The Value of Fair Treatment in the Workplace

Assignment 3: The Value of Fair Treatment in the Workplace

LEG 500: Law, Ethics, and Corporate Governance

The benefits and costs of voluntarily prohibiting three to five federal forms of discrimination prohibited under the federal anti-discrimination law are, equal pay discrimination, age discrimination and, also discrimination against disabled people. Equal pay discrimination is usually involved between gender, meaning women and men are not being paid equally, but are doing the same job. The Equal Pay Act (29 U.S.C 206(d)) gives employers the opportunity to pay both men and women the same amount of money for the same amount of work. Prohibiting this kind of discrimination exposes employees to equal remuneration and this can give them a better outlook on the situation and they could feel that they are finally being treated equally. On the other hand, the equal pay act does however, have exceptions for employers allowing them to pay women and men different salaries if the difference in salary is under certain conditions such as, an incentive system, merit or even seniority it just cannot be based on gender. A pay gap can create tension in the workplace. For example, I recently began to watch a series called, “Insecure,” on HBO, Molly, who is a star character, she is a lawyer at a very prestigious firm, well an assistant accidentally gave her the paycheck of a male lawyer at the firm, and it was then that she realized he made more money than she did, however he did not work nearly as hard as she does. So, this made her feel very uneasy and it came to the point where she became to take interviews at other firms, and that is when the partners at the firm she works for released just how hard she works and how they do not want to lose her. So, my point is that paying someone based on their gender is wrong on all levels especially if one individual works harder, but does not get to reap the benefits of their hard work.Gender should not be what is taken into consideration, but indeed the work that the individual does. Age discrimination is when an employer treats an applicant or employee unfairly because of their age.

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“The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) forbids age discrimination against people who are age 40 or older. It does not protect workers under the age of 40, although some states have laws that protect younger workers from age discrimination. 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. (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, n.d.)”

Voluntary prohibition of age discrimination will give the employer the opportunity to decide whether or not to adopt policies to make sure that there is no age discrimination taking place. If the employer should choose not to adopt such policies, then it is possible they could might incur expenses of hiring new employees more often because it is most likely that the individuals who the discrimination is against will not stay at the job for too long. It would be in the best interest of the employers to prohibit age discrimination, this could help retain their employees of all ages for longer periods of times, and it would assist with a continuous production process at their premises. Not to mention they would spend less time and money having to train new workers. Lastly, discrimination against disabled people.

“Disability discrimination occurs when an employer or other entity covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act, as amended, or the Rehabilitation Act, as amended, treats a qualified individual with a disability who is an employee or applicant unfavorably because she has a disability. (U.S. Equal EmploymentOpportunity Commission, n.d.)”

Disability discrimination is directed towards people with any current form of disability or they have a history of known disabilities. A benefitthat is associated with prohibiting disability

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discrimination is the fact that it gives employers the opportunity to create a good corporate social image by depicting an image of every type of person in the community is being represented in their organization. They can also utilize any unique skill set that these individuals possibly have. It could also, cost an employermoney to find employees with a certain skill set due to the fact an employee has a disability.

The benefits and costs of voluntarily prohibiting a form of discrimination not covered by any of the federal anti-discrimination laws is religion discrimination. Employers often tend to make certain decisions when it comes to hiring or firing someone based on their religious beliefs. In a case where an employee does not share similar or the same religious beliefs or background as the employer, this discrimination could possibly be against that individual. An employer should never use someone’s religion as a basis for an employment decision, however they should try to use that individuals’ religious beliefs as a way to either help diversify their workplace or help diversify their client or customer base, sometimes when people see someone like them they are more inclined to be interested in either working for a certain company or being a customer.

The benefits and costs of voluntarily adopting hiring and promotion practices designed to diversify the workforce are positive reputation, increased creativity and increased productivity. Potential employees as well as customers tend to lean towards companies that have a diverse workforce this shows people in so many ways that the company does not discriminate and this gives a sense of comfort. Employees usually are happier with working for a company that treats all employees the same no matter what their gender, race, or religious beliefs. When employees are satisfied with the company they work for they tend to work harder and be happy with their job, which helps the company with productivity.

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Increased creativity is another benefit because often certain people can bring out the creativity in another individual, and by having a diverse workforce this gives each employer an opportunity to express their creativity and have different opinions or suggestions to either help make the idea better or to bring it to life. Increased productivity comes in when diversity in the workplace comes with incentives or competitive advantages. Diversity can also be connected to morale and this could cause employees to work more effectively and efficiently. Companies with diverse leadership assists management with implementing new skills and practices because they can connect to the needs of their employees and customers.

The ethical considerations of not voluntarily prohibiting the forms of discrimination laws `examined in the first part of my report are integrity and knowing right from wrong. Integrity and knowing right from wrong go hand in hand. Integrity deals with moral judgment, honesty as well as leadership values. People who show integrity in the workplace do not just understand right from wrong but they practice it in their every action. This can be very beneficial in a business environment because it is setting the tone that trustworthy actions are key to the foundation for a successful business. The ethical considerations of not voluntarily adopting hiring and promotion practices to diversify the workforce I feel would also be integrity because keeping diversity and ethic practices in place is very important for a business, especially if they want to gain the trust of their employees or customers.

A final recommendation to this retailer on whether or not they should ensure all, part, or none of the employee protections examined in the first part of my report as well as whether or

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not the retailer should adopt hiring and promotion practices designed to diversify the workplace is that they should indeed ensure that equal pay discrimination, age discrimination and disability discrimination as well as all other subjects mentioned in this report is prohibited. It would be in the best interest of the company to not allow any form of discrimination. Companies that allow any form of discrimination do not sit well with employees or customers, and honestly employees and customers are a very vital component to a company. The success of a company should really be the most important factor, and if that calls for the company to not allow any form of discrimination than that should be a sacrifice the company is willing to make.

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References

Age Discrimination. (n.d.). Retrieved September 06, 2017, from https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/types/age.cfm

Disability Discrimination. (n.d.). Retrieved September 06, 2017, from https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/types/disability.cfm

Jennings, Marianne. (2018). Business: its legal, ethical, and global environment (11th ed.). Mason, OH: Cengage Learning.