Employment Law and HR Management: Role of Government and Key Laws - Prof. Kristin L. Damat, Study notes of Human Resource Management

Download Employment Law and HR Management: Role of Government and Key Laws - Prof. Kristin L. Damat and more Study notes Human Resource Management in PDF only on Docsity! ~What role does the government play in creating and enforcing employment law?  Legislative Branch: creates laws (Civil Rights Act, Americans with Disabilities Act)  Executive Branch: enforces laws through agencies (Equal Opportunity Commission, Occupational Safety & Health Administration)  Judicial Branch: federal court system interprets employment law cases and potential law violations ~What are the primary employment laws of which HR managers and business leaders should be knowledgeable? 13th Amendment  Abolished slavery  Covers all individuals  Enforced by Courts 14th Amendment  Provides equal protection for all citizens and requires due process in state action  Covers state actions  Enforces by courts  Forbids the states from taking life, liberty, or property without due process of law and prevents the states from denying equal protection of the laws.  Ex: Alan Bakke (applicant) vs. University of California- was only able to compete for 84/100 positions because he wasn’t a minority.  *Applies on to decisions or actions of the government not private employers Title VII of CRA  Prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin  Applies to organizations with 15 or more employees working 20 or more weeks a year involved in interstate commerce  Applies to state & local governments, employment agencies or labor organizations. Civil Rights Act of 1991  Prohibits discrimination (same as Title VII)  Allowed for victims of international discrimination to be awarded compensatory and punitive damages  Enforced by EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) American with Disabilities Act  Prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities  Must provide reasonable accommodation to enable the disabled individual to perform the job  Covers employers with more than 15 employees  Enforced by EEOC ADA Amendments Act  Makes it easier for an individual to establish that he or she has a disability within the meaning of the ADA.  Emphasizes that the definition of “disability” should be interpreted broadly.  Most complaints fall under the Emotional/ Psychiatric category  You cannot ask someone if the are disabled Age Discrimination in Employment Act  Outlaws discrimination in employment decisions based on a person’s age being over 40  Whether its intentional or not… Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act  Employers must reemploy workers who left to fulfill military obligations for up to 5 years.  Must provide them with the same/equivalent job with same seniority, status and pay they would have received had the not engaged in military duty.  Must give disabled veterans up to 2 years to recover from injuries to perform their job. Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act  Prohibits discrimination because of genetic information  Cover employers with 15 or more employees  Enforced by EEOC Executive Order 11246  Requires affirmative action in hiring women and minorities  Must actively demonstrate and document (through gov. forms) that your company has: Not discriminated against protected class in hiring, promotion, performance and compensation packages  Covers Federal contractors and subcontractors with contracts greater than $10,000  Enforced by OFCCP (Office of Federal Contract Compliance) Equal Pay Act  Requires that men and women performing equal jobs receive equal pay  Covers employers engages in interstate commerce  Enforced by EEOC Rehabilitation Act  Requires affirmative action in the employment of individuals with disabilities  Covers government agencies; federal contractors and subcontractors with contracts greater than $2500  Enforced by OFCCP Pregnancy Discrimination Act  Treats discrimination based on pregnancy-related conditions as illegal sex discrimination  Covers all employees coved by Title VII  Enforced by EEOC ~What is the difference between disparate treatment, disparate impact, and a BFOQ?  Disparate Treatment of individuals, where the differences are based on the individuals’ race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or disability status. EX: hiring a person over an equally qualified person based on the individual’s race.  Disparate Impact - a condition in which employment practices are seemingly neutral yet disproportionately excludes a protected group from employment