Archive for December, 1969
Short Note about Discrimination
Yesterday I participated in management training in the subject of harassment and discrimination. When ever I encounter legal issue I’m shock to discover that people really believe that they can regulate every aspect of their live. More shocking is the fact that when these effort failing the reaction is not to reduce regulations but to add more.
And the thing that make it even worse? The fact that preventing discrimination is wrong! If the owner of company, or shareholders, decide that they do not want to have Jewish employees it is their right. They are probably racists and not nice people but it is their company and their money and should be able to decide who they want to employ.
So it is not only that we went too far with these laws, it’s the fact that we shouldn’t start with it at all.
List of federal laws dealing with discrimination:
Employment Laws Prior to WWII
Civil Rights Act of 1866 prohibits racial discrimination in certain areas of private employment.
National Labor Relations Act of 1935 (NLRA) guarantees the right of employees to organize and to bargain collectively with their employers or to refrain from all such activity.
Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) requires minimum rates of pay and overtime for most employees.
Anti-Discrimination Laws of the 1960s
The Equal Pay Act of 1963 (formally an amendment to the FLSA) prohibits gender-based differences in wages and benefits, unless the differential can be justified by factors not based on sex (such as seniority).
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination by private employers, not just in pay but also in hiring, firing, and other employment decisions, on grounds of race, color, sex, religion, and national origin.
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) extends the anti-discrimination principle to age-based decisions affecting employees who are at least 40 years old working for employers with 20 employees or more.
Expansion of Anti-Discrimination Laws in the 1970s
The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSH Act) requires employers to provide workplaces free from serious recognized hazards and to comply with Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards. OSHA regulations include recordkeeping, reporting, and posting requirements for employers. In addition, the OSH Act grants employees the right to complain to OSHA about workplace safety and health issues and the right to participate in OSHA workplace inspections.
The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 prohibits employers with federal contracts from discriminating against employees with handicaps.
Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1973 prohibits discrimination against disabled persons by federal contractors who also are required to take affirmative action in hiring qualified individuals.
Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) sets minimum standards for most voluntarily established pension and health plans in private industry to provide protection for individuals in these plans. ERISA requires plans to provide participants with plan information including important information about plan features and funding; provides fiduciary responsibilities for those who manage and control plan assets; requires plans to establish a grievance and appeals process for participants to get benefits from their plans; and gives participants the right to sue for benefits and breaches of fiduciary duty.
Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974 calls for affirmative action by government contractors to employ and advance in employment qualified veterans of the Vietnam era and disabled veterans.
The Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 extends Title VII protection to women affected by pregnancy and related conditions.
Resurgence of Statutory Regulation Since the Late 1980s
The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA) makes it illegal for employers to hire illegal aliens and for employers to discriminate against legal aliens.
The Employee Polygraph Protection Act of 1988 generally prohibits private employers from requiring or requesting any employee or job applicant to take a lie detector test (except in very limited circumstances) and from discharging, disciplining, or discriminating against an employee or prospective employee for refusing to take a test.
The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act of 1988 (WARN) requires employers to provide notification 60 calendar days in advance of plant closings and mass layoffs. Employers must also provide notice to the State dislocated worker unit and to the chief elected official of the unit of local government in which the employment site is located.
The Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) prohibits discrimination by employers (those with at least 15 employees) against disabled workers, and requires "reasonable accommodation" of the applicant or employee’s disabling condition.
The Older Workers Benefit Protection Act of 1990 (OWBPA) prohibits employers from pressuring older workers to waive their rights to sue for age discrimination. The Act also requires that employers give employees comprehensive and timely information about early retirement benefits.
The Civil Rights Act of 1991 (CRA ‘91), enacted in response to several important Supreme Court rulings of the late 1980s, guarantees Plaintiffs the right to mandatory jury trials and significantly increases potential damages – up to $300,000 – for violations of the Act. In addition, the Act permits juries to award attorney’s fees to successful plaintiffs.
The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) requires leaves of up to 12 weeks in any 12-month period due to the employee’s own serious illness or that of a spouse, child or parent. Leave also is available to care for a newly-born, adopted or foster child.
The Uniformed Services Employment and Re-Employment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA) protects the rights and benefits of civilian employees who serve the country and expands the total amount of time an individual may be absent from work and retain re-employment rights.
Violence Against Women Act 1994 (VAWA) designed to protect the civil rights of victims of gender-motivated violence by establishing a initial Federal civil rights cause of action for victims of crimes of violence motivated by gender. It permits claimants to sue individuals, and does not require an exhaustion of administrative remedies. Additionally, the VAWA may be relied upon by employees who are unable to prove under Title VII that an employer knew or should have known of sexual harassment perpetrated by a co-worker or supervisor.
The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWOR) enacted to create with the assistance of employers, a means to locate individuals who were delinquents in their child support payments, and to recover those payments by garnishing the individual’s wages. All employers are required to report the name, address, and social security number of all newly hired employees no later than (20) days after the employee’s date of hire.
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) protects health insurance coverage for workers and their families when they change or lose their jobs. It also addresses the security and privacy of health data.