Human Resource Management - Pregnancy Discrimination Act - Essay Example

Human Resource Management: Pregnancy Discrimination Act For centuries, the age-old tradition of confining women within the four walls of the house has somewhat taken a U-turn as far as the societies of the present times are concerned. These notions have taken a nosedive at least in the developed nations like America and the continent of Europe and Australia. Civil societies now look up to their women with the same valor as they do to their men. They have been at par with their male counterparts in showing their true grit and class, in fighting wars, doing medical and relief operations as well as the most significant of them all – teaching the young laureates their basics. The latter known as the art of teaching is indeed the highest position a woman can possibly achieve in the world of today. Apart from the few mentioned, women have been particularly active in the field of judiciary where now female judges have also been started to appoint, lawyers as well as legal practitioners who help the common man and woman in any way they possibly could. However what still seems missing at the present is a lack of fair treatment towards women at the workplace and this indeed leaves a bad taste in the mouth of one and all. In this paper, the discussion will be centered around the Pregnancy Discrimination Act which speaks of a number of aspects that come under the pregnancy and maternal leaves of the female workers and it also takes a close look at the relation of the same with the human resources management functions within this very organization. The Pregnancy Discrimination Act is a sure messiah when it comes to the hardships faced by women in order to ensure that their jobs are retained and that the employers do not fire them when they are undergoing the critical pregnancy periods. Speaking at length about the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, we find that it is amendment to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Pregnancy Discrimination Act is basically any sort of discrimination meted out to a female who is about to undergo the different stages of pregnancy or is undergoing them, issues of childbirth seem to arise within the female office workers and all medical related conditions. These situations come directly under the unlawful sex discrimination under Title VII. What Pregnancy Discrimination Act suggests is that there must not be any kind of discrimination towards females when their health conditions are affected by pregnancy and they must be treated in an equal manner to the male counterparts or any other within the organization –just like normal employees who have more or less similar abilities and/or limitations at the best of times. Pregnancy Discrimination Act is a fair act that looks at putting the males and females on a common ground, from where they could share their grievances in line with the changing human resource laws and measures and this brings the females to a point of equal rights which they could demand in the wake of childbirth and pregnancy related matters. Pregnancy Discrimination Act, in a normal, civilized world holds a lot of weight and it needs to be enacted properly within the domains of an organization so as to make the employees feel contented regarding the organization’s policies as well as its stance towards sex discrimination acts, which in the times much like today, are a necessity. According to the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, employers cannot refuse to offer jobs to the qualified females on the basis of their pregnancy-related conditions. What this means is the fact that Pregnancy Discrimination Act does not encourage any sort of biased treatment in line with the hiring of such females. In fact what the act does is to promulgate a sense of understanding and empathy with these females by providing them jobs so that when they get over with their pregnancy regimes, they contribute to the well being of the organization in a much better manner and their effectiveness and efficiency increases as a result of the same. Thus there are provisions which suggest that the employer cannot refuse to hire such a person, however based on her qualification and experience for the job, if there is a situation that the women under question is pregnant. The law has been promulgated pretty fair in accordance with the Pregnancy Discrimination Act and thus the whole discussion revolves around the same theme nonetheless. The Pregnancy Discrimination Act also takes a look at the leave schedules of such females – which are bracketed under the pregnancy and maternity leaves or any other that arise from time to time. There is the aspect of health insurance which comes under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act as well that specifically outlines the basis of whether or not a pregnant employee is bound to receive a health cover under such a situation. The fringe benefits are also covered under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act which takes a close look at what is offered to the females once they undergo the pregnancy regimes and are thus assured of receiving these benefits on the part of the organization they work for. The aspect of leave laws is discussed in detail under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act since the leaves are awarded in much the same manner if an employee working for the organization needs it, under extreme measures of disability or inability to work due to physical, mental or any other ailments. Thus pregnancy and childbirth issues are treated in line with the other leave laws as instilled in essence by the human resources management division of the organization or in the broader context, the organization itself. Pregnancy Discrimination Act prohibits any form of discrimination on the basis of pregnancy and this is one thing that needs to be made cleared all said and done. What one must understand is the fact that the Pregnancy Discrimination Act is there to provide support and facilitation to the females working under the aegis of an organization and it is for their very own betterment. Now the point is to discern whether these aspects of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act are being taken care of by different organizations or not. This is an interesting research question since organizations could do so much more compared to what they are doing presently. There surely need to be a lot of efforts and endeavors to suggest corrective measures under present working conditions which are not totally pathetic to state the least but then again some positive steps could be taken time and again to reinforce the good work that has already been done. One must understand that the Pregnancy Discrimination Act is for the benefit of the females working in an organization and thus employers need to empower the females who work side by side with the male colleagues within an organization and thus give the females the much needed rights and equivalent regimes so that at the end of the day, they could give in their best shot as far as work ethics are concerned. The Pregnancy Discrimination Act needs to be studied in a broader light since the underlying points are very significant to the working morals of the organization and there could be hiring and firing decisions made in split seconds if the employers feel that they do not hold tight to the Pregnancy Discrimination Act and its different salient points. Pregnancy Discrimination Act looks at the bigger pictures – it provides an opportunity to the females working in an organization to grow and understand their roles that they have with the organizations. It also provides them a chance to study their good and bad points that they owe in line with the organizational regimes and what more they can do to improve the good ones and correct the bad aspects as far as work ethics are concerned. Pregnancy Discrimination Act was promulgated in the year 1975 and it was based on the principle that it would disallow any sort of discriminatory behavior on the females when it comes from the human resources function of an organization. It would take care of the issues that arise in workplace and would thus enable the female workers to exercise their due