The bona fide occupational qualifier is used by rights management as a rationale for discriminating on the basis of a business necessity. (Peak, 2016, p.52) Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 made it illegal for any employer or agency to discriminate on the basis of sex, color, age, religion, or national origin. ("Bona Fide Occupational Qualification - Definition and Example," n.d.) However, in a later section of the act, it recognizes the ability of hiring certain personnel for certain positions, otherwise known as permissible discrimination. ("Bona Fide Occupational Qualification - Definition and Example," n.d.) Employers will use this in order to justify discriminating against certain applicants. An example of an agency using the bona fide occupational qualifier would be the military Special Operations community. Up until recently, military special operations refused entry to female applicants based on physical qualifications. Due to the rigors and physical demands of special operation missions, women were banned from applying and participating in the community. Discrimination also exists in advancements and assignments amongst employers. An employer choosing an individual based on gender could be in violation of Title VII and the Fourteenth Amendment, if found was the …show more content…
Affirmative action is a policy that favors groups who have suffered from discrimination in employment or education. This policy sometimes results in reverse discrimination, which is unfair treatment of majority groups. While race is an easy criterion to make a case about, the Supreme Court has held its’ decisions in favor of the employer. For example, in Fisher v. University of Texas Austin (2016), the Supreme court held its decision that race could be one of several factors used in the selection process, as long as it is not the only factor. ("FISHER v. UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN ET AL. | FindLaw,"
Employers do have some leeway when it comes to deciding who they want to hire and/or fire; employers can rely on using a Bona fide occupational qualification to adjust their preferences. This term is defined in the textbook glossary as, “the only way that an employer can prevail in cases...
The law prohibits discrimination when it comes to any phase of employing someone, including hiring, firing, getting a raise, getting a promotion and other related stuff.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 has grown over the past few decades to ensure that employees, as well as employers, are protected against all employment discrimination. It is extremely important that both employers and employees know and understand what the law means and how to handle such acts of discrimination. As more amendments are passed into law, employers need to have clear and concise policies to help fight against discrimination.
Sex Discrimination in the American Workplace: Still a Fact of Life. (2000, July 01). Retrieved from National Women's Law Center : www.nwlc.org
Last summer, the Supreme Court ruled against the use of race in the college admissions process in the case of Fisher v. University of Texas. Since then, affirmative action has become a big issue in the media; however, many people still do not even know what affirmative action is. Affirmative action is a policy to prevent discrimination on the basis of “color, religion, sex, or national origin.” Overall, it favors minorities that are often discriminated. It might sound like an excellent policy; however, the use of this policy in the college admissions process is prejudice. In the college admissions process, affirmative action lowers the standards for some races, while raising the standard for other races. For example, an Asian might need a SAT score of 2300 to be considered for admission at a top school such as Yale and a white applicant might need a score of 2100, while an African American or Hispanic only needs a score of 1700. While affirmative action provides equality in the workplace, it has no place in the college admissions process and should, therefore, be abolished and replaced. This type of policy can be repealed completely, replaced with a college admissions process that favors first generation college applicants, or replaced with a policy based on an applicant’s socioeconomic status.
Historically, females have been discriminated against in the United States based solely on their gender. Gender or sex discrimination may be described as the unfair treatment of a person in their employment because of that person's sex. It is illegal to discriminate based on sex and it may result in negative effects on employment include pay, position and title, advancements and training opportunities or whether or not an individual is hired or fired from a job.
Affirmative action refers to policies established to benefit the under-represented minorities in the fields of education, employment and culture. This is meant to avert the historical discrimination on the basis of religion, color, national origin or sex during hiring process. Implementation of these policies may encompass preferential selection in the job market. This results in mixed reactions and opinions from the public generating a lot of controversies.
