Business law: DISCRIMINATION in the work place

Inttroduction

There has been growing scientific interest in examining the perception of racial or ethnic discrimination and its contribution to work. Discrimination has been defined as the exclusion of some groups from the sharing of power, income and satisfaction , or the unequal treatment of some groups. Discrimination has often interpreted in a very broad manner and clearly described as an outcome driven by a wide range of different, sometimes overlapping, processes. In many instances within the workplace, these processes operate coterminously to undermine the value and productivity of specific groups of employees. Most studies found that discrimination in all its forms prevents individuals from accessing, or progressing within, the labour market. SEEDA reported that racial or ethnic discrimination in the workplace has a huge impact both at individual and organization levels. It has been estimated that at any one time around 500,000 people are suffering from work related stress at a level that makes them ill. Around 10 per cent of the workforce in the UK has been estimated to experience emotional and physical ill health related to occupation stress.(Bowling,2005)

Surprisingly, despite current Government emphasis on the implementation of numerous Employment Acts, i.e. Employment Equality (Age) Regulations (2006), Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations (2003), Employment Equality (Religion and belief) (2003), Race Relation Amendment Act (2000), Sex Discrimination Act (1975) (Regulations 2008), Equal Pay Act (1970), limited studies investigating the knowledge and perceptions of discrimination amongst BME people those discriminated most in the workplace appeared to have been conducted in the UK. Though, some organizations have developed equal opportunities polices and abide by, or go beyond, legislation requirements, for instance, by offering working parents “family friendly” policies such as flexible working hours, but the organizations, which employ BME people, have never been forced to implement any serious equal opportunities policies and do little more than pay the legislation lip service. (Butt,2004)

Discussion

Workplace discrimination occurs when an individual is treated differently when applying for a job, or while at his job, as a result of his protected status. In the United States, workplace discrimination is illegal; this means that a person cannot be treated differently on the basis of certain qualifications, such as race, gender, national origin, color, age, or disability. Various federal and state laws within the United States make discrimination in the workplace illegal. (Bowling,2005)

Not all types of workplace discrimination are prohibited by law. For example, it is not illegal to discriminate against or treat someone differently on the basis of his being physically unattractive or on the basis of his living in the wrong neighborhood. Discrimination is prohibited by law only on the basis of certain specific traits and qualifications. (Butt,2004) These qualifications, therefore, are considered to have protected status. That means if someone is a female, she cannot be discriminated against on the basis of being female because her femaleness puts her in a protected class.

Different civil rights laws within the United States prohibit different types of workplace discrimination and create different protected ...