Hrm Chapter 1

The Legal Context of Employment Decisions
Questions This Chapter Will Help Managers Answer 1. | How are employment practices affected by the civil rights laws and Supreme Court interpretations of those laws? |

2. | What should be the components of an effective policy to prevent sexual harassment? |

3. | What obligations does the Family and Medical Leave Act impose on employers? What rights does it grant to employees? |

4. | When a company is in the process of downsizing, what strategies can it use to avoid complaints of age discrimination? |

5. | What should senior management do to ensure that job applicants or employees with disabilities receive “reasonable accommodation”? |
Human Resource Management in Action: Retaliation: A New Legal Standard and Some Preventive Measures 1
1 Sources: Janove, J. (2006, Oct.). Retaliation nation. HRMagazine, pp. 63–67. U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission: Retaliation. n.d., www.eeoc.gov/types/retaliation.html, April 14, 2008. Payback of the week. (2006, July 10).BusinessWeek, p. 25. Gutman, A. (2006, Oct.). Burlington Northern & Santa Fe (BNSF) v. White: More than meets the eye. The Industrial-Organizational Psychologist, 44(2), 57–67. Dunleavy, E. (2007, Jan.). What is all the fuss about? The implications of the EEOC deterrence standard after BNSF v. White. The Industrial-Organizational Psychologist, 44(3), 31–39.
According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), an employer may not fire, demote, harass, or otherwise “retaliate” against an individual for filing a charge of discrimination, participating in a discrimination proceeding, or otherwise opposing discrimination. The same laws that prohibit discrimination based on race, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, and disability, as well as wage differences between men and women performing substantially equal work, also prohibit retaliation against individuals who oppose unlawful discrimination or participate in an

