The Equal Employment Opportunity Act and workplace discrimination protection

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.

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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 in the workplace for applicants and employees non-existent? Or does a sentiment of discrimination and prejudice remain? It is important that these questions be taken into consideration especially when addresings the rights of those that can be affected. 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. The figures top out at 84, 442 in the fiscal year 2002 and were at their lowest numerical figure during the fiscal year of 2005, with a reported 75,428 cases (Bohlander 125). These are still a significant amount of cases considering that employment laws and regulations have been in place for many years. The EEOC should not bear all the responsibility in preventing employee and applicant discrimination cases. Leaders in all types of industries should work, train and ensure that regulations are followed. Laws that protect the Civil Rights of workers have been implemented for decades; The Equal Employment Opportunity Act was specifically created in order to prevent discrimination on the basis of race, and sex amongst other determining factors. It was created to reverse a long historical trend of sexual discrimination against women, and that of racial discrimination against minorities. According to the information provided by Bohlander, cases of discrimination based on sex and race presented the largest and most significant percentage every year from 2001 until 2007. This is something that must be addressed, many people erroneously believe applicant and employee discrimination based on sex and race is an archaic, prehistoric and rare occurrence, this does not appear to be the case.

Our contemporary multi-cultural experience can be felt and seen in all aspects of life, cities and states are more diverse than ever. Television shows, pop-culture, music, movies, sports and nearly all other public endeavors attempt to present an image that excludes minorities. Some of the most influential and powerful positions in politics and business are held now held by minorities. It is no longer uncommon to see minorities at the helm of important agencies or corporations, take our current president for example.

Taking this into account can provide a false sense of security when it comes to employment discrimination. Today minorities are receiving college degrees at a rate never before seen, more than half of all college students are now women. This gives people the sense that all is well and that there is no need to fear applicant and employee discrimination, which is not totally true. Walter Vertreace, a Human Resources Consultant from Philadelphia Pennsylvania is of the opinion that there is still much work to be done, in regards to preventing discrimination based on race and gender. He is the former president of the New York State Advisory Council on Employment Law, and has worked to ensure equal employment opportunities for over 30 years. Vertreace believes that discrimination based on race and gender is very much alive in America today. To evidence his opinion he cites the fact that The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the agency responsible for enforcing the federal anti-discrimination laws, has reported that the number of charges reported against private employers has increased by more than 13,000 (Vertreace 2). He also states that a more than a third of the cases reported to the EEOC, were presented on the basis that alleged race discrimination had occurred on the part of the employer.

Sex discrimination

Similar to gender and race discrimination sexual harassment which is defined by The Civil Rights Acts of (1964 and 1991), is investigated and monitored by The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Also, like gender and race discrimination in the workplace, it is not an uncommon occurrence. Sexual harassment is a topic that is not comfortably and openly discussed as much as it should be, this is due to the perception that people have of it being a taboo subject. However, sexual harassment is an issue that must be addressed and taken very seriously, especially in the hospitality industry where significant amounts of females make up the workforce. According to the EEOC about 15,000 cases of sexual harassment are reported yearly (Katz). Christine Kane -- Urrabazo claims filed with the EEOC are not only a problem for the company as whole. She claims that what many managers and HR managers fail to realize that they hold the responsibility for the actions of their employees whether they are aware of them or not. This is why it is vital that human resource managers and professional familiarize themselves with the laws and regulations of the EEOA and also what specifically can be deemed sexual harassment. In any workplace employee satisfaction can be said to be determined by two different types of factors. Frederick Herzberg was known to have identified these two types of factors as (1) satisfiers and motivators and (2) dissatisfiers or hygiene factors (Herzberg1959), they are described in detail by Urrabazo in her publication on sexual harassment. Essentially what the first set of factors represents are internal elements that an employee can control or directly change and affect. The second sets of factors are those that an employee has little or no control over, like the atmosphere, environment and conditions of a workplace. Sexual harassment negatively

Age discrimination

No Industry is removed for allegations of Ageism; reports surface and originate from a variety of fields. Even in the fields of higher education reports of alleged age discrimination have been investigated by the EEOC. According to Monica F. Jacobe in 2004, a part-time lecturer at Wilbur Wright College in Chicago, Illinois, filed a complaint with the EEOC because she was passed over for full-time employment four times in eleven years. She was 68 years of age the last time she was passed over and was not interviewed for the two available positions. Those positions were respectively given to a 29 and a 30-year-old applicant (Jacobe12). Age discrimination in the workplace is also a topic that must be accounted for by human resources professional and managers within the hospitality industry. Age discrimination is something that is many times taken lightly when it should not be. Unlike sex, race or gender discrimination ageism is something that is not socially unacceptable. That is to say that it does not appear to carry the same weight as discrimination against an African-American or a homosexual for example. This probably has a lot to do with our modern society that does not appreciate the wisdom, knowledge and ability of the elders. Most people would agree that age discrimination is something that needs to be addressed, according to Vincent Rocigno "the topic of age discrimination has received little sociological attention relative to class, race and gender" (Rocigno 314). Older people are not portrayed in a positive light in movies, advertising or popular culture. This causes many people to have a lackadaisical

Insert Here approach to the treatment of the elderly in the workplace, which can be a costly mistake. Ageism is something that is addressed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Act and it should be taken very seriously, it appears that currently it is not. Although it is true that an employee's ability to do certain jobs diminishes with age, this rarely tends to be the case in the hospitality industry. Certain jobs require those workers posses' great physical vigor and ability, most of those these are related to the public safety category. Age discrimination is something that is still prevalent in the application and employment process. According to the Equal Employment Opportunity commission in the year 2005 more than 16,500 cases of age discrimination were reported (EEOC). Due to the filing of these cases a total amount of 77.8 million dollars were paid out to plaintiffs. In the grand scheme of things this amount might not seem terribly significant, but hospitality managers need to remember that one of their main objectives is to protect the financial assets of a company. In order to this they must protect themselves and the company from age discrimination lawsuits. According to Dennis and Thomas an organization known as the Anti-Ageism Taskforce found that bias in hiring is the most prevalent type of age discrimination in the workplace (Dennis & Thomas p.2).

Conclusion

The Equal Employment Opportunity Act has had a tremendous impact on the way that employers, human resources managers and employee recruiters conduct business. It has positively affected our culture since its creation in the year 1964; this law was enacted during a turbulent time of Civil Rights Movements when people sought

Insert Here equality and fairness in society. Defenders of minorities wanted them to be able to enjoy all the equal and social rights that the majority did. Being able to apply and attain employment without discrimination is one of these very basic, yet very important rights. As the dynamics and social composition of our contemporary society change and turn more diverse and multicultural, we cannot act as though discrimination problems are non-existent. Problems still persist for applicants and employees; they continue to be discriminated against on a daily basis on the account of their age, race, gender and sex. It is imperative that those in charge of implementing and upholding the Equal Employment Opportunity Act do so with great fervor in order to ensure that discrimination ceases to exist. Managers in the Hospitality industry and all other industries must bear this in mind every day they show up to work. By following the law the positively impact not only their employees but their respective companies as a whole as well.