Business and Society Chapter Notes
Chapter 19
Employment Discrimination and Affirmative Action
LEARNING OUTCOMES
After studying this chapter, you should be able to:
1. Chronicle the U. S. civil rights movement and minority progress for the past 50 years.
2. Outline the essentials of the federal discrimination laws.
3. Provide two different meanings of discrimination and give examples of how each might be committed.
4. Elaborate on issues in employment discrimination relating to race, color, national origin, sex, age, religion, sexual orientation and disability.
5. Identify different postures with respect to affirmative action, explain the concept of reverse discrimination, and provide an overview of the Supreme Court’s decisions on affirmative action.
TEACHING SUGGESTIONS
INTRODUCTION – In the previous two chapters the authors considered employee rights that affected virtually everyone in the workplace. In this chapter, they concentrate on a subset of employee stakeholders whose rights are protected by discrimination laws. A chart which summarizes the application of these laws to certain protected groups and issues related to the discrimination of those groups appears at the end of this chapter. To explore the current status of discrimination laws, the authors delve into the civil rights movement and minority progress, federal laws that protect against employment discrimination, the meaning of discrimination, various issues related to employment discrimination, and affirmative action in the workplace.
KEY TALKING POINTS – Although American business and society have made many strides toward ending discrimination, much remains to be done. However, in my discussions with traditional-aged college students on the topic of discrimination and affirmative action, the vast majority believe that their generation has basically ended discrimination and affirmative action is no longer needed. To them, discrimination is an anachronism of previous generations that may have required affirmative action measures to resolve, but those times are behind us.
It is not until we start talking about current demographics and statistics that the students (especially women, when we talk about pay inequities) begin to see that there may still be some work to do in this area. It is important for students to grasp the current climate regarding these issues, because it can affect them initially as entry-level employees and later as managers who make hiring decisions. The authors do a very good job in this chapter of presenting a brief history of racial inequalities and various legal attempts to rectify the problem. Their discussion of affirmative action is especially informative, which is particularly helpful. As the authors point out, there is a great deal of confusion about the exact goals of affirmative action, precisely because the government was never exact in its interpretation.
Another topic that instructors may want to explore is how technology can impact discrimination issues. Most households today have two working adults. In connection with developing work/life balance programs, many firms advertise that they will work with employees to utilize technology to enable the employees to take advantage of alternative working arrangements. However, many males argue that these policies are really intended for female employees, noting that they have met resistance when they try to take advantage of these policies due to traditional notions of male/female roles. On the other hand, many women note that when they take advantage of these policies, they are often given less challenging work and fewer responsibilities.
If the instructor desires to go beyond a discussion of statistics, case law, and public policy, an interesting topic to explore is why discrimination is so prevalent in society. Although students invariably pronounce human equality a desirable goal or even a reality, it doesn’t take them long to realize how often and easily we all discriminate. In fact, I am nearly convinced that discrimination is part of human nature—we all distinguish people based on certain characteristics and then ascribe certain traits to them, based on stereotypes and preconceptions. Still, we typically espouse the virtue of equality and even take steps to bring it about. Two very different approaches are described in the following readings. In the short story “Harrison Bergeron,” Kurt Vonnegut depicts a society where everyone is made equal by use of handicaps to bring the more talented back in line with the less talented. Jonathan Kellerman’s novel Survival of the Fittest tells a story about a group who believe in eugenics (the study of hereditary improvement of the human race by controlled selective breeding), and act on their belief by killing people of color who also have some physical or mental “defect.” In one particularly chilling segment of the book, the protagonist, who is trying to solve the murder cases, researches the history of the eugenics movement and cites numerous recent examples in the United States of eugenics experiments being carried out. Students typically become extremely uncomfortable when they learn that it wasn’t just Hitler who thought he could make a better society by eliminating the “unfit.” A discussion about the human propensity to discriminate will likely be an uncomfortable one for many students, but it is also one that will promote critical thinking.
PEDAGOGICAL DEVICES – In this chapter, instructors may utilize a combination of:
Cases:
Family Business
Wal-Mart and Its Associates: Efficient Operator or Neglectful Employer?
After-Effects of After-Hours Activities: The Case of Peter Oiler
Is Hiring on the Basis of ‘Looks’ Discriminatory?
The Case of Judy
Ethics in Practice Cases:
Matters of the Heart
Workplace Training or Religious Discrimination?
Spotlight on Sustainability:
Are Sustainability Advocates a New Protected Class?
Power Point slides:
Visit http://academic.cengage.com/management/carroll for slides related to this and other chapters.
LECTURE OUTLINE
I. THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT AND MINORITY PROGRESS
A. Civil Rights in the 1950s and 1960s
B. The 1970s: The Women’s Movement Begins
C. The 1980s: Gains Are Made
D. The 1990s: Some Progress, But Problems Remained
E. The 21st Century: New Challenges Arise While Old Problems Remain
II. FEDERAL LAWS PROHIBITING DISCRIMINATION
A. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
B. Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967
C. Equal Pay Act of 1963
D. Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section 503
E. Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
F. Civil Rights Act of 1991
G. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
III. EXPANDED MEANINGS OF EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION
A. Disparate Treatment
B. Disparate Impact
IV. ISSUES IN EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION
A. Issues of Racial Discrimination
1. African Americans in Corporate America
2. The Case of Hispanics
3. Asian Image of Model Minority
B. Issues of Sex Discrimination
1. Women in Professional/Managerial Positions
2. Pay Equity
3. Sexual Harassment
a. Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson
b. Harris v. Forklift Systems
c. Title IX and Sexual Harassment
4. The Courts
5. Pregnancy Discrimination
6. Fetal Protection Policies
7. A Historic Class Action
C. Other Forms of Employment Discrimination
1. Age Discrimination
2. Religious Discrimination
3. Color Bias
4. Sexual Orientation and Transgender Discrimination
V. AFFIRMATIVE ACTION IN THE WORKPLACE
A. The Range of Affirmative Action Postures
B. The Concept of Preferential Treatment
C. The Concept of Reverse Discrimination
D. The Adarand Decision and Strict Scrutiny
E. The Future of Affirmative Action
VI. SUMMARY
SUGGESTED ANSWERS TO DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Students should recognize that their answers to these discussion questions should be well reasoned and supported with evidence. Although some answers will be more correct than others, students should be aware that simplistic answers to complex questions, problems, or issues such as these will never be “good” answers.
