Anti-discrimination laws help businesses increase attendance and productivity by creating an environment that people feel safe in. It seems so simple at times, but just treating people fairly no matter how different they may be from us can help you stay successful. Instead of judging someone based on their age, religion, race, color, disability, national origin or any other differences they may have we should judge them only based on their actual work performance.
We will take a look at age discrimination first and look at ways to help prevent it from being a part of our workplace environment. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act, known also as ADEA, protects anyone forty or more years old. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act was designed to discourage employers from unfairly treating older employees in the following employment conditions; training opportunities, work assignments, layoffs/terminations, offered benefits, amount of pay, or whether or not they are hired.
Racial discrimination becomes harder to define since there can be so many variables involved in the law. Just to begin with a white spouse could be discriminated against for being married to their black partner, or vice versa. Another form of race discrimination could be if an employer took negative action against someone for being affiliated with a group just because that group was known to cater to certain races of people. In addition, if an employer develops work practices that are not necessary that have more of an impact on a certain race than others, it may be considered discrimination.
The color of someone's skin is also protected by anti-discrimination laws. Even if someone is of the same color skin as someone else, it can still be considered discrimination. Unfortunately, the law doesn't clearly spell out what color discrimination is only that it is based on the darkness or lightness of an individual's skin.
When it comes to religion it also falls under the same anti-discrimination laws. It really doesn't matter if a person is of a specific religion or not, it only matters if the person that is discriminating against them thinks they are. For instances, a person may observe another person leaving a religious facility and because of that they start taking adverse actions. It can happen that easily.
Someone treated unfairly because of the area or country they are from, their ethnicity, or whether or not they have an accent, is considered national origin discrimination. Whether the person being discriminated against is actually from that area or not doesn't matter. What makes it discrimination is whether the person believes they are from that country or area.
The best way to protect your company from anti-discrimination laws is to insure your employees receive ongoing training from the moment they are hired. This should include an employee handbook, new hire orientation, and annual training thereafter. This training should not be taken lightly. In fact, it should include a well written lesson plan and some type of test proving they understand what they were taught. The employee handbook does not have to be complicated or long winded. It should provide the necessary information on your discrimination policy and the consequences if they do not follow it. In all cases make sure you document all training and have them sign for the employee handbook.
We will take a look at age discrimination first and look at ways to help prevent it from being a part of our workplace environment. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act, known also as ADEA, protects anyone forty or more years old. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act was designed to discourage employers from unfairly treating older employees in the following employment conditions; training opportunities, work assignments, layoffs/terminations, offered benefits, amount of pay, or whether or not they are hired.
Racial discrimination becomes harder to define since there can be so many variables involved in the law. Just to begin with a white spouse could be discriminated against for being married to their black partner, or vice versa. Another form of race discrimination could be if an employer took negative action against someone for being affiliated with a group just because that group was known to cater to certain races of people. In addition, if an employer develops work practices that are not necessary that have more of an impact on a certain race than others, it may be considered discrimination.
The color of someone's skin is also protected by anti-discrimination laws. Even if someone is of the same color skin as someone else, it can still be considered discrimination. Unfortunately, the law doesn't clearly spell out what color discrimination is only that it is based on the darkness or lightness of an individual's skin.
When it comes to religion it also falls under the same anti-discrimination laws. It really doesn't matter if a person is of a specific religion or not, it only matters if the person that is discriminating against them thinks they are. For instances, a person may observe another person leaving a religious facility and because of that they start taking adverse actions. It can happen that easily.
Someone treated unfairly because of the area or country they are from, their ethnicity, or whether or not they have an accent, is considered national origin discrimination. Whether the person being discriminated against is actually from that area or not doesn't matter. What makes it discrimination is whether the person believes they are from that country or area.
The best way to protect your company from anti-discrimination laws is to insure your employees receive ongoing training from the moment they are hired. This should include an employee handbook, new hire orientation, and annual training thereafter. This training should not be taken lightly. In fact, it should include a well written lesson plan and some type of test proving they understand what they were taught. The employee handbook does not have to be complicated or long winded. It should provide the necessary information on your discrimination policy and the consequences if they do not follow it. In all cases make sure you document all training and have them sign for the employee handbook.
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