rights under pregnancy situations. This also asked of the act to make sure that the women were empowered with their due rights and there was no anomaly as concerns to the very same aspect. In entirety, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act looked at the subject of treating all the workers and employees in the same fashion, no matter a male colleague wanted to have a leave for his inability to work one such day or his disability to work within the office place due to his accident or mishap situation. It gave the females the equal rights since pregnancy was taken in the same esteem as that of other leaves which are granted on to the male colleagues and even the females from time to time. The Pregnancy Discrimination Act applies to 15 or more employees working in an organization and thus its promulgation is in line with the said rule as such. Moreover the aspects that hold weight under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act are discussed here. The Pregnancy Discrimination Act looks at having equal rights for women who have had abortion and they cannot be fired for having done the same. The employer has no right to refuse such a woman a job or fire her from the job if she has had an abortion and this comes under her personal likes and dislikes of which the organization has got no role to play. Furthermore, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act discusses the aspect of forcefully asking a worker to leave the job if she is pregnant. This becomes a bone of contention under the said act since the Pregnancy Discrimination Act simply does not give any room or permission for having this in effect on the part of the organization. The act looks at the discriminatory behavior which is pretty apparent in such a situation where the employers ask the female to resign or leave the job on the context that she is pregnant and intends to avail a pregnancy/maternal leave. One of the significant aspects that is discussed by the Pregnancy Discrimination Act lies in the fact that it gives the credit for the work that has been done by the females who are about to avail the pregnancy/maternal leave or are already in the process of doing the same. This means that the employers have no right whatsoever to discard the credit of the work that has been done on their part and allot the same to someone else. This indeed is one of the most heinous of acts that could be undertaken by an employer and should thus be put into effect by all organizations so as to dispel the impression that they are unfair to their workers, employees and general staff members. As far as the specific issue of the human resources management function is concerned within an organization, we find out that the employers usually have a problem at hiring such workers who are undergoing the pregnancy-related condition or who will have the same in the coming times. The workers who have been giving in their best for the sake of the organization are also given a hard time by the human resources management function once they apply for a pregnancy/maternal leave or take leaves from time to time due to pregnancy-related condition. The human resources management function needs to understand that if it does not take care of its own employees, who else will? They must direct the question on to their own selves and thus pave the way for a cooperative and facilitating mechanism – one which benefits not only the female worker but also the organization in the long run. What it does is to build a positive rapport of the organization in the related industry and aspiring job seekers welcome the moves that are taken by such an organization coming directly under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act. More than anything else, these potential employees and workers know that they will be given fair treatment in such an organization and would not be taken for a ride by the organization itself. Pregnancy is a difficult process in the lifetime of a woman and if the organization does not support her through this period, no one else can. The organization has to comprehend its due role in such a period of her life and give her all the solace and support that she and her family requires. It is only because of sound working practices that are employed in organizations that the employees feel that they are being looked after well. The flip side of the coin is nothing but sheer lack of interest in the job and zero percent motivation on the job and off it. The future of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act lies in the hands of the different organizations which have females working for them. Now it is up to the organizations as to how best they can utilize this act and thus enforce the finer aspects of the same within the working regimes of their organization. The organization must understand that the Pregnancy Discrimination Act would provide better returns for the company in the long run and they must not just stick to the short-term goals alone. It is not easy to hire a new person on the job for a female worker who has taken a maternal leave. It is even much more tiresome to train this new employee and make him to come to terms with the usual routines of the organization. Thus the need is to ascertain what is best for the organization however there should be a lot of consideration for the females who are working under the umbrella of the organization itself. The welfare of these women is of essence to the company and the human resources management function needs to take care of this aspect all said and done. Thus the future looks bright for the promulgation of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act within the different organizations only if there is a genuine effort to understand the problems and concerns of the females who are working for the betterment of the companies and it is only duty bound for the organizations to provide the much needed support and leaves which these females require from time to time, coming under the pregnancy/maternal leaves’ topic. The struggle within working women for gaining an equal status at workplaces has not finished and it still exists to date. If ever there was any kind of endurance attached with it, it has given way for a more indiscriminate form of workplace attitude. This indiscriminate behavior is actually sorted out by the seniors and more so by the male co-workers who view their female colleagues as threatening for their jobs and their up and coming opportunities in life. The women of 1980’s had a different struggle to which they tried to adhere to and give in their premium at the best of times but with the changing attitudes of people as well as a new world order without procrastination, these women rights have somewhat deteriorated and touched their lowest ebb. It may be mentioned here that the aspect concerned with recruitment of female staff within the already present setup of a company has slightly changed, in the positive direction but the attitudes that the people posses as well as their behavior to this sex have not improved a bit. It is beyond shadow of a doubt that women in today’s office workplace have to go through a lot of turbulent times and it is up to them solely that how they deal with these circumstances. History has been quite evident in showing us all that women have really taken a long stride in coming out of their homes and actually working along with men who always, for one reason or the other, have a violent nature towards their female coworkers in the workforce. This needs to be changed. People should start to make women feel more comfortable rather than being oppressive and tyrannical. For starters, they can stop discriminating on the basis of pregnancy so to speak. All said and done, the need of the hour is to make sure that the organizations are on board as far as the mechanism of leave policies are concerned and they must be sympathetic to the needs and ever changing situations of the female employees who are working day in day out, for the betterment of the organization. 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Reproductive Entitlement, The American Prospect, Vol.11, March 27, 2000 Author Unknown, What Women can do about Workplace Rights Violations, USA Today, Vol. 125, 1996 Word Count: 2,773 Read More