Ask Operation Management Expert

Read the information below then discuss the decision of the Supreme Court and its relation to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in 200 words

Current Issues in Employment Law

As employment law evolves to respond to the dynamic environment of HRM, legal issues arise as employees seek to clarify and assert their rights. Let's take a look at several current legal issues including sexual harassment, comparable worth, English only laws, sexual orientation discrimination, and current trends in state and local laws.

Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment is a serious issue for both men and women in both public- and private-sector organizations. Nearly 12,000 complaints are filed with the EEOC each year; 16 percent of these are filed by males.74 The good news is that the total number of complaints filed with the EEOC has dropped 20 percent in the last ten years.75Settlements in some of these cases incurred substantial litigation costs to the companies involved. At Mitsubishi, for example, the company paid out more than $34 million to 300 women for the rampant sexual harassment to which they were exposed.76 But it's more than just jury awards. Sexual harassment results in millions lost in absenteeism, low productivity, recruiting problems, and turnover.77

Sexual harassment can be regarded as any unwanted activity of a sexual nature that affects an individual's employment. It can occur between members of the opposite or of the same sex, between organization employees or employees and nonemployees. Much of the problem associated with sexual harassment is determining what constitutes this illegal behavior.78 In 1993, the EEOC cited three situations in which sexual harassment can occur. These are instances where verbal or physical conduct toward an individual

Two types of sexual harassment have been established. The first, quid pro quo harassment, is when some type of sexual behavior is expected as a condition of employment. The second, hostile environment harassment, is when a working environment is offensive and unreasonably interferes with an employee's ability to work.

Just what constitutes such an environment? The Supreme Court recognized in Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act could be used for hostile environment claims.79 This case stemmed from a situation in which Ms. Vinson initially refused the sexual advances of her boss. However, out of fear of reprisal, she ultimately conceded. According to court records, it did not stop there. Vinson's boss continued to hassle Vinson, subjecting her to severe hostility, which affected her job.80 In addition to supporting hostile environment claims, the Meritor case along with Faragher v. City of Boca Raton also identified employer liability: That is, in sexual harassment cases, an organization can be held liable for sexual harassment actions by its managers, employees, and even customers!81

Although the Meritor case has implications for organizations, how do organizational members determine if something is offensive? For instance, does sexually explicit language in the office create a hostile environment? How about off-color jokes? Pictures of undressed women? It depends on the people in the organization and the environment in which they work. The point here is that we all must be attuned to what makes fellow employees uncomfortable-and if we don't know, we should ask. Smart employers are in tune with the culture and sensitivities of all employees. DuPont's corporate culture and diversity programs, for example, are designed to eliminate sexual harassment through awareness and respect for all individuals.82 This means understanding one another and, most important, respecting others' rights. Similar programs exist at many companies including Quicken Loans, Verizon Wireless, and Walgreens.

If sexual harassment carries potential costs to the organization, what can a company do to protect itself (see Learning an HRM Skillp. 88)?83 The courts want to know two things: did the organization know about, or should it have known about the alleged behavior; and what did management do to stop it?84 The judgments and awards against organizations today indicate an even greater need for management to educate all employees on sexual harassment matters and have mechanisms available to monitor employees. Victims no longer have to prove that their psychological well-being is seriously affected. The Supreme Court ruled in 1993 in the case of Harris v. Forklift Systems, Inc., that victims need not suffer substantial mental distress to merit a jury award. In June 1998, the Supreme Court ruled that sexual harassment may have occurred even if the employee had not experienced any "negative" job repercussions. In this case, Kimberly Ellerth, a marketing assistant at Burlington Industries, filed harassment charges against her boss because he "touched her, suggested she wear shorter skirts, and told her during a business trip that he could make her job 'very hard or very easy.'" When Ellerth refused, the harasser never "punished" her. In fact, Kimberly even received a promotion during the time the harassment was ongoing. The Supreme Court's decision in this case indicates that "harassment is defined by the ugly behavior of the manager, not by what happened to the worker subsequently.

