Week  9 Discussion- Employment Discrimination

 As the Supreme Court made clear in the Burlington Industries v. Ellerth case (page 447-448 in your text), a critical part of a defense for an employer to avoid liability in a suit for sexual harassment is an effective in-house procedure to try to prevent such behavior and then deal with it should it arise.  What steps would be reasonable to take to implement an effective policy in an organization?  What sorts of procedures are available to you in your careers, and do you think they are effective?

In your discussions, also think back to instances of discrimination and/or harassment that you have seen in your workplace or in places where you may be a customer.  What steps could have been taken to remedy the situation for the person being discriminated against or harassed?  What about telling racist jokes or sexual jokes?  Or making comments that make fun of a lifestyle, or a person's physical characteristics.  Should there be workplace rules to prohibit that type of "just kidding" behavior? Or is that taking "political correctness" too far?   

5 point for discussion week(she's giving tight  grade)

here some other students submitted, so you have some idea. also i will send boo photo . AGING CONCLUSION AND FINDINGS 

 

STUDENT SAMPLES:

Sexual harassment in the workplace is something that many companies deal with. There are ways that they can attempt to prevent this from happening. The first way would be to carefully screen potential employees before hiring them. Any applicants who have had a history of sexual harassment should raise a red flag. A second step to take is by implementing policies that clearly state acceptable and unacceptable conduct. This will prevent confusion, and serve as a reminder to employees. Lastly, it is important to spell out the consequences for sexual harassment. If the employees fully understand what will happen, they will be far less likely to misbehave.

Within my career, I had to go through extensive training during my hiring process to educate me on the policies for sexual harassment. None of the scenarios proved to be an issue in my office. I work for a brokerage firm with three other men who serve as investment consultants. There were no female employees in my office to create an opportunity for sexual harassment. I thought that the procedures given would have been effective if they had been applicable to my situation.

Because of my workplace environment, the conversation at times would take on a locker-room tone. This included jokes that some people may have found offensive, but because of the atmosphere, it was fully tolerated. I do not believe that in a different scenario, the same amount of crass behavior would have been acceptable. However, due to the office's demographics, nobody minded. I feel as though as long as boundaries are understood, and nobody is emotionally hurt by actions, it should not be disciplined.

2ND STUDENT

Steps to avoid Sexual Harassment 

1. Outline in the employee handbook the anti-harassment part and focus on a  zero tolerance policy 

2. Make sure that all employees feel that they can go to their supervisor and file with any issues that they have.

3. Make sure the investigation is done y people out of the building and that employees who has informed will not be named at all. 

When it comes to making jokes that could offend people there is a point where it we can be to politically correct but that does mean that those jokes are still OK. The problem with these situation is the fact that it depends on who the person is will determine what they will be offended by. The problem with these is the fact that you have to be careful when any new employee comes around for you don't know what may offend them or not. 

 

THIRD SUTDENT

Discussion Board #2

Sarah DeLadurantey

8/23/2017

 

Effective Implementation of an Anti-Harassment Policy

(What steps would be reasonable to take to implement an effective policy in an organization?)

1.     Anti-harassment policy implementation must flow from the top-down within the organization; preventing workplace harassment is not built on “grass roots” effort. The first step to creating and implementing an effective policy is to have 100% buy in from management. This means not just nominally accepting the imposition of EEOC policies, but truly believing in the ethics which motivate EEOC standards. When there is a true belief, leadership will champion these causes, and motivate individuals within the organization to also embrace and follow the policy (Suggestions for Improving Anti-Harassment Policies and Procedures, 2017).

2.     Middle managers must know the policy to be able to effectively enforce and watch for violations, thus training should be provided on the policy and how to implement and enforce it as a manager (Suggestions for Improving Anti-Harassment Policies and Procedures, 2017). Humanrights.gov recommends that managers and supervisors also “…have face to face contact with staff to disseminate the policy and procedures.” (How To Implement An Anti-Discrimination And Harassment Policy, 2017). Harassment in the workplace can prove costly from an EEOC violation standpoint, and the reputation of the company. Because of this, managers should ensure they report all employee harassment complaints to HR (Van Ditti, 2013).

3.     Hiring new employees is a great way to infuse the organization with individuals who believe in inclusivity and a positive working environment. These new employees should be presented with the anti- harassment and discrimination policies on day one of employment and informed of the processes for report any issues they see (Van Ditti, 2013). In order to keep current employees aware of the policy, anti-harassment policy training should be mandatory on a regular basis (How To Implement An Anti-Discrimination And Harassment Policy, 2017).

4.     Finally, the policy itself should be reviewed by all employees and signed. A signed document proving the employees' agreement to adhere to the policy is a way for the organization to hold employees accountable for their actions.

Current Workplace Harassment Procedures

(What sorts of procedures are available to you in your careers, and do you think they are effective?)

