The Impact of Discrimination in the Workplace
Discrimination in the workplace has been formally outlawed since the implementation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (known as Title VII). Protected classes, such as race, color, religion and gender, were created to ensure fair treatment at work. As of December 2010, federal and state laws have expanded these classes to include age (40 years and over), disability, marital status, pregnancy and retaliation, for example. Although discrimination is not tolerated in most companies, sometimes policies unintentionally impact those in a protected classes.
Other People Are Reading
-
History
-
Title VII was enacted to ensure that people in protected classes were not treated differently when it came to employment decisions, such as hiring, promotions and termination. Companies had policies or systems that openly discriminated against employees for reasons, such as color or sex, that were not related to the quality of job performance. In order to make the workplace equitable in its treatment of all employees, the federal government made it illegal to consider the protected classes in work-related decisions.
Intent vs. Impact
-
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) received more than 93,000 complaints of discrimination in fiscal year 2009, according to the EEOC. An employer may not intend to treat employees differently, but a company policy or employee behavior may have the impact of discrimination. For example, someone telling a sexually laced joke may not intend to harass an employee, but the impact of the conversation may have led to a hostile work environment. Intent vs. impact is also seen in qualification requirements. If the position requires physical dexterity, then asking an applicant for height and weight information may not appropriately screen for this ability. Instead, it may have an impact of disqualifying a group of individuals, such as women or people of a certain national origin. In this case, candidates should pass a physical fitness exam that is fair to all people.
-
Morale
-
Employees who experience discrimination in the workplace may suffer from low morale, which directly impacts work performance. If people do not feel valued for the work that they do, then they will not be motivated to continue to perform at a satisfactory or above-satisfactory level. People who are continually passed up for promotions or other benefits may be as a result of criteria that has an unfair impact. These employees may be more likely to seek jobs in other companies or to file discrimination complaints with the EEOC.
Lawsuits
-
Although the EEOC filed just over 300 lawsuits out of the 93,000 complaints it received in 2009, the time and money used to respond to complaints may impact the company's profits. Also, a complainant may receive a "right-to-sue" letter from the EEOC prior to or at the completion of an investigation. This gives the employee the ability to sue in court for discrimination, whether the charges are true or false. Again, the expense to a company may be greater than if it had implemented policies and workplace behavior expectations that did not give the appearance of harassment in the first place.
Prevention
-
Preventing discriminatory systemic practices and employee behaviors that impact the workplace is to the advantage of a business. Avoiding the expense and bad publicity will mean higher profits in the long run. Having a policy that explicitly forbids harassing behaviors by employees and training the entire workforce shows that the company is proactive in protecting the rights of all employees. Disciplining or terminating employees or members of management who have been proven to act in a discriminatory manner is a good defense against a claim of disparate treatment. Documenting performance of all staff members helps prove that management did not pick on one class of people during a the process of layoffs or a termination for poor performance.
-
References
- Maduff & Maduff, LLC: Discrimination
- Recruiting Life: National Association of Personnel Services: Unlawful Discriminaiton vs. Discriminatory Intent
- HRTools: Preventing and Defending Discrimination Lawsuits
- Equal Employment Opportunity Commission: Shaping Employment Discrimination Law
- National Archives: Teaching With Documents: The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
- USA Today: Jobs: Tips for preventing discrimination in the workplace
