Employee Strategy

HRM 531

In order to be a productive member of the society, working is part of daily routine. There are three basic human needs of food, shelter, and clothing. Almost every adult spends 75% of their lives chasing dreams or simply providing the basic necessities. At times, the workplace can be the dreaded place to go to due to various factors. It can happen at either your dream job or just a job that helps provide the basic needs. Everyone can agree that they want to be treated fairly by their employer who provides the psychological safety. When that psychological safety is lost, work itself becomes a burden. Throughout the years, many labor laws have been established to protect employees and assure they are treated fairly by the employers. These laws are not always followed as intended to do so which results in retaliation, unfair treatment, and emotional distress, but the worst are lawsuits and defaming the company.

Ford Motor Company

In 2014, a sexual harassment case was filed by four African-American women against Ford Motor Company. The females stated that harassment started as early as 1993 when they started working there. The claim stated that “men at Ford’s Chicago Assembly Plant touched and groped them, exposed themselves and subjected them to unwanted comments, stares and pornographic images” . They also claimed that they were targeted if they complained about the inappropriate conduct by the male co-workers. Four women filed the case but quickly increased in numbers as large as 50 women subjected to harassment. In 2017, Ford settled the lawsuit for a whopping $10.1 million to avoid a class-action suit in federal court.

Civil Rights Act Law

There are many laws that protect employees from such treatment as the one mentioned above. The Title VII and Civil Rights Act law was established in 1964 which prohibits employers from discriminating employees based on sex, race, color, national origin or religion. There are two types of sexual harassment recognized by these laws. The first one is called quid pro quo which entails an employee to endure sexual harassment to keep their job or receive some sort of benefit or promotions and avoid punishment. The other one is as simple as a hostile work environment which focuses on persistent behavior which may interfere with the employee’s ability to do their job. In 1980, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued regulations regarding sexual harassment while supporting the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission plays a vital role in assuring these regulations are adhered to. Although letting the harasser know to stop the behavior is encouraged, it is not a deciding factor when a case is filed. There are several states that do not require any type of communication between the harasser or the harassed. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) encourages victims to follow the company protocol for filing harassment claims but when no progress is made to file a claim with EEOC.

Typically warehouse, plant and the mechanical world is considered a male-dominated jobs which makes it difficult for a female to feel equality. How many times a woman gets a flat tire on the highway and a man driver stops to change the tire because a woman may not know what to do. There are many types of harassments such as on the basis of sex, race, religion or national origin. Sexual harassment happens to be one of the most obvious ones yet rarely spoken about. Sexual harassment is not limited to man to woman; it can also be man to man, woman to man or woman to woman. In this case, women were sexually harassed by the men at the plant. Although this type of harassment may seem straightforward, there are deeply rooted stigmas making men feel more dominant.

Plan for Ford Leadership

Laws cannot be practiced and followed if the organizational culture does not align itself with the regulations. At Ford, organizational culture change is crucial to avoid further lawsuits of this kind. Before developing any training directly related to the subject at hand, it is essential that culture change is the first initiative on the list. An industry that is mostly made up of men will require much fair hiring by placing women in some leadership roles to help protect the company. This will also assist with eliminating the deeply rooted stigma of being a man’s world at the plant. A Zero Tolerance Policy needs will be implemented to assure that Ford will not tolerate any infractions of this kind. In addition to that, training will be provided to every new employee at the time of hire and then required each year after that. An anonymous reporting line will be established to report any concerns of this kind and any integrity concerns. Furthermore, if a complaint is made directly to a supervisor, they will only have 24 hours to report it to the plant manager for further investigation.

It is the responsibility of the employer to provide a safe place for its employees to work. While providing the basic needs of a human, psychological safety is utmost important. The consequences of not providing psychological safety are far more than on the surface. When basic needs are not met, an employee may leave the company. When psychological safety is not achieved, it has detrimental consequences such as employee morale being lost which affects the overall productivity of the company. Furthermore, when the organizational culture does not support the culture of safety, lawsuits are brought forward. Every organization should invest in assuring HR laws are not just followed but are the culture. When an organization takes a stance on concerns of this sort, lawsuits can be avoided while continuing to promote employee safety. Employees must have a voice to bring up concerns of this sort so culture can be intact.