Analysis of Anti-Discriminatory Laws - Assignment Example

Anti-Discriminatory Laws Introduction The Federal law on employment cites various provisions under which employees and their employers interact. The law enables the employers to agree on various terms with their employee and provides guidelines that form the basis of an employer-employee agreement(Seaquist, 2012). It is, therefore, crucial for employers, job seekers and employees to familiarize with its provisions for excellent working conditions. In addition, the law guides employers on the various questions they should ask their employees regarding their personal lives (Darlington, Schuman and Adams, 2008). It limits employees from inquiring about various issues such as marriage, age, terminal disorders and bank statements. According to the law, all Americans are entitled to privacy regardless of their circumstances (Loenen and Rodrigues, 1999). The ‘EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION’ oversees complaints regarding discrimination in the employment sector (Dol.gov, 2014). The anti-discriminatory laws prevent employers from hiring on racial, sex orientation and healthy basis (Seaquist, 2012). According to the laws, it is illegal to obtain information on the employee’s private life regarding their marital status, race, country of origin, age and medical conditions. The purpose of the essay is to apply the anti-discriminatory laws in advertising for a job position. The essay also identifies various legal and illegal questions directed to employees by employers (Seaquist, 2012). Job Advertisement Job Description The Administrative Assistant will undertake various confidential, technical and administrative tasks within the department. The Administrative Assistant supports several teams in company including the Intellectual property department team, procurement marketing and advertising groups in the company. The assistant will also open new legitimate reviews and obtain responses on business deadlines by pursuing the subject matter in question. In addition, the Administrative Assistant will communicate and advise both internal and external customers on legal requests that relate to communication review, advertising, and appropriate guidelines on trademarks Duties Proofreading, reviewing legal writing and preparation of legal documents within the department. Advising work groups on fields regarding complex non-public information, marketing projects and organization of files in the department. Coordinating and preparing individual information on work group members and non-members. The assistance administrator processes documents, evaluates the legality of the company’s undertakings and researching on law infringements issues in the organization. Moreover, the assistant is responsible for filing patents, infringement and trademarks documents. He or she assists the external counsel and internal clients to evaluate the materials for communication and write the license agreement on trademarks for appropriate application of the UPS trademarks. The assistant administrator prepares internal customers’ reports and works on special project within the organization. Moreover, he or she maintains the unsolicited legal department’s material program. Preferred Competencies The assistant should posses Strong communication skills. In addition, the candidate should able to write grammatical error reports. The candidate responds effectively and appropriately to various queries regarding intellectual property in the organization. The candidate should also finish the department’s annual reports in time. The assistant should demonstrate remarkable judgment, legal knowledge and independent willingness to identify and utilize such approaches in problem-solving situations. They should posses the ability to handle highly confidential legal information regarding the operations of the organizations. The candidate should be timely in responding to customer non-customer inquiries on the company’s legal position on various issues. Minimum Qualifications The candidate should have a fiver-year experience in an Assistance Administrator position. In addition, they have experience working in a corporate or law office. Experience in a law office or a related environment is environment preferred The candidate should be proficient in computer applications such as Word Processor, Excel, Power Point or any other equivalent software They should have experience in handling intellectual property issues at corporate or legal level. The Candidate should posses at least a Bachelor’s degree in art. Illegal Questions 1. What is your residence? Asking an interviewee about their specific residence raises questions whether the employee is hiring based on location. It is, however, legal to ask an individual if they can make it to work in time (Seaquist, 2012). 2. What is your religion or belief? The issue of religion is quite sensitive owing to the diversity of the United States. It is illegal to ask the interviewee their religious affiliations, the holidays they observe and their religious practices. The recruitment process is transparent in cases where the interview refrains from inquiring about the interviewee’s religion. 