Equal Treatment & Ethics
Both employers and employees can benefit from understanding the ethical underpinnings of laws that govern a person's equal treatment rights in the workplace. These guidelines and legal statutes apply to such aspects of business as hiring procedures, salary and payment regulations, promotions, benefits and leave, and the general treatment of employees.
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Women
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Federal law prohibits compensation-based discrimination against women, and provides for reparations when such discrimination occurs. These federal statutes stem from an ethical belief that it is unfair to separate people based on factors that are beyond their control, such as their sex.
Rights
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Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits workplace discrimination based on religious affiliation, race, color, sex or national origin. These provisions all rest on the same principle: that it is unethical to base a person's pay and employment status on anything but personal ability and accomplishment.
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Age
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Federal law also prohibits age discrimination, to prevent "phasing out" of older or elderly workers . A policy that puts capable older workers out of work in favor of younger, lower-paid and healthier workers can be seen as antithetical to the ethical principle of respecting both life and work experience.
Disabilities
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Discrimination against people with disabilities is prohibited in all state and federal jobs, as well as jobs in private industries that receive government funding. This encourages businesses to employ people who might not otherwise be considered, acknowledging the reality and the ethical belief that a disability does not necessarily make a worker unable to do a job.
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References
- U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission: Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
- The White House: Statement by the President on the Anniversary of the Equal Pay Act
- U.S. Department of Labor: Equal Employment Opportunity, Age Discrimination
- U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission: Facts About the Americans with Disabilities Act