Remember that the rights of the alleged harasser must be considered too. This means that no action should be taken against someone until a thorough investigation has been conducted. The results of the investigation should be reviewed by an independent and objective individual before any action against the alleged harasser is taken. Even then, the harasser should have an opportunity to respond to the allegation and participate in a disciplinary hearing if desired. Additionally, an avenue for appeal should also exist for the alleged harasser, heard by someone in a higher level of management who is not associated with the case.

Operation Management, Management Studies

  • Category:- Operation Management
  • Reference No.:- M92172657
  • Price:- $30

Priced at Now at $30, Verified Solution

Have any Question?


Related Questions in Operation Management

Conflictdefine functional versus dysfunctional conflict in

Conflict Define functional versus dysfunctional conflict in a work group and explain how you can increase functional conflict and decrease dysfunctional conflict. Develop a response that includes examples and evidence to ...

For this assignment you will need to find 2 articles in

For this assignment, you will need to find 2 articles in business that can help describe what are IT strategic initiative being undertaken by an organization are like. Choose a different organization for each of the arti ...

Coping with problems joe is a little nervous he has just

Coping With Problems Joe is a little nervous. He has just been transferred from another plant to take over a production line. Production is down and there is a serious problem with absenteeism. To make matters worse, the ...

Over 30 years ago michael porter identified a holistic

Over 30 years ago Michael Porter identified a holistic approach to understanding how competitive forces shape strategy. He posited that the only way to truly insulate an organization from underlying economic volatility i ...

You are the contracting officer for an air-to-ground

You are the contracting officer for an air-to-ground missile development program. A contract for pre-production models of the missile was awarded by your predecessor and the contractor is behind schedule. In a program me ...

The ikea case provides an excellent opportunity to apply

The IKEA case provides an excellent opportunity to apply strategic management concepts to a large privately-held company that is expanding into India. IKEA is a Netherlands-based Swedish company with a presence in 44 cou ...

Can you answer for me the following questions about social

Can you answer for me the following questions about social loafing and the three main causes of free-riding. 1. Give a description of the phenomenon of social loafing. 2. Give a description of the phenomenon of free-ridi ...

1 analyzing the bridgestonefirestone and ford motor company

1. Analyzing the Bridgestone/Firestone and Ford motor company, is it sufficient to use the ISO/QS 9000 standards as the main basis of vendor/product selection? 2. What position to these cars company ( 1. Volkswagen, 2. F ...

Research the effect of primary and secondary seat belt laws

Research the effect of primary and secondary seat belt laws on the occurrence of motor-vehicle injuries and fatalities. Explain how epidemiologic studies influenced the development of current seat belt laws. Describe how ...

Please provide a brief paragrap of the key takaways from

Please provide a brief paragrap of the key takaways from each of the following topics: Designing Clear Visuals in business reports Designing Successful Documents and Websites Writing Winning Proposals

  • 4,153,160 Questions Asked
  • 13,132 Experts
  • 2,558,936 Questions Answered

Ask Experts for help!!

Looking for Assignment Help?

Start excelling in your Courses, Get help with Assignment

Write us your full requirement for evaluation and you will receive response within 20 minutes turnaround time.

Ask Now Help with Problems, Get a Best Answer

Why might a bank avoid the use of interest rate swaps even

Why might a bank avoid the use of interest rate swaps, even when the institution is exposed to significant interest rate

Describe the difference between zero coupon bonds and

Describe the difference between zero coupon bonds and coupon bonds. Under what conditions will a coupon bond sell at a p

Compute the present value of an annuity of 880 per year

Compute the present value of an annuity of $ 880 per year for 16 years, given a discount rate of 6 percent per annum. As

Compute the present value of an 1150 payment made in ten

Compute the present value of an $1,150 payment made in ten years when the discount rate is 12 percent. (Do not round int

Compute the present value of an annuity of 699 per year

Compute the present value of an annuity of $ 699 per year for 19 years, given a discount rate of 6 percent per annum. As