Race and Gender Discrimination Multicultural Diversity

Sex Discrimination

Age Discrimination

This paper discusses literature regarding the Equal Employment Opportunity Act which helps protect both applicants and employees from being discriminated against on the basis of their race, religion, age, sex, gender or disabilities. It also discusses and explores the roles of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which is a federal agency that investigates and enforces the laws that were enacted from the EEOA. This paper also explores the notion that despite our modern social advances, we are not totally removed from discrimination of all types in the workplace. The role and relationship of the hospitality industry as it pertains to laws and regulations is also discussed.

Retype Title Here

Introduction

The Equal Employment Opportunity Act was created and born out of Title VII of The Civil Rights Act of 1964; it consists of a series of laws that are all aimed at preventing discrimination of various and multiple types. The passage of the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972 resulted as a revision to the already mentioned Civil Rights Act of 1964; out of this the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission was created (Hayes & Ninemeier). It has been amended several times throughout the years, and as it stands today it protects both employees and applicants in discrimination in hiring, promotion, discharge, pay, fringe benefits, job training, classification and other employments aspects on the basis of color, race, religion, sex, and national origin (www.dol.gov). This law is of great importance in both American history, and the history of how employment regulations and strategies are devised and carried out in both the workplace and during the hiring process. This was the first federal law created and designed to protect employees and applicants from discrimination, needless to say it was an innovative and groundbreaking step that helped promote and ensure that individuals received just treatment in regards to employment opportunities. During this innovative enactment of law the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) was also formed. This commission is a governmental agency charged with ensuring that employers comply with the regulations of the EEOA. The commission does so by handing down employment guidelines and also monitoring the employment practices of corporations and companies. They also protect employees from discrimination and Running Head: Insert Title Here

employer mal-practices by prosecuting and punishing those who violate and fail to uphold and respect the EEOA. The EEOC has a set of regulations and guidelines which are not law, but must be respected nevertheless, due to influential court decisions that give power to these guidelines (Bohlander 125).

The foundation for the Equal Employment Oppurtunity Act was initiated in 1964, but has since been amended and enhanced in order to it further and more effectively achieve it intended purposes. Along with the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, there are some key judicial and legal unfoldings that have transpired. Title I and V of the American Disabilities Act protects qualified individuals against employment discrimination on the basis of that person being disabled. It also describes disability discrimination on the part of the employer as failing to make reasonable accommodations for the mental or physical limitations of employees or applicants. A classic example of this would be an employer's failure to provide a wheel chair ramp for an invalid person. Another federal statute that enhances the EEOA is The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, this protects applicants and employees 40 years or older from being unfairly treated on the basis of their age. Title II of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 protects applicants and employees from discrimination based on genetic information.

Race and Gender Discrimination

The enactment and of these federal laws and statues helps to create a strict consensus regarding the appropriate way that hiring, handling and treatment of employees by employers should be conducted. These regulations are very important

Insert Here and vital because they help create a culture and society that promotes fairness throughout the entirety of the employment process, from the time an applicant applies and even until an employee decides to retire. They help promote justice in a very effective and efficient manner. This is very important considering that employment and financial security is one of life's most basic, vital and important needs. The EEOC helps build the confidence of applicants and employees, it acts as its defender and redeemer in times of unfairness or injustice in the workplace. The question however remains, is discrimination...

The section of the population that must be taken into account in regards to workplace discrimination are those groups that are discriminated against on the basis of the race, gender, sex, age, disabilities and genetics. These are the groups that have been traditionally the most discriminated against, within these groups the specific classifications of being a minority, homosexual, over the age of 40, and being physically and mentally disabled. This is particularly important and must be taken to account with great fervor as it relates to the hospitality industry. The hospitality industry consists of a wide ranging variety of fields that include the businesses of lodging, restaurant, event planning, theme parks, transportation and other fields within the category of tourism. The hospitality industry achieves revenues in the billions of dollars per year; this money however, is generated through the vulnerable and often not dependable cash flow of disposable income.
Considering that the revenue and financial stability of the hospitality industry is dependent on such an unreliable and fragile variable like disposable income, it is vital for employers and business owners to consider the population they are catering to, and that by doing so they reflect a fair, just, modern and civil approach in the hiring and treatment of their employees. With today's abundance of aggressive media coverage both electronic and in print it is very easy for a company to receive negative exposure if it were to discriminate or treat employees unfairly, this is especially true for large and popular corporations and companies. The media loves stories and they enjoy publishing scandals and controversies. Few issues are more controversial than employee and applicant discrimination in the workplace. Going through a media scandal can severely affect the image of a company. This is something that human resource managers must try to avoid at all costs. Not only to prevent negative fallout that results in adverse financial outcomes for the company but also to preserve the integrity, dignity and peace of a workplace. In today's economy even the smallest of decisions can make or break a company especially in the hospitality industry which is so reliant on the public and on preserving their image.

Most human resources managers in professional industries are likely to say that one of their most important and significant jobs tasks is to created employee job descriptions as one of the first steps in employee recruitment. According to Somerville this helps the HR managers themselves concentrate with clarity as to what specific set of skills a potential candidate for hire must have. What is even more important before taking that step is "that all members of the recruitment process recognize that regulations of the hiring process in the hospitality industry" (Somerville 22). There is a clearly defined legal structure that must be followed in the hospitality industry, it is important that the laws and regulations be followed because they fall directly under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Acts. In order for any company to succeed within the hospitality industry it is important that they adhere to these rules. Otherwise they risk severe and potentially crushing disciplinary actions and financial penalties which are carried out by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The hospitality Industry has had difficulties with recruiting and retaining high quality and talented employees in the past. It is vital that companies within this industry follow all rules and regulations associated with the Equal Employment Opportunity Act in order to avoid further employee attrition which is severely detrimental to these companies and corporations. The EEOC plays a very crucial role in the hospitality industry, according to Hayes and Ninemeier the EEOC "investigates, meditates, and even sometimes files lawsuits on behalf of employees, businesses found to have discriminated can be ordered to compensate employees for lost wages, attorney fees, and other expenses" (Hayes & Ninemeier p.34). Taking into account the potential negative circumstances involved it is vital that human resources professionals follow all regulations and aspects of the Equal Employment Opportunity Act.

Although there has been and drastic improvement brought on by the EEOA and EEOC, there is still work that need to be done in order to eliminate all discrimination for the hiring and employment processes. According to figure provide by EEOC the number of discrimination or employee rights abuse cases remained steady in numerical figures

Insert here from the year 2001 until the year 2007.…