HCS 341
Legal, Safety, and Regulatory Requirements Paper
The workplace is a delicate environment filled with different personalities types. These differing needs of feeling safe and comfortable create many challenges in the workplace. The creation of the Human Resource Department has helped create a safety net for all employees to fall under and create a stable environment for employees to feel safe and secure. Regulations such as Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Department of Labor have in some ways removed the common sense and compassion in the workplace and replaced it with litigation. The effect of these regulations have balanced the workplace and created a more structured environment. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) enforces federal laws that make it illegal for any workplace to discriminate an employee because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, or genetic information (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, n.d.). Discrimination plays a vital role in employee satisfaction. If an employee believes he or she has been discriminated against for any of the reasons listed he or she has a legal recourse through the EEOC. The EEOC also focuses on prevention of discrimination with training and education. The EEOC has replaced a person’s perception of what is right and wrong and replaced it with laws and guidelines for employees to follow, in a sense taking the human element out of the equation. History has shown that the perception of common sense and compassion is something that changes with time. The civil rights act, which was passed in the 1960s, brought about much change in the workplace around discrimination against race. This is just one example of how what was once normal behavior changed over time with a greater acceptance of differences. In order for employers to maintain good morale and reduce turnover, they need to create
References: Dipankar, G. (2008). Corporate Values, Workplace Decisions and Ethical Standards of Employees. Journal of Managerial Issues, 20(1), 68-87. doi:http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/docview/194165003/12DBF4B1FE13C515067/6?accountid=35812 United States Department of Labor. (n.d.). United States Department of Labor. Retrieved from http://www.dol.gov/ on 02/22/2011 U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (n.d.). U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Retrieved from http://www.eeoc.gov/ on 02/22/2011