clear and specific knowledge about the various regulations and laws that affect their organizations. They should also understand the various forms of illegal discrimination and the protected classes in the
workplace. In addition, managers need to be familiar with the various agencies that enforce equal employment legislation.
In the next section we explore some major laws that regulate HRM activities, particularly EEO laws. We first discuss a number of laws that mandate EEO in the United States and then examine corresponding enforcement agencies. The chapter then provides a discussion of practices to prevent discrimination. The chapter concludes with a number of organizational practices for responding to and avoiding potential EEO pitfalls.
EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY
EEO laws are one group of laws that affect HRM issues. We will spend the majority of our time
discussing EEO laws because these are the ones that most affect a manager’s daily behavior. In addition, the EEO laws cut across almost every other issue that we discuss in this book. There are other laws that affect HRM activities, but these laws tend to be more specifically focused, and they will be discussed in the context in which they apply. For instance, we discuss the labor-related laws in Chapter 13 and the Occupational Safety and Health Act in Chapter 12.
Equal employment opportunity refers to the government’s attempt to ensure that all individuals have an equal chance for employment, regardless of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Although many EEO laws have been passed by state and local governments, we will limit our discussion to those passed by the U.S. Congress. Managers at all levels of the organization, however, should be aware of state EEO laws, since these laws are sometimes more stringent than federal laws. For example, a Texas state law prohibiting age discrimination covers individuals between the ages of 21 and 70. The federal age
discrimination law applies only to persons who are age 40 and over. Exhibit 3.1 offers a summarization of most of the EEO laws and regulations discussed below.
Civil Rights Acts of 1866 and 1871
The Civil Rights Act of 1866 was an effort to further the goal of eradicating slavery as set forth in the Thirteenth Amendment. The Civil Rights Act passed in 1866 was later broken into two sections. Section 1982 granted all persons the same property rights as white citizens. Section 1981 granted other rights, including the right to enter into and enforce contracts.
Exhibit 3.1
Summary of EEO Laws and Regulations
Act Focus
Thirteenth Amendment Abolished slavery.
Fourteenth Amendment Provides equal protection for all citizens and requires due process in state action.
Civil Rights Acts (CRAs) of 1866 and 1871 (as amended) Grants all citizens the right to make, perform, modify, and terminate contracts and enjoy all benefits, terms, and conditions of the contractual relationship.
Equal Pay Act of 1963 Requires the same pay for men and women who do the same job in the same organization.
Civil Rights Act of 1964 Title VII prohibits employment discrimination in hir- ing, compensation, and terms, conditions, or privileges of employment based on race, religion, color, sex, or national origin.
Executive Order (EO) 11246 Requires affirmative action in hiring women and mi- norities.
Executive Order 11375 Added sex-based discrimination to EO 11246.
Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 Prohibits discrimination in employment against indi- viduals 40 years of age and older.
Executive Order 11478 Amends part of EO 11246, states practices in the fed- eral government must be based on merit, and prohibits discrimination based on political affiliation, marital status, or physical handicap.
Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972 Granted the enforcement powers for the EEOC.
Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1973 Requires affirmative action in the employment of indi- viduals with disabilities.
Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974
Prohibits federal government contractors and subcon- tractors with federal government contracts of $10,000 or more from discriminating in hiring and promoting Vietnam and disabled veterans.
Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1978 Increased mandatory retirement age from 65 to 70.
Later amended (1986) to eliminate upper age limit.
Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 Requires employers to treat pregnancy just like any other medical condition with regard to fringe benefits and leave policies.
Immigration Reform Act of 1986 Makes it illegal to hire, recruit, or refer for U.S. em- ployment anyone known to be an unauthorized alien.
Act Focus
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 Prohibits discrimination against individuals with dis-abilities, and requires organizations to reasonably ac-commodate individuals.
Older Workers Benefit Protection Act of 1990
Provides protection for employees over 40 years of age in regard to fringe benefits and gives employees time to consider an early retirement offer.
Civil Rights Act of 1991 Nullifies selected Supreme Court decisions. Reinstates burden of proof by employer. Allows for punitive and compensatory damages through jury trials.
Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 Enables qualified employees to take prolonged unpaid leave for family and health-related reasons without fear of losing their jobs.
This law has been interpreted by the courts as prohibiting racial discrimination by employers, unions, and employment agencies in making of employment contracts. The Civil Rights Act of 1871 granted all citizens the right to sue in federal court if they felt they had been deprived of some civil right. Both of these laws are still used because they allow the plaintiff to recover both compensatory and punitive damages.
Although these earlier actions have been overshadowed by the 1964 Civil Rights Act, they have gained prominence in years past as being laws that white male workers could use to support claims of reverse discrimination. In such cases, white males used the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and the Fourteenth
Amendment to support their argument that minorities were given special treatment in employment decisions that placed the white male at a distinct disadvantage (more will be said about reverse discrimination later in this chapter). In addition to allowing individuals to seek punitive and
compensatory damages under Section 1981, the Civil Rights Act of 1866 also allowed for the awarding of back pay. However, in 1989, a Supreme Court ruling limited Section 1981 use in discrimination suits, saying that the law does not cover racial discrimination after a person has been hired. The Civil Rights Act of 1991 amended this act to include the making, performance, modification, and termination of contracts, as well as all benefits, privileges, terms, and conditions of the contractual relationship.
Equal Pay Act of 1963
The first of the civil rights laws was the Equal Pay Act, an amendment of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
The Equal Pay Act became law in 1963.
It requires that men and women who do the same job in the same organization should receive the same pay. “Same pay’’ means that no difference is acceptable.
Determining whether two employees are doing the same job can be difficult. The law specifies that jobs are the same if they are equal in terms of skill, effort, responsibility, and working conditions. Thus it is permissible to pay one employee more than another if the first employee has significant extra job duties, such as a supervisory responsibility. Pay can also be different for different work shifts. The law also specifies that equal pay is required only for jobs held in the same geographical region. This allows an organization to make allowances for the local cost of living and the fact that it might be harder to find qualified employees in some areas.
The law contains several explicit exceptions. First, it does not prohibit the use of a merit pay plan. That is, an employer can pay a man more if he is doing a better job than his female co-worker. In addition, organizations are permitted to pay for differences in quantity and quality of production. Seniority plans also are exempted; an organization that ties pay rates to seniority can pay a man more if he has been with the company longer than a female employee in the same job. Finally, the law indicates that any factor other than sex may be used to justify pay rates. Despite the existence of the Equal Pay Act for close to 40 years, general disparities in the rates of pay for men and women still exist.