Employees and
Business Ethics
Chapter 7
Affirmative Action
An active and dynamic approach to overcome the effect
of past discrimination within the company
Four Major Affirmative Actions:
Active recruiting of women and members of minority group
Fair Interview Criteria
Adequate Training for senior positions
Promotion of discriminated group to senior positions
Discrimination at workplace
Discrimination is a treatment or consideration based on
class or category, rather than on an individual's merits.
Common Discrimination Categories: race, sex,
religion, national origin, physical disability, or age
Sex Discrimination
Each sex receive equal pay for equal work
Sexdiscrimination extends to all aspects of
employment, including hiring, firing, pay,
pensions, conditions of employment, and
promotions
Reverse Discrimination
Sex Discrimination
It is discriminatory practice when:
Job advertisements deny women a chance to apply for a job
The employer refuses to hire women who have children, while hiring men
with children
Female employees are asked to resign when they get married, but there is
no similar requirement for males
The employer extends benefit plans to the male employee's spouse, but
refuses to extend the same or similar benefits to spouses of female
employees
Qualified female employees are denied certain jobs without a reasonable
opportunity to demonstrate their ability to perform those jobs, which are
labeled as men’s domains
The employer refuses to hire, train, assign jobs, or promote pregnant or
married women, or women of childbearing age, on the basis of gender
The employer makes a separate policy of compulsory retirement for female
employees, with a lower retirement age than for male employees
Age Discrimination
A job applicant or an employee cannot be discriminated because of
his/her age.
Age discriminatory practices extends to hiring, employment, wages,
promotion, compensation, employee benefits, health care coverage
Following activities can be considered as age discrimination:
Denial of a particular job to a qualified applicant on the basis of age
Firing employees because of old age and recruiting younger people in
their place
Denial of promotions, transfers, or assignments because of age
Forcing older employees to take early retirement
Making age-related remarks
Penalizing older employees with reduced privileges, employment
opportunities, or compensation
It is unlawful to include age preferences, limitations, or specifications in
job notices or advertisements.
Religious Discrimination
Employee's rights regarding Religious Discrimination
Employers cannot schedule examinations or other selection
activities in conflict with a current or prospective employee's
religious needs
Employers cannot maintain a restrictive dress code
Employers cannot refuse to allow any religious holiday, unless it
causes undue hardship on the employer
Marital Status Discrimination
An employee cannot be treated indifferently because of
his/her marital status
If the employer discriminates against an applicant or
employee because he/she is married, widowed, divorced,
single, or unmarried with a same-sex or opposite-sex
partner
Following questions need to be avoided:
“Are you married?” “Do you have a family?” “What is your
maiden name?” “Are you pregnant?” or “Do you plan to
have a family?
Disability Discrimination
an individual with disability is a person who has a physical or
mental impairment that substantially limits one or more
major life activities; has a record of such impairment; or is
regarded as having such impairment.
Generally, disability discrimination occurs when an employer
does not recruit someone for disability, perceived disability, or
association with an individual with a disability, in regard to
hiring, promotion, health coverage, job assignment, training,
leaves, wages, benefits, compensation
Pregnancy Discrimination
Employerssometimes treat pregnant women less favorably.
The most common kinds of unfair treatment meted out to
them are:
Charging women a higher premium for health insurance, to
cover the additional cost of pregnancy
Paying those on maternity leave at a lower rate than those on
other kinds of leave
Establishing shorter time limits for maternity leave
Making pregnant employees take mandatory leave even if they
do not want to, or denying employees on maternity leave credit
Harassment
To “harass” means “to irritate or torment persistently; to bully.”
Every employee is entitled to freedom from harassment in the
workplace. It is illegal when an employer or an employer’s
agent (e.g., supervisor; foreman) harasses an employee
In general, harassment is any form of behavior that is unjust and
makes the employee feel humiliated (the behavior puts him/her
down),
offended, or
intimidated.
Sexual Harassment
Sexual harassment can occur in a variety of circumstances,
including, but not limited to, the following:
The victim as well as the harasser may be a woman or a man.
The victim does not have to be of the opposite sex.
The harasser can be the victim's supervisor, an agent of the
employer, a supervisor in another area, a co-worker, or a non-
employee (e.g., a customer or supplier).
Unlawful sexual harassment may occur without economic
injury or discharge (firing) of the victim.
Race Harassment
The race-related harassing acts are when an employee is
subjected to racial insults, racial jokes, or offensive
comments or remarks based on race, or when he/she is
intimidated, threatened, or shown hostility or physical
violence, because of his/her different race, color, etc.