According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, affirmative action is “an active effort to improve employment or educational opportunities for members of minority groups and women.” However, despite its well-intentioned policies, it has been the source of much controversy over the years. Barbara Scott and Mary Ann Schwartz mention that “proponents of affirmative action argue that given that racism and discrimination are systemic problems, their solutions require institutional remedies such as those offered by affirmative action legislation” (298). Also, even though racism is no longer direct, indirect forms still exist in society and affirmative action helps direct. On the other hand, opponents to affirm...
However, even as early as 1978 the Supreme Court has made it a point to not support laws that provide for "reverse discrimination," which Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary defines as "discrimination against whites or males as in employment or education." The Supreme Court stated that this isn’t acceptable when it decided "reverse discrimination" is not acceptable legally or constitutionally (Affirmative, Encyclopedia American 35). I think what they mean by this is that, even though affirmative action is necessary, it should not be so harsh as to make it so the "majority" is then discriminated against in return, because then it is just reversing the discrimination, hence the term "reverse discrimination." There have been many court cases that support each side of this issue.
Affirmative Action, policies used in the United States to increase opportunities for minorities by favoring them in hiring and promotion, college admissions, and the awarding of government contracts. Depending upon the situation, “minorities” might include any underrepresented group, especially one defined by race, ethnicity, or gender. Generally, affirmative action has been undertaken by governments, businesses, or educational institutions to remedy the effects of past discrimination against a group, whether by a specific entity, such as a corporation, or by society as a whole.
...women, some consider it to be “reverse discrimination” because the are filling job spots with people not best suited for the job but to follow the law of having a diverse community .
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and various other federal and state laws prohibit intentional discrimination based on ancestry or ethnicity. Some employers practice blatant forms of minority discrimination by paying lower salaries and other compensation to blacks and Hispanics. Others engage in quota systems by denying promotions and jobs to individuals on the basis of race or color. Federal laws prohibit employers of 15 or more employees from discriminating on the basis of race or color. Virtually all states have even stronger anti-discrimination laws directed to fighting job-related race and minority discrimination. In some states, companies with fewer than eight employees can be found guilty of discrimination.
Affirmative Action is defined as an active effort to improve the employment or educational opportunities of members of minority groups and woman (Merriam-Webster). Recently a landmark decision on a regarding affirmative action has being in the forefront; Grutter v. Bollinger was a case in which the United States Supreme Court banned the affirmative action admissions policy of the University of Michigan Law School. A white law school candidate in 1997 with a GPA of 3.8 trials the University of Michigan Law School use of race being the reason in the admissions process due to being denied as a student at Michigan Law. The decision in this court case was the University of Michigan Law School admissions program that gave special consideration for being a certain racial minority did not violate the Fourteenth Amendment.
Affirmative Action has been an issue of contention since its inception during the Civil Rights struggles of mid 20th century America. Discrimination could no longer be tolerated and the Unites States government had an obligation to encourage equality at all levels of the social infrastructure. The main type of discrimination being addressed by Affirmative Action programs was racial discrimination. The Merriam Webster dictionary defines racism as: ‘a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race.’ The Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibited discrimination of any kind, laid the foundation for the introduction of Affirmative Action programs. In 1965, Lyndon Johnson signed an executive order requiring government contractors to diversify its staff by hiring more members of the minorities. President Nixon implemented a system in which the government could monitor the progress being made by businesses in hiring minorities. Eventually, high level educational institutions would also see the need for Affirmative Action and the benefits of a diverse student body. Affirmative Action was designed to overcome the issue of discrimination in education and the workplace by giving less fortunate members of the minority an opportunity to level the playing field and achieve success similar to that of their counterparts in the majority. Affirmative Action programs, which encourage the inclusion of minorities in education and at all levels in the workplace, are vital in the effort to eradicate discrimination and provide equal opportunity.
Affirmative action or positive discrimination can be defined as providing advantages for people of a minority group who are seen to have traditionally been discriminated against. This consists of preferential access to education, employment, health care, or social welfare. In employment, affirmative action may also be known as employment equity. Affirmative action requires that institutions increase hiring and promotion of candidates of mandated groups. (Rubenfeld, 1997, p. 429)