

employees of any age is prohibited, yet in the United States, age discrimination is

only illegal against those who are 40 or older.

Question: Why is discrimination against people younger than 40 legal?

It is most likely that younger people are not included in the law because they are

• Compliance with laws is a necessary component of valuing diversity but, alone, is

not evidence of valuing diversity.

Question: Why is it that compliance, by itself, is not sufficient evidence to show

that an organization values diversity?

When organizations comply with diversity-related laws, they may only be

complying to avoid legal penalties or because they believe it is important to comply

• Minority and female judges look at evidence and make decisions differently than do

White and male judges; given a diverse population, diversity among judges is

Chapter 3: Legislation

important to increased fairness.

Questions: Why do you think there are differences in judicial decisions based on

sex and racial background? Why does this emphasize the need for diversity in the

judiciary?

Research by Chew and Kelley (2009) indicated that in cases of racial harassment,

Selected Features and Cases for Discussions

1. Research Summary 3.1: Focus on Affirmative Action

This research summary is designed to help students become aware of some of the

common misperceptions about affirmative action that many people hold. Empirical

research documents people’s strongly held (often erroneous) beliefs about

affirmative action. Instructors should encourage students to think outside the box

about diversity issues, and students should be willing to question their strongly held

beliefs.

Questions to Consider:

1. What factors likely contribute to common, erroneous beliefs about affirmative

action, even among intended beneficiaries?

Instructors may emphasize that one’s beliefs about affirmative action are

2. How do perceptions that minorities and women who are hired are unqualified

contrast with research indicating that unqualified Whites are sometimes

chosen over qualified Blacks?

When compared with research, it appears that these perceptions are

inaccurate. Instructors should emphasize the role of perceptions in limiting

2. Featured Case 3.1: Pregnancy Discrimination at Walmart—Case Settled

When the Baby is 10 Years Old!

This case focuses on a case of overt pregnancy discrimination at Walmart.

Instructors should emphasize to students as to how stereotypes about pregnancy can

negatively affect women who want to work and how many people (managers and

employees) are unaware of the law regarding pregnancy discrimination.

Questions to Consider:

1. Although the Pregnancy Discrimination Act had been in existence for thirteen

years when Jamey Stern applied for the job at Walmart, the assistant manager

still refused to hire Stern and did not attempt to hide the reason. What might

explain his actions?

Based on the straightforward suggestion to come back after the baby was

born, it seems that the assistant manager may have been unaware that

2. Jamey Stern was unaware that pregnancy discrimination is illegal.

Chapter 3: Legislation

a. Speculate on the proportion of the population that is also unaware of

this and other areas covered under discrimination legislation. Estimate

the proportion of employees in hiring positions at Walmart and other

organizations who are not aware that pregnancy discrimination is

illegal.

Students’ estimates will vary. Instructors should emphasize that most

b. What might Jamey Stern’s response have been to being rehired at

Walmart while pregnant?

3. What is the average family income of people who work in low-wage jobs?

Without the resources of the EEOC, how likely is it

a. that someone like Jamey could have personally brought this case

against Walmart,

b. that the case would have gone to trial, and

c. that Jamey could have engaged in an eleven-year litigation?

It is highly unlikely that Jamey or someone like her could have personally

been able to bring such a case against Walmart or that it would have gone to

trial.

4. Had Jamey Stern applied to work at a lesser-known company, speculate on

how likely it is that the case would have been taken on by the EEOC? What,

if any, effects might publicity about lawsuits and judgments against large

companies have on the actions of managers in smaller companies that may be

less likely to be sued?

It is possible that the EEOC would not have taken the case had she applied to

work and been rejected for the same reasons at a smaller company. Jamey

might have instead been simply given a “right–to–sue” letter and been faced

Questions to Consider (End of Chapter)

1. What is the relationship between compliance with legislative acts and valuing

diversity? Explain.

Laws are necessary to help reduce discrimination and increase opportunities for

non-dominant group members, but that they are not sufficient to ensure “valuing

2. What approach should organizations take in their pursuit of diversity and inclusion

Chapter 3: Legislation

in countries that do not have equal opportunity laws?

Organizations in such countries first need to determine who the non-dominant

groups (Chapter 2) are, how they are treated in organizations, and what barriers to

3. Do you personally know anyone who has engaged in an employment discrimination

lawsuit against an employer and prevailed? Without divulging who the parties are,

explain what happened.

Students’ answers will vary. Most students might say that they are quite surprised

4. Many of the EEOC cases presented in the chapter involve acts that are egregious

and offensive. Choose three cases and for each speculate on the organizational

factors that would allow such practices to occur, and in some cases, to persist for

extended periods. Why do you think no one in the management chain intervened?

What would you recommend, specifically, to deal with the perpetrators and prevent

future occurrences?

Students’ answers will vary. It is probable that lax management practices,

unprofessionalism, and ignorance of laws played a role. Employees and managers

may have been unaware of their rights and responsibilities. In discussing this

5. This chapter discusses multiple lawsuits brought by the EEOC against Supercuts.

What factors may be contributing to the persistence of problems within the

organization? Make specific recommendations for preventing such problems in the

future.

In many organizations, there is a lack of training for managers about anti-

discrimination laws. The new managers may not have been adequately trained and

Actions and Exercises

1. Access the press releases on the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s

Web site: http://eeoc.gov/. Document a recent lawsuit or settlement involving race,

ethnic, sex, age, disability, national origin, or religious discrimination that was

likely to have been covered by the media.

Describe the allegations, plaintiffs, and resolution of the cases. Document the time

periods between the incidents and final resolution of the cases. Search the Web for

2. Consider the issues discussed as limitations in federal laws. Pick one issue and then

list and discuss the elements that could be included in legislation to address that

limitation. What specific steps should employers take according to such legislation

to ensure equal treatment of the affected parties?

Students’ choice of area for potential future coverage will vary. Whatever their

choice, the steps that are to be taken by the EEOC or the government would include

3. Choose a state in the United States and document two existing state-level diversity-

related laws. How are they similar to and different from federal laws in those areas?

4. Choose a particular country outside of the United States and document its major

diversity-related laws. In the absence of such laws, what might organizations do to

address areas in which there is disparity of treatment and inequality?

Students may choose one of the countries mentioned in this chapter, such as

Australia where the diversity-related laws may be more stringent than the U.S. in