Q2 2024 APCO Geopolitical Radar - The Global Operating Environment for Business
Employee Job Description
2. Discrimination
Discrimination is the unlawful and intentional act of
unfair treatment of a person based on race, ethnicity,
sex (gender), religion, national origin, physical or
mental disability, and age. Some states have laws that
also protect against discrimination on the basis of
marital or familial status or sexual preference.
4. Employment discrimination is where a worker is
treated different (typically worse) than others in the
workforce due to their race, gender (sex), national
origin, religion, age, or disability. It can take the form
of an adverse action that affects an employee
economically like, failure to promote, demotion,
suspension, termination, or loss of benefits.
Employment discrimination can also take the form of a
hostile work environment (workplace harassment),
like verbal or physical harassment, or it can occur
when an employer fails to reasonably accommodate a
qualified employee with a disability.
6. It is illegal to discriminate against an individual
because of :
Birthplace
Ancestry
Culture and
Linguistic characteristics common to a specific ethnic
group.
7. Physical disability of the people
Weight discrimination
Age discrimination
Any diseases
9. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII),
which prohibits employment discrimination based on
race, colour, religion, sex, or national origin.
the Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA), which protects men
and women who perform substantially equal work in
the same establishment from sex-based wage
discrimination
10. the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967
(ADEA), which protects individuals who are 40
years of age or older
Title I and Title V of the Americans with
Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended (ADA), which
prohibit employment discrimination against
qualified individuals with disabilities in the private
sector, and in state and local governments;
11. Sections 501 and 505 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973,
which prohibit discrimination against qualified
individuals with disabilities who work in the federal
government
12. Title II of the Genetic Information Non discrimination
Act of 2008 (GINA), which prohibits employment
discrimination based on genetic information about an
applicant, employee, or former employee; and
the Civil Rights Act of 1991, which, among other
things, provides monetary damages in cases of
intentional employment discrimination.
13. Why do employee’s hesitate to report discrimination,
workplace harassment and sexual harassment?
Answer
Fear of losing their job
Fear of retaliation
Fear of getting someone into trouble
Fear of disrupting the workplace
Fear of being accused of having no sense of humor
Fear of being embarrassed
Fear of feeling like “less of a man/woman”
Fear of not being believed.
job discrimination.mp4
14. Effects of discrimination in the
workplace:
Discrimination in the workplace negatively affects
businesses and hurt a company's reputation.
A business self-limits itself when it restricts
advancement to certain groups or types of employees.
Employees are more likely to be looking for new jobs
when they feel they have been wronged.
Sending wrong signals to potential clients can also
cause conflict because customers can sense when
employees aren't enthusiastic or don't believe in their
company.
15. Ethical Analysis
Rights: Is there a moral right to engage in employment
discrimination? Or do people have a moral right to be
free from discrimination, thereby creating a moral
duty not to discriminate?
To answer
16. Ethical Analysis
Rights:
Reversibility: I wouldn’t like it if I were victimized by
employment discrimination
Universalizability: I can’t imagine a world in which all
employment decisions were based on false stereotypes
and prejudice instead of legitimate, job-related factors
17. Ethical Analysis
Rights: (cont’d.):
Respect / Free Consent: employment discrimination
does not treat the victim of the discrimination with
respect; the victim has not freely consented to be
discriminated against
Therefore, there is no moral right to engage in
employment discrimination
Instead, people have a moral right to be free from
discrimination, which creates the moral duty not to
engage in discrimination
18. Ethical Analysis
Distributive Justice: Is employment discrimination
fair? Does it produce a fair distribution of benefits and
costs?
Egalitarianism: no reason to believe discrimination
produces an equal distribution of good and harm
Capitalism: discrimination ignores contributions
19. Ethical Analysis
Distributive Justice (cont’d.):
Socialism: discrimination ignores abilities and needs
(victims of discrimination likely to be among the needy)
Libertarianism: the victims of discrimination have not
freely chosen to be among the victimized
20. Ethical Analysis
Distributive Justice (cont’d.):
Rawls’s Principles:
Equal Liberty Principle: Discrimination does not provide
equal liberties
Equal Opportunity Principle: Discrimination does not provide
equal opportunities
Difference Principle: Discrimination does not help those in
need as much as possible
Therefore, employment discrimination is unfair and
therefore unethical
21. Ethical Analysis
Ethics of Care:
A manager has a relationship with:
Stockholders who have entrusted their investments with
management
Customers who want good products and good services at good
prices
Employees who want the company to be successful so they can
get good pay and benefits
22. Ethical Analysis
Ethics of Care (cont’d.):
A manager who doesn’t make employment decisions on
the basis of legitimate, job-related factors:
Doesn’t hire the best qualified
Doesn’t create incentives for good job performance
Result: higher costs, which threatens stockholders,
customers, and employees
Therefore, employment discrimination is unethical
23. Ethical Analysis
Virtue Ethics:
A manager who engages in discrimination can be
described as bigoted, biased, racist, sexist, and so forth
These character traits are vices, not virtues
Therefore, employment discrimination is unethical
All 5 moral principles reach the same conclusion:
discrimination is unethical
funny Employee Gets Fired and Flips Out -
YouTube.FLV
24. US Law
Because employment discrimination is unethical, US
law makes it illegal when it is based on:
Race, Color, Religion, Sex, National Origin, Age (if 40 or
older), & Disability
Unless an exception applies
Example: Bona Fide Occupational Qualification (BFOQ)
25. Affirmative Action
Examples of Hiring Policies:
Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO)
Take extra steps to get a pool of well qualified
applicants from all groups
Use membership in a group victimized by past
discrimination as a tie breaker
Use membership in a group victimized by past
discrimination as a plus factor
Quotas / Preferences / Set-Asides
26. Affirmative Action
Arguments in favor of affirmative action:
Compensatory justice
Morally justified means to morally justified ends
Speeds the process of correcting the effects of past
discrimination
27. Affirmative Action
Arguments against affirmative action:
Reverse discrimination
Not compensatory justice due to mismatch
Hurts the people it means to help
Wal-Mart Employment Discrimination Suit -
YouTube.flv
29. Makky vs Chertoff
Appeals court held that a government employee who
sued for discrimination based on his religion and
national origin had no suit as the reason for his loss of
employment was the loss of his security clearance, a
necessary condition of continued employment.
31. Makky, a Muslim, was born in Egypt and worked in the
U.S. An expert on explosives, he worked for the
Transportation Safety Administration (TSA). In 1987
he was granted “secret” level security clearance. In
1996, the clearance was upgraded to “top secret.” At
that time, he notified the government that he was a
dual citizen, also holding Egyptian citizenship. The
quality of his work was excellent. In 2003, the TSA
began to review his security clearance. His clearance
was revoked because of his failure to disclose foreign
relatives and foreign associates. The loss of his
clearance meant suspension without pay. Makky
appealed, but the administrative judge upheld the TSA
decision. He sued for discrimination based on religion
and national origin. The trial court held for the TSA.
Makky appealed.
33. Affirmed. Makky failed to establish a prima facie case
of employment discrimination given the evidence that
he no longer possessed a security clearance as required
for his position. The TSA had the right to suspend
Makky since he lacked a clearance. He was given the
reason for the loss of his clearance, which is all that is
required in such instances.