3. What is your age? Age is a highly sensitive issue in modern society. It is inappropriate and illegal for an interviewer to inquire about the age of the interviewee especially in cases of early retirement or effects ascribed to medical conditions (Seaquist, 2012). 4. Do you have children? How many are they? The interviewer has no legitimate rights to ask about the family of a prospective employee. In some cases, the question leads to emotional effects on the victim. 5. Do you drink, smoke or are you on any prescription? Inquiring about an individual’s health is inappropriate since the law prevents individuals from sharing confidential information in public. In addition, some health conditions are quite traumatic and may trigger emotional breakdown. 6. What is you weight and weight\height? Interviewers should respect the privacy of the interviewees by avoiding questions regarding personal attributes. People react differently to personal attributes, such question may lead to traumatic, and self-esteem adversities on the interviewee (Seaquist, 2012). 7. Are you in the military? It is illegal to ask a person about their involvement in military or other branches of armed forces. Service in the military ought not to be a basis for determining the suitability of a candidate for a job. 8. Do you have any arrest record? It is illegal to ask an interviewee about their arrest record. However, the law allows employers to inquire about any job related-convictions such as fraud. 9. Explain your current marital status: Asking about an individual’s marital status translates to discrimination and is illegal with reference to the Federal laws on employment (Seaquist, 2012). 10. What is your race or nationality? It is illegal to ask about the race or birthplace of the interviewee. However, the law allows employers to inquire on the legality of the individual to work in the United States (Seaquist, 2012). Legal Questions 1. What is you address/ length of residence and housing? This allows the employers to get in-depth information about the employee in order to maintain contact records 2. What is your age? The law allows that interviewer to inquire whether the interviewee has attained the legal age for employment (Bloch, 1994). 3. What other foreign languages do you speak? This allows the employer to allocate duties to an employee in situations where their knowledge of an additional language is necessary (Darlington, 2008). 4. What is your gender? Employer’s knowledge of the employees’ gender is essential in duty allocation and espouses the allocation of days off work so that the male=female ratio at any given point is adequate. It is also helpful in creating gender balance in the organization (Leiter, 2002). 5. What is your experience? It is legal for the employer to ask about the employee’s job experience to establish their ability to work in the organization effectively. 6. What are your academic qualifications? Academic qualifications are the key factors that employers consider when hiring. It is essential and legal to inquire about the employee’s academic qualifications to ascertain their level of qualification for the job (Darlington, 2008). 7. What is your citizenship? Inquiring about the employee’s citizenships enables the employer to establish their eligibility to work in the United States or otherwise ask for relevant documents such as work permits (Darlington, 2008). 8. Do you have any special needs? Technical jobs require both energy and body fitness such as field engineers and instructors. It is important for the employee to ask about the employees special conditions in order to assign them the appropriate jobs Seaquist, 2012). 9. What are your contacts? Contacts are essential in tracking down the job application progress. The interviewer can consequently find it easily inform the interviewee about the job offer (Darlington, 2008). 10. Who is your next of kin? This information helps the employer to contact the employee’s relative during emergencies. Conclusion The anti-discriminatory laws enable good working conditions for the employees. In addition, it helps the employers to obtain the appropriate information from the employees without infringing their rights. Discriminatory based on sex orientation, marital, status and other confidential information is illegal according to the ‘EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION’. The laws help in development of legal job advertisements. It also enables employees to determine the appropriate information to ask the interviewees or employees. References Bloch, F. (1994). Antidiscrimination law and minority employment. 1st ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Darlington, J., Schuman, N. and Adams, B. (2008). The everything job interview book. 1st ed. Avon, Mass.: Adams Media. Leiter, S. and Leiter, W. (2002). Affirmative action in antidiscrimination law and policy. 1st ed. Albany: State University of New York Press. Loenen, T. and Rodrigues, P. (1999). Non-discrimination law. 1st ed. The Hague: Kluwer Law International. Seaquist, G. (2012). Business law for managers. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education Dol.gov, (2014). U.S. Department of Labor - Find It By Topic - Equal Employment Opportunity. [online] Available at: http://www.dol.gov/dol/topic/discrimination/ [Accessed 24 Aug. 2014]. Read More