Dr. William Allan Kritsonis - Discrimination in Employment PPT.
- 1. Discrimination in Employment William Allan Kritsonis, PhD
- 2. Introductory Reflection "My knowledge of my years in Ecuador was not enough to prepare myself to understand who I will become in the United States; a minority in a country full of laws and contradictions. I married a good man who alleviated the inevitable consequences of my heavy accent and skin color. How? My husband is what you will call Hispanic by race, but white by skin and appearance. As a result, I found myself in a dilemma when a doctor let me choose if I wanted my child to be label Hispanic or White…”
- 3. What is Discrimination? In plain English, to "discriminate" means to distinguish, single out, or make a distinction. In everyday life, when faced with more than one option, we discriminate in arriving at almost every decision we make. But in the context of civil rights law, unlawful discrimination refers to unfair or unequal treatment of an individual (or group) based on certain characteristics. There are two types of discrimination; Direct and Indirect.
- 4. Types of Discrimination Direct discrimination An example of direct discrimination is a job advert, which says "no disabled people need apply." However, in reality discrimination often takes more subtle forms. That’s why indirect discrimination is also covered. Indirect discrimination An example of indirect discrimination is requiring all people who apply for a certain job to sit a test in a particular language, even though that language is not necessary for the job. The test might exclude more people who have a different mother tongue.
- 5. Title VII, 1964 Civil Rights Act This law prohibits employment discrimination based on: Race Color Religion Sex National Origin
- 6. Age Discrimination In Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) Protects employees or applicants 40 years of age or older: Cannot discriminate based on age with respect to any term, condition or privilege of employment Punitive & compensatory damages
- 7. Civil Rights Act 1972 Amendment Sexual harassment is a: Form of sex discrimination Violation of federal law
- 8. Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 Amendment to Civil Rights Act Unlawful to discriminate on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions
- 9. Americans with Disabilities Act Prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in all employment practices Employer must make accommodation to known disability of qualified applicant or employee unless it imposes undue hardship
- 10. Affirmative Action The intended purpose of Affirmative Action is to increase the opportunity for minority groups “You do not take a person …bring him up to the starting line of a race and say, 'you are free to compete with all the others,' and still justly believe that you have been completely fair.” –President Lyndon B. Johnson, 1965
- 11. Employment Discrimination: U.S. Supreme Court Cases … Below is a list of U.S. Supreme Court cases involving employees' rights and employment discrimination, including links to the full text of the U.S. Supreme Court decisions. Griggs v. Duke Power Co. (1971) In this case, the Court decided that certain education requirements and intelligence tests used as conditions of employment acted to exclude African-American job applicants, did not relate to job performance, and were prohibited.
- 12. Employment Discrimination: U.S. Supreme Court Cases … Cleveland Bd. of Ed. V. LaFleur (1974) Found that Ohio public school mandatory maternity leave rules for pregnant teachers violate constitutional guarantees of due process. Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson (1986) Found that a claim of "hostile environment" sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination that may be brought under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
- 13. Employment Discrimination: U.S. Supreme Court Cases … Johnson v. Transportation Agency (1987) The Court decides that a county transportation agency appropriately took into account an employee's sex as one factor in determining whether she should be promoted. Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Serv., Inc. (1987) In this case, the Court held that sex discrimination consisting of same-sex sexual harassment can form the basis for a valid claim under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
- 14. Employment Discrimination: U.S. Supreme Court Cases … Burlington Industries, Inc. Ellerth (1998) Holding that an employee who refuses unwelcome and threatening sexual advances of a supervisor (but suffers no real job consequences) may recover against the employer without showing the employer is at fault for the supervisor's actions. Faragher v. City of Boca Raton (1998) The Court decides that an employer may be liable for sexual discrimination caused by a supervisor, but liability depends on the reasonableness of the employer's conduct, as well as the reasonableness of the plaintiff victim's conduct.
- 15. The Necessity of Continued Enforcement of the Laws Many people in this country still, unfortunately, are opposed to the ideal of equality Any lack of enforcement of these laws gives more power to such people Although progress in achieving equality has been made due to the laws, true equality has not yet been reached, and can only be attained through further diligence.
- 16. Civil Rights Act of 1991 The Civil Rights Act of 1991 made major changes in the federal laws against employment discrimination enforced by EEOC. Enacted in part to reverse several Supreme Court decisions that limited the rights of persons protected by these laws, the Act also provides additional protections. The Act authorizes compensatory and punitive damages in cases of intentional discrimination, and provides for obtaining attorneys' fees and the possibility of jury trials. It also directs the EEOC to expand its technical assistance and outreach activities.
- 17. What Is EEOC and How Does It Operate? EEOC is an independent federal agency originally created by Congress in 1964 to enforce Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Commission is composed of five Commissioners and a General Counsel appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. Commissioners are appointed for five-year staggered terms; the General Counsel's term is four years. The President designates a Chair and a Vice-Chair. The Chair is the chief executive officer of the Commission. The Commission has authority to establish equal employment policy and to approve litigation. The General Counsel is responsible for conducting litigation. EEOC carries out its enforcement, education and technical assistance activities through 50 field offices serving every part of the nation. The nearest EEOC field office may be contacted by calling: 1-800-669-4000 (voice) or 1-800-669-6820 (TTY).
- 18. The answer … I chose the Hispanic label for my children. I realized that labels are merely justifications to our own fears. "An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.“ Martin Luther King, Jr.