Types Of Employment Discrimination Law Employment Essay

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

One of a long-established tasks within Management Framework of the Government is Human Resource Management. Used to be considered as a administrative jobs conventionally, Human Resource Management, over period of time, has become a strategic improving working environment as well as planning out human resources needs, resulting to develop organizational productivity. In particular, the Government puts its obligation , at the first place, to be a good employer; followed by seeking to ensure staff commitment, and, finally, developing, directing and managing staff to show their best to help the Government in serving the community. It is not exaggerated that Human Resource Management become one of the most vital functions of organization in the cut-throat world.

Nevertheless, there are numerous challenges for Human Resource department in today’s highly competitive world as well as tight job market including diverse workforce and multicultural. It is clearly that, workplace environment brings about variety of people from different age, religion, gender, ethnicity, educational background, parental status and work experience, leading to challenging tasks for managers. During the past decades, numerous surveys using the number of methodologies have shown the high level of discrimination against gay men, bisexuals, lesbians and transgender people at work, so-called LGBT people , although there is no evidence proving gender identity and sexual orientation have relationship to workplace performance. In order to remain business, managers have to manage effectively in the task on addressing challenges.

Therefore, based on several reports discussing on discrimination or harassment in the workplace, this present study was designed to analysis the causes and effects after indicating the statistics as well as evidences of this problem, following by solutions suggested.

Discussion of findings

Definition and types of employment discrimination

Definition

Neoclassical economics theory shows that employment discrimination or labor market discrimination is defined as treatment differently in hiring, job assignment, promotion and it also includes plenty of harassment on account of race, age, gender and disability. When it comes to employment discrimination, or employment bullying, according to source from Govt Dept of Workplace Health and Safety (n.d), they demonstrate the definition of employment discrimination in the workplace that "the repeated less favourable treatment of a person by another or others in the workplace, which may be considered unreasonable and inappropriate workplace practice. It includes behaviour that intimidates, offends, degrades or humiliates a worker". When managers use these factors in order to against their employees, it means that they have committed job discrimination.

Types of employment discrimination

According to the United State Equal Opportunity Commission report (n.d), employment discrimination has ten common types and also there are a series of ways that employers express discrimination on their staff at the workplace. In particular, based on the number of discriminated forms, namely age discrimination, national origin discrimination, disability discrimination, pregnancy discrimination, religious discrimination, race-based discrimination, retaliation, sex-based discrimination and sexual harassment; surveys have indicated the expression of discrimination from the employers, he or she may fire or refuse to hire staff when they do not accept; or in another case, deny a promotion or put a specific individuals in a layoff, following by using discrimination in recruiment or testing policy, etc. Let’s take sexual harassment or so-called unlawful harassment as example. It occurs when a person is intimidated because of their race or ethnic origin, sex, disability; or some other characteristics related to under human rights legislation. Unlawful harassment can include behaviours such as making up jokes about racial groups; asking questions about personal life, particularly sex life; sending sex-arosing pictures through emails.

To some extent, depending on personal characteristics and medical field that the number of discriminated types‘ examples given out to be proved. The first one including age, race, sex, religion and national origin. Let’s take an example of age discrimination. Not only people who are over 40 year old but also younger employees under 40 but have less experience would likely to be lured in this wrongful terminator. Concerning to the second type of discrimination example occupying disability, pregnancy and genetic information, an instance of genetic information presents the case that a manager refuses to hire an employee because of his medical test revealed a medical disorder in late period of life; or a pregnant woman may not be accepted with assumption that she will spend time on taking care of children in the future.

Statistics and evidences

The General Social Survey (2008) made the first time survey on participants being asked about their sexual orientation, including family structure and relationship status or even health insurance. In the report, they classified two groups of people including 57 respondents who were lesbians, gay men or transgender people and other 23 normal respondents. The result presented that a large proportion of people had experienced discrimination at workplace because of gender identity or sexual orientation.

When it comes to the types of discrimination, results from Recent Non-protability Surveys Measuring Employment Discrimination against LGBT People ( 2005-2010) indicated that there are climbing number of people, from 8% to 17%, were denied of fired from employment because of their sexual orientation basis; moreover, 10% - 28% belongs to those who were denied to promotion or given low performance evaluations; followed by the proportion of physically abused group occupied between 7% and 41% ,and lastly, approximately 19% reported receiving unequal benefits or payment. Specific findings in the number of reports on discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation at the workplace also witnesses that 27% lesbians, gay mens, bisexuals and transgenders had suffer from workplace harassment and 7% belonged to those who had lost job in 2008. In addition, an larger percentage, 38%, was the proportion of people in during five years had experience at least one form of discrimination, General Social Survey stated ( 2008).

