Human Resources Professional Can Be

¶ … Human Resources professional can be responsible for many things. Some concentrate on different areas related to the profession such as benefits or training. Others must focus on the area of recruitment and hiring and this is important because the quality of people hired by a company has a lot to do with the success of the company. Although the hiring manager is usually the person that will make the final decision on who should be hired, the human resources person will be on the front line and responsible for selecting candidates whom they feel would be a good fit for what the hiring manager is looking for. They are usually the people who recruit the potential employee and they are usually the ones that perform the first round of interviews.

Often, it is difficult determine who the right person is for the job and many times, human resource professionals run into situations that require their immediate attention and action. Human resources staff must stay abreast of the federal regulations against discrimination with hiring and other employment issues. Situations are most certain to arise such as an employee on unpaid leave who suddenly expects to get paid for the time he was off. Or, or an older employee who has a decent work record and was denied a raise or promotion and is now contesting this. There may also be a situation where the company is being sued by a disabled person because he was not hired. These and many other situations can arise at any given time and it is up to the human resources staff to know the laws and what their options and recourses are.

The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 provides a specified amount of unpaid time off for employees for such things as the birth of a child, adoption of a child, or to care for a sick family member or parent for up to twelve weeks per year (Holmes, 2008). Not all employees are covered by FMLA. If a company has less than fifty employees, then this act does not apply. Workers whose place of employment allows for FMLA must have worked at least twelve months or 1,250 hours in order to be eligible. Under this act, the employee has the right to return to his job that he temporarily vacated at the same pay rate. The company must also reinstate the employee's full benefits upon return. If a situation arose where an employee has been employed with a corporation and has requested up to twelve weeks off to care for his wife who gave birth to twins prematurely, under the law he is eligible to take this leave. What he is not eligible for under the law is to be paid for the time he took off. The law specifically states this and it is the employee's responsibility to familiarize himself with the law.

Assuming a situation such as this was handled properly, it would mean that a member from the Human Resources staff took some time to meet with the employee to discuss the duration of his leave and that he could expect his same position and pay rate upon return. The fact that this leave is unpaid would have also been discussed. However, if this wasn't the case the employer still has the responsibility to know the details of this law for himself. In this case, the employee has no basis for his claim and if he tried to sue the company, based on the law he would lose.

Another issue that human resources departments deal with is the claim of age discrimination. Employees over the age of approximately forty sometimes feel that they are denied raises and promotions for no other reason than their age. Under the Age Discrimination in Employment of 1967, if this is found to be true, it is age discrimination and it is not legal (Drachsler, 2010). This act prohibits discrimination in hiring, promotions and wages. It also prohibits employers to list age specifications on job postings. Employers cannot deny benefits to older workers, nor can they force them into retirement. If a 68-year-old employee receives an above average review on her work performance and doesn't receive a raise, and then finds that an employee who is 32 years of age receives an adequate performance review and gets a raise and a promotion the older employee has a strong case for age discrimination.

A violation of the employment act has occurred because it is reasonably expected that the above average rating would get the raise and promotion before the adequate rating. In this case, the company has basically set themselves up for a lawsuit in which they stand a strong chance of losing. The employee's proof is in her above average ratings on her review. The employer must come up with a valid reason as to why she was not promoted over the younger employee who received lower ratings. More than likely, they will not be able to offer any proof.

Employees have to be especially careful of this law because it applies to workers age forty and over. If the employee is in this category and is getting good reviews yet is still refused raises and promotions, she has a very strong case. If a company refuses to hire someone over the age of forty simply because of the person's age, this is also a violation of the law. It is crucial that the human resources staff receive training on these laws and pass the information along via employee training to supervisors, managers and anyone else in the company that is involved in the hiring process.

Another issue that human resources staff members deal with is disability discrimination. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, any person may file a lawsuit individually or as a class action suit and request that the Department of Justice investigates. The Department of Justice has jurisdiction over all state and local government facilities (Santos, 2009). Dealing with persons with disabilities can sometimes be difficult because certain accommodations may need to be in place at the worksite in order for the disable employee to comfortably move about just like other employees.