Diversity in the Workplace: Implications for Human Resource Development Paper

Diversity in the Workplace: Implications for Human Resource Development Paper

Keisha Zachary

April 18, 2016

BSHS/425

Ms. Heather Z

Discrimination at the workplace

I personally have not been discriminated against at my workplace. However I do have an example of discrimination that happened to a co-worker at my job. We had a new co-worker come in, she was in her twenties and had the type of personality that would say what was on her mind and didn’t care what others thought. Other employees had the impression that she thought she was better than everyone. We have a diverse group of employees at my work that includes, white, black, and Spanish speaking. After many complaints about our new co-worker the management/owners had a meeting with her. They told her that she needed to start making friends with the other teachers and to stay away from the Spanish speaking crowd because they only gossiped and she would never fit in with them. So they basically told her to become acquainted with the lead white teachers. To me the owners were discriminating against the Spanish speakers at my work and doing this behind their back.

Federal and state legislation

Federal and state legislation that supports fair workplace practices includes laws such as:

• Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), which prevent employment discrimination based on national origin, sex, religion, race, or color;
• The Civil Rights Act of 1991, which, among other things, provides monetary compensation in cases such as employment discrimination. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) enforces all of these rules. EEOC also provides oversight and arrangement of all federal opportunity practices, policies, and regulations (Federal Laws, 2009);
• The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA), protects individual ranging from 40 and older years of age (Federal Laws, 2009);
• Title I and Title V of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended (ADA), protects individuals with disabilities in the worksites or in governments sites local or state whom are discriminated against (Federal Laws, 2009);
• Sections 501 and 505 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, secure individuals that are employed by the government with an disability against discrimination (Federal Laws, 2009);
• Title II of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA), prevents discrimination within the worksite declared by the genetics of individuals information about an former employee, applicant and employee,  (Federal Laws, 2009);
• The Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA), will cover both female and male who have equal opportunity within the exact environment from sex-based wage discrimination;

Federal Laws, 2009 state “other federal laws, not enforced by EEOC, also prohibit discrimination and reprisal against federal employees and applicants”. Federal Laws, 2009 state “The Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 (CSRA) contains a number of prohibitions, known as prohibited personnel practices, which are designed to promote overall fairness in federal personnel actions 5 U.S.C. 2302”. The Federal Laws, 2009 indicate “The CSRA prohibits any employee who has authority to take certain personnel actions from discriminating for or against employees or applicants for employment on the bases of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age or disability”. The law indicates when pacific actions of personnel shouldn’t reflect on conduct or attributes that don’t influence the performance of an employee, political affiliation or relationship status. The Office of Personnel Management reflects the prevention of discrimination within sexual orientation (Federal Laws, 2009).