Causes

When a person have to suffer from discriminationary and unfavorable practices in hiring, wages promotions or work duties, workplace discrimination appears. Both men and women can become the targets of employment discrimination, it occurs between not only a employer or supervisor and employees but also co-workers. There are some reasons for this existence of employment discrimination.

Stereotying is one of the culprits of job discrimination. For instance, amanager might choose his staff for driving but not members belonging to a particular ethnic group just because he think the latters do not make good drivers. This is a stark example of racial stereotyping, but not racist ideology. The employer did accept a steoreotype about ethnic people and discriminated them based on the stereotype.

In the reason of psychology, which includes sexism, racism, ignorance and bigotry, supervisors will use their prejudices to decide cutting the costs. Furthermore, at social causes present the highly competitive environment in workplace, playing an important part in discrimination. For example, when an employee is jostling for a position, he or she will feel uncomfortable and more likely to quit out of his or her recent job.

Effects

With the tremendous causes indicated above ,a large body of research indicates that discrimination in job can lead to negative impacts on staff in terms of wages, job promotions, health and productivity in the workplace.

There are three types of employment discrimination’s effects: physical, mental or emotional and social. Numerous troubles are listed in an attempt to fight for woking discrimination. Firstly, physical effects includes headaches, insomnia, lacking energy, resulting to weight loss and even blood pressure. At the second stage, people who are affected by emotional effects are led to self-confidence lacking, low self-esteem and some diseases relating to mental such as mental distress, ansiety or depression, always feeling insecurity and helplessness. And social effects, lastly, make the victims losing the ability to build relationships, leading to isolation, and especially cannot express their job performance effectively. It is obvious that gay men earn money significantly less more than original people; or, in another case, men in same-sex couples can not earn higher than men in heterosexual marriages. To what extent, several research illustrate that a large proportions of transgender population not having chances to enter a job or, if yes, their income is far below than the national average wage. Negative effects of this discrimination also create the poor working environment. Living in the century increasing multicultural; therefore, both the victim and the remarkable number of other workers affiliating with the victim’s group can be affected, leading to an asmostphere of suspicious, mistrust and even raising rivalry among staff. As a result, good relationships at work will be harm, especially the teamwork activities , the communication and the smooth of organization.

Solutions

Much as difficult the situation proves to be, there are numerous anti-discrimination laws which exist to protect discrimination’s victims. It is stated in the Title VII of the Civil Right Act (1964) that there should be no job discrimination based of race, color, religion, national origin or sex. In terms of individuals who are 40 or older, The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (1967) claimed there is no age discrimination could be existed. According to The Civil Right Act ( 1964) prohibits "discrimination in terms and conditions of employment on the bases of race, color, national origin, sex and religion". Furthermore, workers over 40 years old are protected by The Age Discrimination in Employment Act(ADEA) or disabled persons can access buildings with The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to make reasonable accommodation with the number of anti-discrimination policies of developed and developing companies based on such laws, etc.

In order to prevent employment bullying, Government have to make efforts to combat discrimination, obviously. Going in depth in the situation of disabled discrimination and religious discrimination, there is no denying that it is illegal when an employer does not accept reasonable accommodations to his staff. For instance, in several circumstances, a manager cannot make effort on a person to violate his religious beliefs such as eating forbidden food, using alcohol which against his religious principles. Instead, employer have to give good condition for his staff without violating them or accommodate for the disabled with certain standards. There is federal and state legislation that protects employees from unequal treatment; or a group of people or an individual is treated less that another ones because of their colour, ethnic origin, sex, race or disability in the same environment. Based on anti-discrimination laws promulgated, when employment discrimination exists in the workplace, the employer or supervisor could be received penalties or punishments. If it is proven that job bullying has been occurred, the managers may have been taken into the court and punishment on discriminated abuse is necessary to ensure the safety to all residents.

Conclusion

Employers often experience common issues in Human Resource Managemen, such as recruitment, trainning, establishing productivity, keeping safe in workplace as well as resolving conflicts between employers and employees and more important is preventing discrimination. Again, we confirm that it is very difficult to separate discrimination on the labor market and society because each company has different groups of workers with different characteristics, acting over working lifetime and treating them in different ways.

After all, employees have the rights to have a balanced life and are not supposed to live in escalating requirements of greedy bosses only who led them down in discriminations. Preventing employment discrimination means encouraging employees feel more motivated to go deeper into their favorite fields, and by chance, discover new things to change the world.