Chapter 12 Employment Discrimination Monday November 17th 2014 12 2 Enforcement of Title VII Learning Objectives employment practices discrimination Enforcement of Title VII Explore what the protections of the Civil Rights Act mean Understand implications of the Civil Rights Act for employers and Examine how businesses can protect themselves against claim of Main purpose of Title VII was to integrate African Americans into the mainstream of society Charges of race based discrimination continue to generate the highest number of complaints to the EEOC As it is difficult to prove intentional discrimination EEOC pays close attention to disparate impact cases To correct past mistakes in treatment of women and minorities many companies adopt affirmative action programs o Some companies undertake affirmative action to qualify as a federal contractor or subcontractor Affirmative Action Plan Under Executive Order 11246 most federal contractors or subcontractors must develop annual affirmative action plan and take affirmative steps o Affirmative Action Specific actions taken by employers to eliminate the effects of past discrimination Complexity in administration occurs due to discrimination or reverse discrimination of White Americans o Reverse Discrimination Discrimination against a majority group by favoring a person based upon their race or gender Discrimination Based on National Origin Title VII prohibits treating workers unfavorably because of their country region or ethnicity Discrimination due to accent of the worker is illegal unless it seriously interferes with work performance o Workplace English only rules are also illegal unless they are required for the job being performed Discrimination Based on Religion Title VII prohibits treating an employee unfavorably because of religious beliefs o Employee s religious beliefs are accommodated by an employer unless it adversely affects the business Discrimination Based on Sex Title VII prohibits employers from categorizing certain jobs as single sex only unless a BFOQ applies Form of workplace sexual harassment o There isn t an actual statute that makes sexual harassment illegal Sexual harassment is the product of judicial interpretation of what it means to discriminate on the basis of sex Forms of Sexual Harassment Forms of sexual harassment recognized by the courts o Quid Pro Quo Asking for sexual favors in return for favorable job action o Hostile work environment Harassing actions that are so severe and pervasive that they alter the conditions of one s employment Under traditional tort doctrines employers can be held liable for an employee s sexual harassment of another person Sexual Harassment and Employers Liability Supreme Court has held that employers can overcome the liability of employee s sexual harassment by demonstrating that they o Conduct workplace training about sexual harassment o Implement policies regarding methods to report suspected case of o Take prompt action against any employee found to be engaging in sexual harassment sexual harassment Supreme Court has held that men can be the victims of sexual harassment and that same sex sexual harassment can be illegal under Title VII
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