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...
It should be noted that hiring the person would require the company to lower the pads in two of the elevators in order for the applicant to reach them. This step would not be necessary, but the job requires that the person hired move about the entire company which has multiple floors. Since the company is large with seven floors and the job requires that the person hired move about the company throughout all of the floors, the company is in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. The act specifies that if a person is qualified for a position and the company has more than fifteen employees, reasonable accommodations must be made in order for the person to work there comfortably.
The recruitment and hiring process is more than just looking at resumes and asking a series of questions to determine which applicant is best suited for the position. Human resources personnel must also know the law pertaining to family medical leave, age discrimination and discrimination against the disable. They are also obligated to inform those in the position to make hiring decision. If they fail to train and inform other staff members, then they open up themselves to lawsuits that they may not be able to win. Changes and amendments are constantly being made to laws that have already been established, so keeping abreast of the laws and any amendments to them is necessary. Not only is this necessary, it should also be mandatory.
Bibliography
Drachsler, David A. (2010). Notes on: Year one of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, Labor Law Journal, 61(2), 102-106.
Holmes, David M. (2008). The Family and Medical Leave Act, Employee Benefit Plan Review, 62(11), 10-13.
Santos, Mike. (2009). So, what is the ADA? Sign…
