1.      Introduction

(Federal Anti-Discrimination Laws)Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e and following) prohibits employers from discriminating against both applicants and employees based on race, color, religion, gender, and nationality. Under the law employers are prohibited from retaliating against an applicant or employee who asserts his or her rights at workplace.

(Employer Diversity Initiatives:Legal Considerations for Employers and Policymakers, 2012)Almost five decades have been completed since Congress enacted Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, (42 U.S.C. 2000e). It prohibited discrimination at workplace based on race, color, religion, gender or nationality. After the conception and inclusion of discrimination under Civil Rights, state and local laws also came in its support, defining discrimination on the basis of other relevant grounds, such as age, physical condition, relationship status, sexual orientation etc.

2.      Benefits and costs of voluntarily prohibiting three to five (3-5) federal forms of discrimination prohibited under the federal anti-discrimination laws.

2.1 Age Discrimination

(EEOC)The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) forbids discrimination against people aged are 40 and above. Barring some states, most states do not protect workers from age discrimination under the age of 40.

It is not illegal for an employer or other covered entity to favor an older worker over a younger one, even if both workers are age 40 or older.

2.2 Equal Pay/Compensation
The Equal Pay Act necessitates any employee irrespective of gender in a workplace be given equal pay for equal work vis. a vis. his colleagues. The jobs may not be identical, but they are required to be substantially equal i.e. content of the job and not the title determines whether jobs are substantially equal. All kind of entitlements that may include monthly salary, overtime, bonuses, employee stock option plans, share in profits, medical insurance, group insurance, gratuity, house rent allowance, conveyance allowance, hotel stay etc. fall under the ambit of the law.

2.3 Sex
It is illegal to harass an applicant or employee on the basis of that person’s sex. Harassment includes “sexual harassment” or undesirable sexual progresses, sexual demands, and other verbal or physical harassment.

However, harassment does not only have to be of a sexual nature and can include remarks about a person’s sex that may be inappropriate.

Light hearted comments shared amongst colleagues may not constitute to harassment as long as none of the parties are perturbed , however it becomes illegal when it is so severe that it creates a hostile work environment or when it results in an adverse employment decision (such as the victim being fired or demoted).

 

 

 

 

2.4 Benefits:

 

2.4.1 Dual Protections

Anti –discriminatory measures offer dual protections to both employers and employees by dictating to some extent how employees should interact with other employees, as well as how employees and employers should interact. This can eliminate conflicts that may prove to create tensions in the work environment.

2.4.2Value Recognition
 Anti-discrimination laws are based on the underlying belief of equality, for instance child labor laws reflect the belief that children should not work under certain conditions and may not have the mental capacity to understand the contracts and tasks which many jobs require. Maintaining such practices at work can go a long way in stabilizing the overall value system of society by preserving them.

2.4.3Economic Stability

By ensuring equality in terms of opportunities and rewards, the society gains as a whole since all of its members gain the economic freedom to spend independently and give back to the system by acting as valuable customers.

 

2.5Costs:

Companies that embrace diversity and bring changes in the ecosystem which favors all members equally are often faced with the threat of litigation or other legal impediments while trying to promote and maintain diversity.

2.5.1Costs of Compliance - potential costs include record-keeping systems; designing training and development tools for the staff; communication of new policies across all the channels. However, the amount of these costs will be influenced by the kind of internal systems already in place and requirements of the current legislation.

2.5.2 Business Risks of Diversity – There is a certain degree of risk in programs designed to change corporate cultures. It may take longer than planned to implement or may fail completely. This “execution risk” is a well-known term for businesses.

 

3.      Benefits and costs of voluntarily prohibiting a form of discrimination not covered by any of the federal anti-discrimination laws.

3.1Example1: If an employee or an applicant is made devoid of certain employee benefits or opportunities that would have otherwise been available, it falls under the gambit of discrimination based on a person’s sexual orientation. Although things have improved over the years due to awareness campaigns, activism and support from media, it is still experienced in large numbers by the workforce of America. Gay, bi-sexual, pansexual, being in minority often get neglected due to lack of federal, state, local laws against such kind of discrimination.

3.2Benefits

Due large scale activism, talks in the media and certain other factors sexual orientation may soon be included as a valid ground for discrimination under state laws, local ordinances, Governmental framework, and corporate practices. Thus, voluntary adhering to such practices can help an organization from getting into any kind of trouble in near future. By giving the minorities a platform to earn a respectable livelihood, the employers may be able to create more loyalty amongst the employees towards the organization and hence better achieve organizational goals.

3.3Costs:

3.3.1Cash Costs of Diversity - the costs involved are: hiring specialists in the area; providing education and training to all; costs involved in designing and providing support improving infrastructure to provide better working conditions ; communication; employment policies; documentation and measuring effectiveness. Some of these are “one-time and short-term but most remain long term and recurring costs.

4.      Benefits and costs of voluntarily adopting hiring and promotion practices designed to diversify the workforce.

(What is Equal Employment Opportunity? - Definition, Laws & Policies)The prime objective for any kind of employment discrimination law is examining equal opportunity. The aim is not to always have equal results but rather work towards ensuring everyone gets equal opportunity in the labor market. In other words, these laws try to provide 'a level playing field' so that certain marginalized sections of people who have been discriminated against in the past are not subjected to adverse treatment.

 

4.1Benefits:

 

(Directorate-General for Employment, 2003)Investments in hiring and promotion policies that accommodate diversity contribute to a strategy of long-term value creation. An improved image in the eyes of the key stakeholders including customers helps create immense value, improving the quality of human resource within the organization and thus gaining competitive advantage.

Costs:

4.1.1Opportunity Costs of Diversity –any cost involved with putting a resource to better use is an opportunity cost of not being able to utilize a scarce resource. These include; longer time commitments from top management; diversion of functional management time; and, productivity lapses.        

 

5.Recommendation:

(Directorate-General for Employment, 2003)The lack of awareness regarding workforce diversity and the risk of changing the long established culture of a business are the main hindrances involved in implementing pro- workforce diversity policies.

It is 2025 and all of the organizations are struggling with finding out their core strength and competitive advantage. No organization in today’s era can work in isolation and ignore the pressing need to introduce an anti- discrimination framework in office.

The advantages of prohibiting discrimination at work place far outweigh its costs.

Even for hiring and promotion practices, with the objective of maintaining workforce diversity is key to an organization’s

long-term benefit. Even though creating and maintaining diversity at workplace has many hidden costs involved it is one of the most effective ways to add to competitiveness by the ability to gather inputs from a pool of different sources united towards achieving the larger organizational objectives

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

(2012). Employer Diversity Initiatives:Legal Considerations for Employers and Policymakers. New York City Bar, COMMITTEE ON LABOR & EMPLOYMENT LAW.

Directorate-General for Employment, I. R. (2003). THE COSTS AND BENEFITS OF DIVERSITY. European Commission.

EEOC. (n.d.). U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Retrieved 08 31, 2017, from https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/types/age.cfm

Federal Anti-Discrimination Laws. (n.d.). Retrieved 08 31, 2017, from NOLO: http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/federal-antidiscrimination-laws-29451.html

What is Equal Employment Opportunity? - Definition, Laws & Policies. (n.d.). Retrieved from Study.com: http://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-equal-employment-opportunity-definition-laws-policies.html

The relevant…Wayne R. LaFave &Austin W Scott, Criminal Laws 5.4 (2ded. 1986). Eugene F

 

 

 

 

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