Human Resources and Different Legal Issues - Essay Example

Since the boss led a team of sales personnel, the boss had exhibited signs of aggressive behavior in terms of constantly yelling at his subordinates, picking on some identified individuals (perceived as impinging on his position) based on race, gender, or sexual orientation, blocking his subordinate’s promotions, attacking workers through name-calling or delivering personal offensive criticisms in the form of jokes, deliberately embarrassing his subordinates in front of higher management or other stakeholders, among others. No subordinate even had the courage nor the veracity to report his behavior to higher management since a previous incident of reporting discrimination issues caused the subordinate’s job.

The acts violate the law on Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO), specifically Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which states that “this law makes it illegal to discriminate against someone based on race, color, religion, national origin, or sex. The law also makes it illegal to retaliate against a person because the person complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination, or participated in an employment discrimination investigation or lawsuit. The law also requires that employers reasonably accommodate applicants' and employees' sincerely held religious practices, unless doing so would impose an undue hardship on the operation of the employer's business” (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, n.d., par. 1)

The Human Resources Department (HRD)could have handled the situation by making random actual monitoring and review of the performance of their managerial personnel through various means: through direct (but unannounced and discrete) observation, distributing performance observation forms to be completed by subordinates (for all managerial positions), encouraging reporting through an open communication line where the sender’s identity could be anonymous, and providing regular orientation for all employees on pertinent labor laws and ways to file complaints or charges (even directly with the US EOCC). In terms of the lack of courage or intent from the bullying boss to make the necessary complaints, the HRD personnel could still investigate any frequent turnover in employees, firing, or leaving the department, as the case may manifest. The functions of HRD include maintenance and development of personnel which encompasses performance evaluation and career pathing. Any manifested problems from the department due to the bullying boss could be exhibited in terms of a high turnover rate, lack of productivity and low morale, and lack of commitment to the achievement of organizational goals. When these symptoms are eminent, HRD must take the necessary action to review, evaluate, monitor, and take action on the performance and behavior of the bullying boss.