2.1 Employment Law

Question 1

Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO):

Answer 1

condition that all individuals have equal chance of employment regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, or age (kind of)

Question 2

13th Amendment

Answer 2

1865 Abolish slavery

Question 3

14th Amendment

Answer 3

1868. Forbids states from taking life, liberty or property without due process and provides equal protection under law.
       Applies only to gov groups or private with gov ties.
      * Ex. US Davis lost case for setting admission spots for minorities

Question 4

Equal Pay Act of 1963

Answer 4

Men/women equal work, equal pay.
o Equal in terms of skill, effort, responsibility, working conditions
o Seniority, merit, quality, quantity pay differences allowed.

Question 5

Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII):

Answer 5

Prohibits employers from discriminating based on protected class: race, color, religion, sex (ex. protected group: M/F), national origin.
o Only applies to orgs with 15 or more employees.
o Prevents employers from retaliating against opposing employees.

Question 6

Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) 1967

Answer 6

o Like CRA 1964 Title 7, prohibits hiring, firing, comp rates and other employment decisions based on persons age being 40 and over.
o Protection focused on pensions. Age discrimination lawsuit typical in mass layoff.

Question 7

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990

Answer 7

o Disability – physical/mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a record of, or being regarded as having such an impairment (amputees vs. cancer in remission vs disfigurement)
 Mental disorders including learning disabilities, depression, schizophrenia, and additions are covered.
o Still disability if taking medication makes less apparent.

Question 8

What are ADA accommodation requirements?

Answer 8

 Not economically prohibitive (undue hardship)
 Doesn’t interfere with core job task
 Doesn’t put public at risk (blind pilot)

Question 9

Civil Rights Act of 1991

Answer 9

o Amends CRA 1964 by adding compensatory and punitive damages in cases of discrimination under Title VII and ADA.
 Title VII limited claims to equitable relief (legal cost and lost wages/benefits)
o Compensatory/ punitive damages only allowed when discrimination was intentional or reckless.
o No limit to compensatory damages

Question 10

Amount of punitive damages in civil rights act of 1991

Answer 10

 15-100 emp = $50K; 101-200 emp = $100K; 201-500 = 200K, 500+ = 300K

Question 11

EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) responsibilities

Answer 11

 Investigates complaints about discrimination.
 Gathers information.
 Issues guidelines.
 Monitors organizations’ hiring.

Question 12

EEOC filing requirements

Answer 12

 Complaints must be filed to EEOC within 180 days of incident.
 EEOC has 60 days to investigate the complaint.

Question 13

Faragher v. Boca Raton (1998)

Answer 13

Employer must exercise “reasonable care” and can be found liable for harassment by their employees like this failure.
 City did not disseminate sexual harassment policy to all divisions under the city’s jurisdiction
 There was no way to bypass reporting to supervisor in harassment complaint policy.

Question 14

Ban the Box:

Answer 14

o Ban the box refers to job application forms asking applicants if they’ve been convicted of a crime
 8% of population with felony conviction
 Goal to reduce discrimination against minority applicants
 Current evidence suggests when criminal history is not given, employers discriminate against groups that are more likely to have criminal records.

Question 15

CROWN Act

Answer 15

(Creating a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural Hair)
* California protects employees from discrimination based on natural hair associated with race (Jan 2020). NYC similar law.
* Expands definition of “race” under Fair Employment and Housing Act to include “traits historically associated with race..”

Question 16

EEOC recommends employers should make sure grooming standards are the following:

Answer 16

• Driven by legitimate, objective business need.
• Accommodate religious beliefs.
• Race-neutral.
• Apply only to workplace.
• Consider alternatives (hair nets) for health/safety concerns.
• Consistently applied.

Question 17

Federal courts allow different gender dress standards if:

Answer 17

• Policies are reasonable.
• Do not place a significantly higher burden on one gender.
• Compliance with gender stereotypes. (open toed shoes, earrings, hair length)