Business 101: Principles of Management

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Learn about several laws, regulations, policies and governing entities that human resource management (HRM) must comply with, like the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title VII, the equal employment opportunity commission (EEOC), sexual harassment and affirmative action.

Human Resource Management: Laws and Regulations

In this lesson, we will explore some of the laws, regulations, policies and governing entities that human resource management (HRM) must comply with in an organization. These include:

• the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title VII
• Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
• Sexual harassment
• Affirmative action

Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title VII

The Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title VII prohibits employers from discriminating against covered employees on the basis of race, color, religion, gender or national origin. This means human resource managers must be fair in hiring qualified employees without discrimination.

Nick, owner of Nick's Pizza, held a job fair at his pizzeria. He was looking for a few good pizza makers, a sous chef, a bookkeeper and a server. He wasn't very familiar with the Civil Rights Act, so prior to holding his job fair, Nick took a class on human resource law. When it came to making the hiring decisions, Nick knew he had to do the right thing. He hired a diverse staff.

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or EEOC, is a federal agency that enforces the rules of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title VII. The EEOC handles employee claims of discrimination and implementing new anti-discrimination laws

The EEOC does not only handle violations of the Civil Rights Act. The commission also handles the:

• Age Discrimination Act
• Americans with Disabilities Act
• Equal Pay Act
• Pregnancy Discrimination Act

Although Nick knew a lot about the Civil Rights Act, he was unfamiliar with some of the other rules of employment. When his sous chef, Maria, became pregnant, Nick wanted to terminate her. Nick didn't think she could reach over the sauce pot or lift the heavy pans in her condition. Maria reminded him about the EEOC and the Pregnancy Discrimination Act.

Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment is a form of bullying or unwanted sexual advances in exchange for reward or favor, and it is illegal. The harassment is considered sexual in nature whether it is verbal or physical. It can be:

• Engaging in unwanted physical touch
• Making sexual gestures
• Displaying sexual images
• Telling sexual jokes
• Looking at a person in a sexual way
• Commenting sexually about clothing or appearance
• Asking sexually-oriented questions
• Creating a hostile work environment

Let's visit Nick's pizzeria again. Nick recently hired Prudence as his new bookkeeper. On the days when Nick's cousin Tony worked, he would hug Prudence without her permission. When she resisted and demanded that he stop, he threatened to tell Nick that she was not doing her job. This made her very uncomfortable and created a hostile and threatening work environment.

If Tony continues his groping after being warned, Prudence would have a valid claim of sexual harassment against Tony. The EEOC would handle this type of complaint.

Affirmative Action

Affirmative action is a set of policies that address the inclusion of all people, mainly minorities, in the workforce. Similar to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, affirmative action policies establish hiring quotas for qualifying companies. This means that companies who meet certain criteria are required to hire and promote a specific amount of minorities or people in protected groups, which includes:

• Minorities
• Women
• Disabled persons
• Qualified veterans

A qualifying company is one that engages in government contract business. If a company sells to, performs services for or is contracted by the government and has over 50 employees, the company is subject to the policies of affirmative action.

When Nick's pizzeria first opened, he did not have to comply with the policies that required hiring people in protected groups. His was a small business with fewer than 15 employees. However, over time, Nick was contracted to sell pizza to the local army base. Nick opened a production kitchen, hired 52 pizza makers and began making pizzas for the military staff. Because Nick was a government contract with the army base, he is subject to the policies of affirmative action. Nick considered this in his hiring criteria. Nick now has a diverse staff of men, women, disabled people and veterans working for him.

Lesson Summary

In summary, we have learned about some of the laws, regulations, policies and governing entities that human resource management (HRM) must comply with. These include:

• The Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title VII, which prohibits employers from discriminating covered employees on the basis of race, color, religion, gender or national origin.
• The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or EEOC, is the federal agency that enforces the rules of the Civil Rights Act, of 1964, Title VII.
• Sexual harassment, which is a form of bullying or unwanted sexual advances in exchange for reward or favor, and it is illegal.
• Affirmative action, which is a set of policies that address the inclusion of all people, mainly minorities, in the workforce.