Discrimination in the Employment Sector - Essay Example

Workplace Safety Issues Organizations have a duty to protect the employees and ensure their safety both from internal and external influence. The safety of the employees in a workplace has been outlined in the OSHA rules each specifying the measures that organizations should take to protect the rights of all people in the workplace (Gavin 103). Discrimination in the employment sector is a very common vice which is actually based on race, sex, religion, weight, origin, age or disability. Employment discrimination has been castigated upon by the law and various statutes have been put forward to address the issue especially with respect to general forms of discrimination. The common practice of alienating people in the work place has been through biasness in hiring, promotion, in termination, job assignment and when compensating employees. It is also expressed through retaliation and other forms of harassing employees in terms of their gender. State constitutions and the federal statutes provide rulings of law on discriminatory acts. The issue is addressed fully under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution with some relevant Acts and provisions which limit the power of both the federal and the state governments to discriminate. The Fifth Amendment has the requirement that individuals should not be deprived of life, liberty or property by the state without the due use of the law (O'Brien 216). This section has also highlighted the cases which govern alienation and the provisions as well as the penalties due in case of failure to comply with the constitution. The amendment has also provided a guarantee that all individuals have an equal and explicit protection of the law. The fourteenth amendment has provided for full protection of human rights and prohibits the states from violating these rights. This paper analyses the various forms of allowable and unethical forms of discrimination as has been provided in the constitution and their impacts on the employer or organizations, the applicants and the coworkers. Firstly, the constitution under the fourteenth amendment has provided that a person shall not be discriminated upon in the practice of employment because of membership in a certain group whether such an individual is a former employee or a job applicant. In case of termination, the law has stated that an individual should receive fair treatment and process of termination before he or she is acquitted and especially if the termination is related to property interests, liberty or freedom. Intentional discrimination and harassment in the workplace have been deterred, and a person is entitled to due remedies by injury should such claims arise (EEOC, 2012). Further amendments have been done in the section to include retaliation claims that are based on race whereby an employer retaliates against an employee for filing a case that is race based. Other forms of common alienation have been presented under title seven of the Civil Rights Act which has deter discrimination in the form of race, color, religion, sex or national origin. Sexual discrimination generally arises in form of pregnancy, childbirth or some medical situations. Employers have been restricted in any form unfairness relating to hiring, compensating, discharging or in the provision of terms and the privileges when employing. This Acts has also limited the members of labor unions as being from the same race, color, sex, religion origin. Another form of discrimination has been covered under the Equal Pay Act to include fair labor standards. The provisions of the Act have relations to fair wage and labor and deter employers from discriminating on wages based on sex. The law has provided for similar wage administration to all individuals as long as the work done requires equal skill effort and responsibility irrespective of the gender if the working conditions are similar. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act has provided for discrimination based on age and gives guidelines for retirement and benefit plans for all employees. Discrimination against people with disabilities has been outlined in the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) (U.S. Department of Education, 2006). This statute has discouraged alienation of individuals based on their physical and mental states as long as such an individual is legally fit to hold office. Therefore, the most common forms of discriminations that are unethical and illegal relate to age, race, religion, disability, compensation, national origin, pregnancy, retaliation, sex and sexual harassment. There are certain cases in which age discrimination is allowed when working and in vocational learning and training. An organization may restrict a certain age due to the risk the individual is exposed to. Learning institutions may also restrict a certain age entrance to a vocation through approaches that are age specific or an institution may decide to increase the number of students of a particular age in the training program so as to raise a population needed in the workforce. When an individual has been legally declared to be of unsound mind, he or she may not be fit for employment. Age discrimination is relevant especially in jobs involving driving, flying or those that are physically demanding. However, the employer must legally prove that the age classification stated is necessary and there is a substantial basis or providing a particular age. Gender discrimination has also been allowed in some instances where the employer can prove that the essence of the job would be undermined if another gender was included. For instance, in mental institutions and correction facilities, a staff of the same gender as the patients’ needs to be present in the wards to help them in showering and disrobing. A restaurant needs to employ females as bartenders and waitresses due to its environment as opposed to males. Gender discriminations leads to low esteem due to lack of confidence and courage on the part of the individual and hate cases to the management or the favored party. Individuals have been known to dislike other races because of experiences they have had with them (Feagin 164). Discrimination distorts peaceful interactions in the workplace amongst employees due to unfairness in wage administrations, unfair promotions, discharge and recruitments. It discourages national integration efforts and promotes ethnicity especially where people of the same national and tribal origin work together. It discourages research and innovation and therefore limits growth and output in an organization. Works Cited Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Federal Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Laws. Retrieved on 20th November, 2012 from http://www.eeoc.gov/facts/qanda.html Feagin, Jim. Racist America: Roots, Current Realities, and Future Reparations. New York: Taylor & Francis, 2009. Print. Gavin, Appleby. Harassment and Discrimination: And Other Workplace Landmines. New York: Entrepreneur Press, 2007. Print. O'Brien, Ruth. Voices from the Edge: Narratives about the Americans with Disabilities Act. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004. Print. U.S. Department of Education. (2006). Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/hq9805.html Read More