Equal Opportunity: Major HR Laws Affecting Equal Opportunity
Directions: Applying your knowledge of current HR laws, the text, and other sources, (1) examine each
following scenario, (2) Determine which law potentially is being violated and (3) what actions you would
take as the HR manager.
Scenario 1: Roderick, an employee on the manufacturing line and a member of a new religious
organization called The Rites of Spring, has informed you that he will be unable to work on Friday
afternoons after 2:00pm and will be unable to report to work before noon on Mondays. He indicated that
from Friday afternoon through Monday morning he must not work, as according to the principles of The
Rites of Spring. He realizes this is an inconvenience and has offered to extend hisworkdays on other
afternoons. The facility is a 24 hour operation with 3 shifts.
EQUAL OPPORTUNITY: MAJOR HR LAWS AFFECTING EQUAL OPPORTUNITY 2
Equal Opportunity: Major HR Laws Affecting Equal Opportunity
Employer and employee relationships are important in fostering achievement of
organization goals. Various laws exist to ensure that employees are treated equally as they
provide services in their respective organizations. Examples of these laws include the Equal
Employment Opportunity laws, Equal Pay Act of 1963, and Human resource laws among many
others. This paper provides insights on the laws that are being violated in various case scenarios
and appropriate actions that HR managers ought to take as a remedy.
In scenario one, the HR resource law that is potential being violated is Title VI of the
Civil Rights Act (CRA) of 1964. This law requires or prohibits any form of discrimination based
on color, race, or religious affiliation when it comes to provision of benefits and services to
employees (The U.S Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), 2015). In this case,
the request that Roderick has made should not be turned down. His religious group known as
‘The Rites of Spring’ does not allow him to report to work on Monday and Friday afternoon. To
solve this problem, as a HR Manager, I will have to make adjustment so that Roderick works in
other shifts on other days. Employees that do not belong or ascribe to this new religious group
will work on Monday and Friday afternoon while Roderick will be required to work in other
shifts. This will help solve this stalemate without discriminating the employee.
Scenario two where Adam an Africa American worker is harassed by both coworkers
and supervisor is a clear demonstration of violation of the Title VII of the Civil Right Act (CRA)
of 1964. This is one of the acts in the equal employment opportunity that human resource
personnel’s must abide to when rendering their duties in any organization (EEOC, 2015). This
EQUAL OPPORTUNITY: MAJOR HR LAWS AFFECTING EQUAL OPPORTUNITY 3
law prohibits any form of harassments and unfair treatment of employees on the basis of their
color, race, religion, national origin or even sex in all areas of employment from selection to
retirement. This act is applied in organizations that have more than fifteen employees. In this
case, it is apparent that Adam is discriminated because of his color of skin and national origin as
he is called names, and denied opportunity to work overtime. As a human resource manager, I
have the responsibility to ensure that such behaviors do not go on. One way is to publish the laws
and make sure that all employees and supervisors are aware of these laws and abide to the same.
Those that may continue to discriminate against employees such as Adam because of their
national origin and color of skin will have to face disciplinary action both in the organization and
in the courts. I will also ensure that all employees have equal opportunity to work overtime
without discriminating others based on color or national origin so that they are all entitled to get
overtime.
Scenario three case, the HR laws that are violated are the Age Discrimination in
Employment Act (ADEA) of 1975. The law requires that no person is discriminated on the basis
of their age. All people across the age strata have a right to benefit from any program or activity
that receives assistance from the Federal government ( EEOC, 2015). Therefore, the site
supervisors went against the law by advertising for the construction jobs and specifying that
young men were the only eligible one to apply. Women that protested about these ads were
demanding for their rights. As the HR manager of this project, what I will do to make sure that
the adverts are redone so that they capture all applicants regardless of their age. Provided, the
applicants have the ability and the will to execute the tasks at hand they, have the right to apply
and be considered for the job opening.
EQUAL OPPORTUNITY: MAJOR HR LAWS AFFECTING EQUAL OPPORTUNITY 4
In scenario four, the law that is potentially being violated is the Immigration and Reform
Control Act (IRCA) of 1986. The law makes it illegal for any employer to hire an employee
when they know that the employee is an alien or not eligible to work in the country. It is the duty
of employers to scrutinize information about the eligibility of an individual to work in the United
State to comply with the law. Therefore, in this case, despite the fact that one of the applicants
had qualifications for the job, he was not eligible to work in the US because of being Mexican
wetback. To solve this problem as a human resource manager, I will not recommend for the
hiring of this wetback to work in USA if investigations indicate that he is not a US citizen.
Scenario 5, which is about Tiffany who is, also six month pregnant illustrates violation
of the pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978. The act prohibits any form of discrimination
against employees and applicants based on childbirth, pregnancy, and related conditions (Equal
Employment Opportunity, 1979). Tiffany has the obligation to work or go for a leave if she asks
provided the period is predetermined. As a human resource manager, this problem can be
addressed by allowing her to work in the other department as directed by the supervisor but she
should be entitled to her incentives.
In scenario six, Human resource law that has a potential of being violated is the
Americans With disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990. This act requires accessibility to employment,
services, public facilities, telecommunications, and transportation to all persons with disabilities
(The University of Alabama, 2015). Jennifer, regardless of suffering from multiple sclerosis and
using walkers, she has the right to contest for the position in the organization. She has the
qualifications to execute the roles and responsibilities well and therefore, her disabilities status
should not be taken as an excuse to leave her out of this contest. The law protects people like her
from any form of discrimination when it comes to promotion, pay, and training, providing fringe
EQUAL OPPORTUNITY: MAJOR HR LAWS AFFECTING EQUAL OPPORTUNITY 5
benefits, and other benefits that pertain to employment (Peetz, Gardner, Brown & Berns, 2008).
Therefore, as the manager, I will ensure that Jennifer apply for the job because she is qualified.
References
Equal Employment Opportunity. (1979). Labor Law Journal, 30(2), 118-121.
Peetz, D., Gardner, M., Brown, K., & Berns, S. (2008). Workplace effects of equal
employment opportunity legislation: the Australian experience. Policy Studies, 29(4),
405-419.
The University of Alabama. (2015). Summary of Major Equal Opportunity Laws.
The U.S Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (EEOC). (2015). Federal Laws
Prohibiting Job Discrimination Questions And Answers.