Also included: Derogatory, insulting, or lewd remarks or
gestures made by a person to another, which have the effect of
threatening and degrading the victim; derogatory remarks or
actions relating to an individual’s race, ethnic origin,
nationality, or skin color, and the victim considers the remarks
unacceptable, creating an offensive work environment or
interfering with the victim’s work performance
Privacy Issues
Privacy rights: intrusion - The employee has the right to be
left alone, and there should be no unwanted or unreasonable
intrusion into his/her personal space. This right can conflict
with searches and monitoring activities.
Privacy rights: private affairs - Unwanted or unreasonable
publicity regarding the employee’s private life or affairs, or
disclosure of personal or medical information.
Privacy rights: defame - For example, publicity or the release
of misleading or inaccurate information by the employer that
defames the employee and puts him/her in a false light before
the public.
Privacy rights: appropriation of name - Misuse of an
employee’s name or likeness without consent, for the benefit
of another
Privacy right on Background Check
Employers do not have the right to dig into an applicant’s or employee’s
personal affairs; they have the right to privacy regarding personal matters
Privacy on Background check
Privacy of employee’s school records - School records cannot be disclosed
without the consent of the student (or ex-student).
Privacy of employee’s bankruptcy - Bankruptcies are public records;
however, the employer cannot discriminate against an employee because
he/she filed for bankruptcy.
Privacy of employee’s criminal record (if any) - State laws vary on
checking the criminal record of the employee. It is illegal to ask questions
about the employee’s criminal history beyond a certain point, and that, too,
varies for certain positions.
Privacy of medical records - It is illegal, if the applicant is disabled, for an
employer to ask for medical records and then, on that basis, makes the hiring
decision.
Privacy of driving records - Checking his/her driving record does not require
the consent of the employee
Employee Privacy Right-Surveillance
Workplace surveillance has become more common as
technology has improved, devices have become less
expensive, and security concerns have risen.
Employees must be given prior written notification about the
kind of monitoring that may occur at the work place
Common Room
Rest Room
Drug Testing Privacy
Under
certain circumstances, employers may ask the
employee to take a drug test
Whileat work, the employer may ask the employee to
undergo a urine test, to check if the employee is under
any kind of drug influence at that time
Employee Privacy Right-Polygraph Testing
Employers cannot ask applicants or employees to undergo a
polygraph test as a condition for getting a job or keeping a job.
If employers or prospective employers ask individuals to take a lie
detector test, they are prohibited from disciplining, discharging, or
otherwise discriminating against individuals who refuse to take it
If employers proceed with the test anyway, they have to inform
the employee that it is not mandatory to take the test, and that they
can refuse to take it or quit taking it any time.
In the test, there should be no question related to race, religion,
sex, etc., or any question that infringes on employee privacy.
The test results cannot be disclosed to anyone other than the
employee and the employer.
Privacy on Medical Record Disclosure
Employee rights
The employee has considerable rights in the event that if confidential
medical information is conveyed to outsiders without the consent or
knowledge and is used to the employee’s disadvantage.
Medical data, all information related to the employee’s health,
diagnosis and treatment of illness or any information revealed during
medical consultations must be maintained in the strictest confidence
Medical records should be kept separately from personnel records
What does medical record contain?
Medical records are created when an individual receives treatment
from a health professional, such as physician, nurse, dentist,
chiropractor or psychiatrist. The record may also include individuals or
family medical history, details about smoking habits or past drug or
alcohol abuse. Records also contain laboratory test results,
medications prescribed, and operation undergone
Workplace Safety
Employees can refuse to perform in a dangerous
environment.
Employees are allowed to strike to protest unsafe
conditions
All employers should furnish a workplace for the employee
that is free from recognized hazards.
Employees can request paid time off to seek medical
treatment during working hours
What to do
A clean and orderly workplace.
Suitable and clean drinking water.
Separate toilets for males and females.
Hot and cold water available in rest rooms.
Hygienic food service facilities.
Wholesome and unspoiled food.
Standard noise levels.
Adequate lighting.
Elevators (if any) with smoking banned
Fair Pay
Minimum wage protects employee rights
Basis for fair wage is expectation placed on employees to
perform and employee performance towards goals (measured
by hours worked, prior training, risks involved,
responsibilities, meeting of targets)
Performance related pay is a good solution
Problems with PRP
Risk for employees
Bargaining power is lost
Internal & External Equity
Work Life Balance
Increasingmovement of working hours into personal life
More hours at workplace
Exchange of social time with employment time for healthy
living
Make sure employees personal life is not affected due to
your unethical interference
Employee Duties
Respect the labor contract
Respect employer’s property
Appropriate use of office time
Retrain oneself of illegal activities
CODE OF CONDUCT IS THE SOLUTION!!!!
