Other Antidiscrimination Laws

Revolt and tenor pay a price. Order and law have a cost. 

We always exempt ourselves from the common laws. When I was a boy and the dentist pulled out a second tooth, I thought to myself that I would grow a third if I needed it Experience discouraged this prophecy. 

Acquire an understanding of the numerous federal antidiscrimination laws. 

Acquire a general understanding of the correlating state antidiscrimination laws. 

An employee returns from an extended leave of absence. When the employee left for the leave of absence, he was a male employee. When the employee returned from the leave of absence, she now identifies herself as female. How would you address this situation  

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Different than other antidiscrimination laws, safety professionals should be aware that an employee may file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, or with the EEOC.t However, safety professionals should be aware that the EEOC will conduct the investigation and gather the documents from the employer and other sources regarding the wages, hours, employment practices, conditions in order to determine whether or not a violation of the Equal Pay Act has occurred. Safety professionals should also be aware that the EEOC may request to inspect the company s operations, conduct interviews of anployees and acquire copies or take notes from various company documents which may be on file at the company or organization. ... 

Safety professionals should also be aware that the Equal Pay Act is different from other antidiscrimination laws in that an employee may file an action in both... 

The administration and enforcement of the ADEA is currently housed with the EEOC on the federal level. This has not always been the case. The ADEA was originally administered and enforced by the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor, and the Fair Labor Standards Act structure and mechanisms were utilized. With the Reorganization Plan No. 1 in 1978, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission was provided authority over the ADEA and established its own guidelines. However, the ADEA must still be enforced through the procedures established under the Fair Labor Standards Act rather than those of Title VII, with other similar federal antidiscrimination laws. ... 

Safety professionals should be aware that these antidiscrimination laws were often specifically focused on the workplace and are designed to keep the employer from making employment-related decisions that could disadvantage employees based on their race, sex, age, color, disability, or any of the other protected classes. Safety professionals should be aware that most issues of discrimination involve hiring, promotion, training, termination, demotion, layoffs, or other terms and conditions involved in the workplace, including safety issnes. 

Other federal laws, safety professionals should be aware that there is a posting requirement for ADEA, and the EEOC is the governing federal agency. Again, as with the other federal antidiscrimination laws, safety professionals should be aware that many states also possess similar laws protecting older workers and many of these laws may offer more protection than the ADEA. 

In the area of workplace harassment or the prevention of a hostile work environment, safety professionals should be aware that what may be considered to be horseplay by some may be considered workplace harassment to others. The harassment is viewed through the eyes of the employee being harassed. Although most safety professionals do not permit any type of horseplay in their operations, it is important for safety professionals to be aware of other activities, such as name calling, practical jokes, and other similar activities that may also create a hostile work environment for an individual employee who is protected under the ADEA as well as other federal antidiscrimination laws. 

The use of tests and other selection procedures can be a very effective means of determining which applicants or employees are most qualified for a particular job. However, use of these tools can violate the federal antidiscrimination laws if an employer intentionally uses them to discriminate based on race, color, sex, national origin, religion, disability, or age (40 or older). Use of tests and other selection procedures can also violate the federal antidiscrimination laws if they disproportionately exclude people in a particular group by race, sex, or another covered basis, unless the employer can justify the test or procedure under the law. 

This fact sheet provides technical assistance on some common issues relating to the federal antidiscrimination laws, and the use of tests and other selection procedures in the employment process. 

Although we covered a broad spectrum of the major federal antidiscrimination laws earlier in this text, safety professionals should be aware that there are other federal laws and directives as well as state and local laws that prohibit discrimination and harassment in the workplace. These laws include, but are not limited to, the following ... 

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