Business Law Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Business Law - Research Paper Example In later years, the scope of anti discrimination law has been extended to include discrimination in the workplace against individuals other than black Americans. This report discusses the relevant legislation that has been implemented and the impact that they have had in terms of influencing the human resources process at organizations in the United States. Some of the legislation introduced in the United States to tackle the issue of discrimination in the workplace include: (a) Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination in employment based upon age, racial background, colour, sexual orientation or nationality (b) The civil rights Act of 1991, one of the provisions of which is to provide for monetary damages for those individuals who have been intentionally discriminated against. (c) Equal Pay Act of 1963, wherein men and women who perform substantially the same level of work are to be provided with equal pay (d) ADEA OR the Age Discrimination in Employ ment Act of 1967, which protects those individuals who are aged 40 years or over from being denied work opportunities or promotions (e) ADA or Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (as amended) in which Title I and V prohibits discriminating individuals who are disabled from employment in the private sector, local or state governments (f) The Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the equivalent Act to the ADA for individuals with disabilities in the Federal Government, under Sections 501 and 505. (g) The Genetic Information Non discrimination Act of 2008, which under Tiitle II, does not allow discrimination against an employee, former employee or ob applicant on the basis of genetic information about the candidate that may be available. Anti discrimination employment laws have produced a significant impact in terms of making the employment arena a much more equitable playing field for those individuals who are from minority backgrounds or who are disadvantaged in some way compared to the av erage applicant, i.e, through disability, sexual orientation, religious background or other factors. Burnstein and Edwards (1994) examined the impact of employment anti-discrimination laws on the relative earnings of blacks and whites. As these authors indicate early on in their article, citing the views of Gunnar Myrdal, in 1944, the American Blacks were in a wretched position in terms of employment, they were mostly destitute and poor, living in segregated slums. The anti discrimination legislation however, provided an opportunity for blacks to apply for positions that were earlier not accessible to them, such as jobs in public sector enterprises and educational opportunities. Secondly, the legislation provided them an opportunity to seek redress through the courts and by approaching the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission if they were not paid on an equitable basis in comparison with whites. As Burnstein and Edwards (1994) have pointed out, the most significant impact of the anti discrimination legislation has been the improvement in the relative earnings levels between blacks and whites.(Burnstein and Edwa