I work at General Motors and if an employee feels comfortable, they can directly speak with their manager/supervisor, or HR personnel about issues found in the workplace.  Additionally, GM has a system called AwareLine, where employees can file complaints about anyone or anything within the organization that may be in violation of discrimination, harassment, quality, safety, etc. There are options to file online, via email or telephone and individuals are able to remain anonymous if they wish. This provides a safe environment for employees to speak up without concern for retaliation (GM Intranet). I believe these systems have proven effective. Every employee is made aware of these options on day one of employment during new-hire orientation and is featured on the intranet home page.

Personal Experience with Harassment and Discrimination in the Workplace

(What steps could have been taken to remedy the situation for the person being discriminated against or harassed?)

I worked in a smaller company previously, and the CEO regularly made sexual-related comments to the receptionist, and ask her to do specific activities in his office so he could watch her. It was very alarming. Being young at the time, I didn’t know what to do, other than telling her to look for a new job – which we both eventually did. Additionally, because it was a smaller office, there was only one HR person; she also happened to be the daughter-in-law of the CEO. This created a clear conflict of interest, and employees in the company felt unable to report the issues.

There were many problems with the company from a harassment perspective. Clearly, the CEO did not believe his behavior was harassing or discriminatory. Even though there was a corporate anti-harassment policy, it was never adhered to because there was no true belief in it from top-management. The second major issue was nepotism between top-management and HR. This created an ineffective means for employees to report issues which not only involved the CEO, but also the entire company; I say this because, if the daughter-in-law tried to enforce the anti-harassment policy with another member of the staff, the father-in-law (CEO) would likely not support it and the issue would never be resolved.

This particular company needed a real top-down change to truly resolve the situation. Because the CEO did not comply with his own policies, HR was powerless to really enforce any change. If the scenario had been different and the CEO was pushing for anti-harassment and anti-discrimination, there would have been a different corporate culture altogether. Additionally, nepotism has no place in the workplace, especially in a place like HR where neutrality is key.

Racist and Sexual Jokes in the Workplace

(Should there be workplace rules to prohibit that type of "just kidding" behavior? Or is that taking "political correctness" too far? )

While it may seem overboard to regulate jokes in the workplace, allowing racial, lifestyle or sexual jokes is a slippery slope. While I would not promote harsh punishments for one time occurrences, managers should look out for patterns of discrimination and harassment. With a diverse workforce, employees may not be cognizant of how their comment/joke/cartoon/etc. may be taken as offensive. Thus, it is a good idea for managers to address the issues right away in a one-on-one discussion; explain to the employee how the company does not accept language or imagery of any kind (even if in jest) that is derogatory towards any class of persons, including protected classes of people under the EEOC.

While again, this may seem extreme, studies show that not all humor has a positive effect on people, according to a psychologist, Dr. Joni Johnson. She said, ““Research has shown that there is a distinctive difference in the health benefits of positive and negative humor. Negative humor, i.e., humor that is exclusive or offensive, does not have the same positive physiological effects on one’s body and mind. Apparently, our bodies are as sensitive as our feelings; we physiologically respond to hurtful as if our bodies were under attack.” (Wolf, 2017). Thus, it is clear that jokes can most certainly be a form of harassment. Like any other form of harassment in the workplace, managers need to act quickly and remind employees of the policies surrounding these matters. Employees should not be allowed to verbally “injure” one another just because the comment was meant in jest.

Should Policy Regulate Jest/Jokes in the Workplace?

I believe that it is really critical to spell out within the policy that inappropriate languages, graphics or actions in the workplace are not tolerated, even in the form of jest. There is no delineation between joking and intentional harassment; Harassment is harassment in all its forms. Even if the intent was not to offend, that does not mean that it is therefore not offensive. Having verbiage which outlines policy for inappropriate jokes allows the company to also have grounds for action against an employee. Employees with continued harassing behavior in the form of jest would then be in direct violation of the company’s written policy. It should be impressed upon employees that their words, graphics, and actions have a direct impact on the productivity of the company, and directly violates the mission and ethics of the organization.

 

References

How To Implement An Anti-Discrimination And Harassment Policy (2017). Retrieved August 23, 2017 from https://www.humanrights.gov.au/how-implement-anti-discrimination-and-harassment-policy-your-workplace

Wolf, L. (July, 2017). Learn About Humor in the Workplace and the Law. Retrieved August 22, 2017, from https://www.thebalance.com/business-laws-humor-in-the-workplace-is-restricted-by-law-3515755

Suggestions for Improving Anti-Harassment Policies and Procedures (2017). Retrieved August 22, 2017 from https://www.eeoc.gov/federal/model_eeo_programs.cfm#suggestions

Van Ditti, A. (September, 2013). Retrieved August 22, 2017 from http://www.xeniumhr.com/blog/safety/when-joking-around-is-no-longer-a-joke-preventing-workplace-harassment/#.WZzlqj6GOM8