1. The major federal discrimination laws and what they prohibit are listed below:
A. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 – race, color, religion, sex, or national origin
B. Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 – age 40 years and older
C. Equal Pay Act of 1963 – sex
D. Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section 503 - handicap
E. Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 – physical or mental disabilities
F. Civil Rights Act of 1991 – sex, religion, race, disability, or national origin
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is primarily responsible for enforcing these laws.
2. Disparate treatment refers to the act of treating people differently based on their race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. An example might be a corporation hiring a female receptionist without considering males for the position. Disparate impact means that a disproportionate number of a minority achieves a certain result or status than would be expected based on that minority’s numerical proportion of the total population. An example might be African American students receiving fewer scholarships that are based on standardized test scores than expected, based on the percentage of African American students to the population of all students. Case 35, “Is Hiring on the Basis of “Looks” Discriminatory,” where a firm’s policy of hiring attractive associates led to the exclusion of certain groups is a good case to explore the issue of disparate impact.
3. Based on corporate executives’ level of support for the ADA, it would seem that the law is having little or no negative effect on business, and may even have a positive effect. However, it certainly can be more difficult and costly for smaller firms to comply with the ADA than larger firms. Furthermore, provisions of the ADA can touch issues and areas which many people do not realize. For example, as noted in previous chapters, drug and alcohol abuse are recognized as disabilities under the ADA. Consequently, to the extent that companies conduct drug and alcohol testing on their applicants and employees, they must ensure that such practices are in compliance with the ADA.
4. The dilemma of affirmative action and reverse discrimination is unavoidable. Any time that one group is given preferential treatment of any kind, it necessarily means that another group is provided less than full consideration. The reason that affirmative action was initiated was to rectify past injustices by providing preference toward the afflicted group, with the goal of eventually providing a level playing field for all. So the relevant question now is if the playing field is level. Statistics clearly show that it is not, so businesses should be able to implement affirmative action programs. Thus, I believe the Supreme Court is headed in the wrong direction with its decisions to inhibit affirmative action legislation.
5. Preferential treatment in university admissions, in a perfect world, should go to those who have the capacity to excel. In the real world, preferential treatment should go to the top students in disadvantaged high schools. Note that I do not specify race or sex as a criterion. The issue is academic potential, not biological characteristics. The reason students from disadvantaged high schools should get preferential treatment is that the education they received was below par, through no fault of their own. The real answer to this question is to provide equally good education in all primary and secondary schools, so that a student graduating from a high school in South Central Los Angeles has received the same educational opportunities as a student in Auburn Hills, Michigan.
GROUP ACTIVITY
Divide students into groups of four to five students. Have each group develop the following training programs for a fictional company: interviewing and hiring techniques and sexual harassment training.
Students should include procedures for interviewing and hiring new employees, noting questions and actions that would be in violation of federal law. They also should provide relevant information in the training session regarding anti-discrimination laws.
Students also should prepare procedures for sexual harassment training. Specifically, students should provide instruction on what constitutes sexual harassment and the potential legal issues implicated by such actions. Further, students should note the fictional company’s policies on sexual harassment.
After reviewing the training programs of the various groups, the instructor may want to select a few groups to conduct an actual training session for the entire class on these issues.
INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT
Distribute the following instructions to each student:
Visit the Newsroom at www.eeoc.gov. Review a recent press release which involves a harassment and / or discrimination claim. You should summarize the facts of the case, including the parties involved and the issues at hand. You also should note any federal laws which apply to the situation and what the outcome is / will be / should be based on the application of such laws to the case. Finally, using what you learn from the case, provide suggestions to management on how to handle a similar case in the future.
Business and Society Chapter Notes
Employment Discrimination
1. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (the “EEOC”) administers and enforces job bias laws.
2. Protected Groups – Group of stakeholders whose rights are protected by discrimination laws.
3. Protection Under FEDERAL Law and Related Issues:
Protected Group / Unprotected GroupRace / Color / Religion / Sex / Age / Disabilities / Sexual Orientation
Federal Law / Title VII / Title VII / Title VII / Title VII / No Federal Protection
Civil Rights Act of 1991 / Civil Rights Act of 1991 / Civil Rights Act of 1991 / Civil Rights Act of 1991 / Certain Corporate Policy and State Law Protection
Equal Pay Act of 1963 / Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 / Rehabilitation Act of 1973
Title IX / Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978
Specific Issues / Race Specific / Difference between Race vs. Color Discrimination / Moving into Professional and Managerial Positions
**African-Americans / Equal Pay
**Hispanics / Sexual Harassment
**Asians / Maternity Leave
Affirmative Action / Affirmative Action / Affirmative Action