Title VII of the Civil Rights Act - Essay Example

            Before delineating the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, it is imperative to define the statute. The Office of the Revisor of Statutes (n.d) defines statutes as "Laws that apply to all citizens and cover a variety of topics including the legislature, the executive branch, state departments, the judiciary, and crimes against people and property and the penalties associated with them" (para. 1). This statute was implemented in the year 1964 and its aim was to protect employees, in this case, nurses, from prejudice, bias, or unfairness by employers based on their ethnicity, gender, and religious conviction (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, n.d). It is however important to posit that this law or statute is only applicable where the employer has at least fifteen employees.

            Other than protecting employees from biasness during recruitment, this statute according to U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (n.d) also proscribes against making recruitment conclusions or verdicts founded on stereotypes in relation to skills, personal characteristic, and level of productivity characteristic of individuals from particular ethnic backgrounds. Work-related aspects covered by this statute includes employment, reassignments, allocation of duties, appraisal, and evaluation of performance, as well as remuneration and rewards (U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, 2014). Subsequently, this statute proscribes against organizational plans of action that impact negatively on employees of certain ethnic background or race. This statute or act also proscribes against discriminating against an employee based on the fact that he or she has a divergent opinion in regard to particular laws within an organization that may be discriminative, or has taken part in proceedings in a court of law (U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, 2014).

            Information concerning the race or color of an individual may be important in the recruitment process of nurses in terms of evaluating whether a recruitment process has included and considered applications from individuals from all backgrounds. However, it is imperative for healthcare providers or employers to desist from including such information in an applicant's application form to avoid using it in making the final hiring decision (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, n.d). Healthcare organizations can similarly implement guidelines that illegalize any disparaging, depreciating or insulting comments or remarks based on a person's color or race within the workplace. Strategies that encourage nurses as well as other employees to report incidents of discrimination of an employee on the basis of race and color at the workplace by his or her colleagues ought also to be implemented. Allocation of duties should be done on the basis of skills, experience, and capabilities of an individual rather than focusing it on the basis of color or race. Rewards should also be given based on individual performance or productivity (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, n.d).

            In conclusion, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act is a good example of a statute that was created and implemented to protect the rights of employees. This statute or law proscribes against discrimination of employees by their employers on the basis of the color of the skin, ethnicity, or religious background. Employees who have participated in legal proceedings in any way are also protected by this law. Employers should desist from including racial information on the application forms, award rewards based on productivity rather than on the basis of race, and discourage racial jokes within the workplace.