Racial Harassment and Discrimination
Constitution of the United States does not address employment discriminations but it prevents discrimination through the federal government which in return protects the federal government employees. The 5th and the 14th amendment of the constitution restrict the power of federal and state government to discriminate. Federals laws against employment discrimination include Equal Pay Act, Fair Labor Standards Act, Title VII of the civil rights act of 1964, pregnancy discrimination act, family and medical leave act, age discrimination employment act, rehabilitation act, Immigrations Reform and Control Act of 1986 and black lung benefits act of
1973 (Jose, 2009).
Equal Pay Act which amended the Fair Labor Standards Act in 1963 prevents employers and unions from paying workers different wages according to their sex. It does not prohibit other discriminatory practices in hiring. It states that where workers are doing the same job with same skills and under similar conditions, then equal pay should be given. The fair labor standards act is applicable to employers who are involved in international business and all workers are covered by this law (Jose, 2009).
Title VII of the civil rights act of 1964 is against discrimination in various aspects. The law applies to employers who are involved in interstate business with employees exceeding 15, labor unions, and employment agencies. It forbids discrimination on the basis of color, race, faith, sex, or nation of origin. It prevents employers from discriminating against the protected individuals on terms, conditions, and benefits of employment. Employment agencies are also barred from discriminating when hiring or referring job applicants labor unions also cannot select their members. The pregnancy discrimination act amended Title VII in the year 1978 states that illegal sex discriminations include discrimination on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, and other related medical conditions. Requirements leading to leave for pregnancy and other related conditions are stated in the Family and Medical Leave Act (Chopra, 2010).
Under Title VII, it is considered illegal to discriminate a person because of hisher place of origin, ancestry, or linguistic features shared by a particular ethnic group. The rule indicating that employees communicate exclusively in English may violate this statute unless it is proved to be necessary for doing business. If the employer believes that speaking English is important for the business dealings, then employees should be informed prior to joining the company and the consequences of not following the rule (Chopra, 2010).
The immigrations reform and control act of 1986 states that employers should make sure that the employees are hired legally and are allowed to work in the United States. An employer may decide to only scrutinize employees from a particular nation or even people who look foreign. Such acts violate Title VII and Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. Age discrimination in Employment act was enacted in 1968 and was later amended in 1978 and 1986. It bars employers from discriminating against age. The practices condemned by this act are almost similar to those in Title VII except that it protects workers in companies with more than 20 employees. Those protected by this statute are those aged 40 years and above. From 1978, this statute has banned compulsory retirements, except in high profile decision making positions. It also has clear guidelines for employees benefits, pension, and retirement plans (Jose, 2009).
Rehabilitation act of 1973 forbids employment discrimination based on disability by the federal government, federal contractors who receives contracts of more than 10, 000 and programs getting federal financial assistance. This law ensures affirmative action and non discrimination. It states that disable employs should be provided with reasonable accommodation and also have access to electronic and information technology (Chopra, 2010).
Whether labor laws hurts or helps employees
Without employment laws, employees would suffer seriously in the hands of employers. In my opinion labor laws are really helping the employees. Laws like equal pay act helps the workers who are working under the same condition and with the same skills to get the same pay. Without this statute, the employers can decide to pay people of the same qualification different salaries. He may even decide to pay male employees higher salaries arguing that they work more than female employees (Chopra, 2010).
Title VII of the civil rights act of 1964 offers a wide range of protection against any form of discrimination. It forbids discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and age. Discrimination against age mostly affects the people who are 40 and above and also youths. Most companies would opt not to employ aged employees stating that they have lost the vigor of working. There is also belief that young and energetic employees improve the image of the company. So without this law, what would happen to the elderly taking into account that life expectancy as increased Laws prohibiting discrimination based on race has enable people from minority groups and black Americans secure employment. Without these laws, companies owned by racist would not take in employees they believe to be inferior, or the company officials may decide to harass people from the minority groups and this would make the working environment unbearable (Marcosson, 1993).
Titles I and V of the Americans with disabilities Act prevents discriminations on the grounds of disability in all employment situations. An individual with disability is consider fit for the job if heshe has the skills, education, experience and other requirement related to that particular job heshe is interested in and is able to execute his duties with or without reasonable accommodation. If this law was not put in place employers would discriminate against people with disabilities. Since these people require some special accommodation, the company may decide to discriminate against them because of extra expenses that come with their work (Marcosson, 1993).
Still under this act, people with disabilities get protection against inquiries and examinations by the employer on the extent and severity of the disability. The employer may decide to ask job applicant hisher ability to do the job. He may also decide to put conditions while offering the job such as medical examination, but this is only allowed if the medical information is required for every individual entering that job group. Any medical check up conducted on employees must always be connected to their work and also as a requirement for carrying out that business (Marcosson, 1993).
Cases relating to discrimination and harassment
Sexual harassment and race discrimination case filed against New York City family run fishmonger. EEOC filed a case in court on sexual harassment and race discrimination against a family fish supplier. The case was filed in Brooklyn federal court. The suit stated that African American employees working in this business were subjected to racial comments and jokes, including embarrassing sexual comments. It is alleged that the employer in this enterprise is full aware of such happenings and also take part in harassing his employees. There were also other complaints of sexual harassment against the workers. The company officials are accused of frequently touching or pinching the buttocks of male employees and also pushing their penises against these workers buttocks. The judge who was handling the case commented that the nature of that case reminds him of dark days of the nation when racial discrimination was the order of the day (Chopra, 2010).
Possible recommendation on the laws
As much as employment laws are stated clearly, there some companies who have refused to comply. This is supported by the fact that there is discrimination cases are still heard in courts and several incidents go unreported because of fear of retaliation. Most employees are not aware of their rights and therefore fail to report. Companies and factories should be forced to be 100 compliant with the labor laws. This can only be achieved by putting in place severe punishment and even throwing such defiant companies out of business (Jose, 2009).
Despite the existence of labor laws employees contracts can still get terminated for attempting to file a suit against a company or even participating in formation of labor unions. Since employees may lack legal representation, they end up losing their jobs. Employees should be provided with layers who can assist them in filing suits against any culprit company.
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