The Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title VII, forbids intentional discrimination against employees or job applicants based on their race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. However, discrimination can also occur unintentionally through practices that have a disproportionate impact on members of certain protected groups. This is referred to as "disparate impact" discrimination, which is also prohibited under Title VII. On the other hand, "disparate treatment" discrimination happens when employers intentionally treat an individual less favorably because of their protected characteristic, such as not hiring someone because of their gender or race.
Minimizing both forms of discrimination is crucial for any human resources department. One approach is to establish policies and procedures that promote equality and fairness in hiring and promotion decisions. This could involve providing diversity and inclusion training to hiring managers and ensuring that job postings are accessible to a diverse pool of candidates. A neutral language should be used in job postings, and the HR department should scrutinize their hiring and promotion practices to identify any policies or practices that may adversely affect members of certain protected groups.
Studies have shown that discrimination in the workplace can lead to a host of negative outcomes for both employees and organizations. For instance, employees who experience discrimination may have lower job satisfaction, lower levels of commitment to the organization, and higher rates of absenteeism. Discrimination can also lead to negative outcomes for the organization, such as lower productivity and higher turnover rates (Greenberg, 2017).
In conclusion, HR departments play a critical role in ensuring that workplaces are free from discrimination. By implementing policies and procedures that promote fairness and equal opportunity in employment, HR departments can help to ensure that all employees and job applicants are treated fairly and with respect. This, in turn, can lead to positive outcomes for both employees and organizations.
References:
Greenberg, J. (2017). Discrimination in organizations: An organizational-level systems perspective. In The Oxford Handbook of Workplace Discrimination (pp. 91–105). Oxford University Press.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (2022) creates the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Retrieved fromhttps://www.eeoc.gov/statutes/title-vii-civil-rights-act-1964
It is important to understand what discrimination is in effort to prevent it. Discrimination can be intentional or unintentional which is why it is important to understand bias and how it can be unconscious as well as conscious. Training programs that define discrimination, the protected categories, and a clear understanding of bias are often the best ways HR can combat disparate treatment and disparate impact. It is also important to have a policy that defines acceptable and prohibited behavior starting with the hiring process and beyond. These policies should encourage a culture of diversity and inclusion by the explaining the benefits that a diverse workforce has on the organization. Every associate should attend training on these topics and what they action they should take if there witness any discriminatory behavior.
According to the text, disparate treatment is defined as treatment of an employee that is less favorable than others in violation of a statute and disparate impact is when the discrimination impacts a whole group or class of workers. (Remington, et.al., 2012)
An example of disparate treatment is when an employee making an employee whose first language is something other than English take a communication skills assessment that no other associates are required to take. It is unfair for the associate to be singled out in this way and require them to complete something that no one else must take. Requiring one associate to take this test because they are not a native English speaker is discriminatory in this case because no other associates are being held to the same standard or requirement.
An example of disparate impact is grouping women into secretarial positions or office positions at a manufacturing plant versus allowing them opportunity to seek work as part of the manual labor workforce of a company. This is discriminatory by eluding that the women cannot handle the physical labor as well as the men employed at the same company. It is excluding a whole group of people from seeking work in this department of the company.
Remington, John, Heiser, Richard, Smythe, Cyrus E., & Sovereign, Kenneth L. (2012).Human Resources Law.(Fifth Edition). Prentice Hall.HRM 610: Human Resources Law - Copyright Page (uagc.edu)
Links to an external site.