References: 1Von Drehle, D. Court mirrors public opinion. The Washington Post. n.d., www.washingtonpost.com, June 24, 2003. 2Player, M. A. (2004). Federal law of employment discrimination in a nutshell (5th ed.). St. Paul, MN: West. 3Friedman, A. (1972). Attacking discrimination through the Thirteenth Amendment. Cleveland State Law Review, 21, 165–178. 4Peikes, L., & Mitchell, C. M. (2006, Aug.). 2nd Circuit: Employee working abroad has no remedy for extraterritorial discriminatory conduct.HR News, p. 1. 5 Johnson v. Railway Express Agency Inc. (1975). 95 S. Ct. 1716. 6Smith, A. (2008, May 27). Supreme Court permits retaliation claims under two more federal laws. Downloaded fromwww.shrm.org/law/library on May 29, 2008. 7Civil rights statutes extended to Arabs, Jews. (1987, May 19). Daily Labor Report, pp. 1, 2, 6. 8Stites, J. (2005, May). Equal pay for the sexes. HRMagazine, pp. 64–69. 9Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. n.d., www.eeoc.gov/stats/epa.html, April 15, 2008. 11Gamlem, C. (2007, Oct.). Affirmative action plans for federal contractors. n.d., www.shrm.org, April 16, 2008. See also Bakke v. Regents of the University of California (1978). 17 FEPC 1000. 12Thompson, C. (2008, Mar.). Standard should not have been applied to hearing test. HRMagazine, p. 88. 13 Furnco Construction Corp. v. Waters (1978). 438 U.S. 567. 14 McDonnell Douglas v. Green (1973). 411 U.S. 972. 15Civil Rights Act of 1991, Public Law No. 102–166, 105 Stat. 1071 (1991). Codified as amended at 42 U.S.C., Section 1981, 2000e et seq. 16Valenza, G. (1999, Nov.–Dec.). The Supreme Court creates a safe harbor from liability for punitive damages. Legal Report, pp. 5–8. Washington, DC: Society for Human Resource Management. 17Lau, S. (2008, Feb.). U.S. laws abroad. HRMagazine, p. 33. 18Biskupic, J. (2008, June 20). Court aids older workers alleging discrimination. USA Today, p. 5A. 19Pierson, G. C., & Fulkerson, S. R. (1999, Mar.–Apr.). The Older Workers Benefit Protection Act: Are waivers worth the paper they’re written on? Legal Report, pp. 5–8. Washington, DC: Society for Human Resource Management. 20EEOC proposes regulations on ADEA waivers. (1999, July–Aug,). Legal Report, pp. 1–3. Washington, DC: Society for Human Resource Management. 21 Parsons v. Pioneer Hi-Bred Int’l Inc., 8th Cir., No. 05–3496 (2006, May 19). 23Ladika, S. (2006, Oct.). Trouble on the hiring front. HRMagazine, pp. 56–61. 24Lurie, D. (2005, Mar.). The I-9 form: everything HR professionals need to know about the I-9 employment-verification process. n.d.,www.shrm.org/hrresources/whitepapers_published/CMS_011693.asp, April 15, 2008. 25U.S. Immigration and Customs enforcement: FY07 accomplishments. n.d.,www.ice.gov/doclib/pi/news/factsheets/fy07accmplshmntsweb.pdf., April 15, 2008. See also Krell, E. (2007, Dec.). 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(2008, Apr.). HRMagazine, pp. 44–49. 37The ADA: Your responsibilities as an employer. n.d., www.eeoc.gov/facts/ada17.html, April 15, 2008. 39 Kolstad v. American Dental Association, 119 S. Ct. 2118 (1999). 40Society for Human Resource Management. (2007). FMLA: An overview of the 2007 FMLA survey. Alexandria, VA: SHRM. 41Davis, G. M. The Family and Medical Leave Act: 10 years later. n.d., www.shrm.org/hrresources/lrpt_published/CMS_005127.asp, August 22, 2003. 42Most small businesses appear prepared to cope with new family-leave rules. (1993, Feb. 8). The Wall Street Journal, pp. B1, B2. 43Leonard, B. (2008, Jan.). Bush signs military leave FMLA expansion into law. n.d.,www.shrm.org/hrnews_published/archives/CMS_024440.asp, April 15, 2008. 44Society for Human Resource Management. (2007). FMLA: An overview of the 2007 FMLA survey. Alexandria, VA: SHRM 45Gamlem, C 46Thelen, J. (2006, Mar.–Apr.). Workplace rights for service members: The USERRA regulations deconstructed. Legal Report, pp. 1–8. See also Segal, J. A. (2006, Apr.). They go and come. . . and go. HRMagazine, pp. 127–133. 48EEOC Fiscal Year 2007 Performance and Accountability Report. n.d., www.eeoc.gov/abouteeoc/plan/par/2007/index.html, April 16, 2008. 49 Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (No. 05–1074) 421 F. 3 d 1169 (2007). See also Biskupic, J. (2007, May 30). Time limit put on pay-bias lawsuits. USA Today, pp. 1 A, 2 A. 50EEOC litigation statistics, FY1997 through FY2007. n.d., www.eeoc.gov/stats/litigation.html, April 16, 2008. 52 Albemarle Paper Company v. Moody (1975). 442 U.S. 407. 53EEOC FY 2007 Performance and Accountability Report. n.d.,www.eeoc.gov/abouteeoc/plan/par/2007/performance_results.html#measure2, April 16, 2008. 54U.S. Department of Labor. (2002). n.d., www.dol.gov/esa/ofccp/ofwedo.htm, August 3, 2004. 56 Wygant v. Jackson Board of Education (1986). 106 S. 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(1991, Mar. 21). Ruling called women’s rights victory. Denver Post, pp. 1 A, 16 A. 67Fetal protection policy voided. (1991, May).Bulletin. Denver: Mountain States Employers Council, p. 2 68Fisher, A 69n.d., www.eeoc.gov/types/sexual_harassment.html, April 16, 2008. 70Woo, J. (1992, Nov. 23). Secret taping of supervisors is on the rise, lawyers say. The Wall Street Journal, pp. B1, B5. 71Kesselman, D., & Williams, T. S. (2007, July). Speak, you’re on candid recorder. HRMagazine, pp. 105–109. 72EEOC. (2003). Guidelines on discrimination because of sex. 29CFR, 1604.11 Sexual harassment (Revised from earlier edition on July 1, 2003). 73 Barnes v. Costle (1977). 561 F. 2d 983 (D. C. Cir.). 74118 S. Ct. 2257 (1998). 75118 S. Ct. 2275 (1998). 76 Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson (1986). 477 U.S. 57. 78Morrell, A. J. (2000, Jan.–Feb.). Nonemployee harassment. Legal Report, pp. 1–4. Washington, DC: Society for Human Resource Management. 7993 Fair Employment Practices Cases (BNA) 1473 (2004). 80Jacobs, A. N. (2004, July 27). An instant message from the Supreme Court: Are you listening? Employment Source Newsletter, n.d.,www.epexperts.com. 81Lublin, J. S. (2006, May 15). Harassment law in U.S. is strict, foreigners find. The Wall Street Journal, pp. B1, B3. See also, Orey, M. (2006, May 22). Trouble at Toyota. BusinessWeek, pp. 46–48. 82Ibid. See also Segal, J. A. (1999, Nov.). Strategic planning for Troglodyte-free workplaces. HRMagazine, pp. 138–148. See also LaGow, R. (1998, Aug.). High court expands, clarifies employer liability for sex harassment. HR News, p. 6. 84 Schwager v. Sun Oil Company of PA (1979). 591 F. 2d 58 (10th Cir.). 85Lauricella, T. (2007, Sept. 16). How old are you? As old as your skills. The Wall Street Journal Sunday, p. 2. See also Coy, P. (2005, June 27). Old. Smart. Productive. BusinessWeek, pp. 78–86. 87Grossman, R. J. (2003, Aug.). Are you ignoring older workers? HRMagazine, pp. 40–46. 89Holland, K. (2008, Jan. 27). When English is the rule at work. The New York Times. www.nytimes.com, Aug. 24, 2008. Prengaman, P. (2003, Aug, 21). Language barrier a peril on fire lines. The Denver Post, p. 16 A. 90Age discrimination—Overqualified. (1993, July). Bulletin. Denver: Mountain States Employers Council, Inc., p. 2. 91Wells, S. J. (Oct. 2004). Too good to hire? HRMagazine. n.d., www.shrm.org/hrmagazine/articles/1004/1004covstory.asp, April 16, 2008. 92 California Brewers Association v. Bryant (1982). 444 U.S. 598, p. 605. 94 Firefighters Local Union No. 1784 v. Stotts (1984). 104 S. Ct. 2576. 95 Wygant v. Jackson Board of Education (1986). 106 S. Ct. 1842. 96Greenhouse, L. (1984, June 13). Seniority is held to outweigh race as a layoff guide. The New York Times, pp. A1, B12. 97Britt, L. P., III (1984). Affirmative action: Is there life after Stotts? Personnel Administrator, 29 (9), 96–100. 98 US Airways, Inc. v. Barnett (00–1250) 535 U.S. 391 (2002) 228 F. 3d 1105. 99Barrier, M. (2002, July). A line in the sand. n.d., www.shrm.org/hrmagazine/articles/0702/0702barrier.asp, April 17, 2008.