Unit 2 IP- Labor Relations

Posted: August 7th, 2013

Labor Relations

Name:

Course:

Instructor:

Institution:

Date:
Fairness and Legal Compliance in the Hiring Process

Process should include all legally acceptable interviews and relevant testing only

America is a culture that places great importance on human rights. The government consistently makes regulations to ensure they are protected. As a result, human resource managers need to be enlightened concerning current laws governing their practice and the possibility of litigation (Robinson, Franklin & Wayland, 2010). The hiring process should not only be law compliant but also conscious of the ethical breaches that are not punishable by law.

Human resource managers have to navigate through numerous laws that provide guidelines on the human capital function. Some of the crucial laws that should guide hiring policy formulation include the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that lays out regulations for equal employment opportunities. It was enacted at the height of the civil rights movement to prevent employers from discriminating against potential recruits due to their race, religion, color, or sex.

Hiring processes should be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which protects Americans with disability from losing employment opportunities due to discrimination. It also ensures that American workplaces make provisions to accommodate disability. Employers can do this ensuring they have infrastructure like lifts to ease the movement of crippled employees. They should also accommodate hospital visits caused by an employee’s disability. The payroll policy should be aligned to the Employee Pay Act, which advocates for equal pay being given to people with the same job description and responsibilities in the work place (Cihon & Castagnera, 2010). Other provisions govern the interview process itself by ensuring questions asked are relevant to the job description.

To formulate a hiring policy that is law compliant, managers should regularly research new laws affecting them. This will protect them from unknowingly exposing themselves to litigation. For example, employee policies are constantly changing. Managers hence need to keep up with the changes for them to be able to comply. Keeping up to date records of all employees and monitoring them regularly increases the chances of detecting and remedying any regulatory breaches. Human resource managers also need to include legal literacy programs in their training curriculum. This training should be obligatory to all departmental managers or supervisors associated with the recruitment process. This information should be disseminated to non-management employees, as well.

The application of risk management strategies in the hiring process eases the job of creating a fair and ethical workplace. Taking a risk analysis of the legal ramifications of all key decisions related to Human Resource is one tool mangers can use in planning. Risk management tools work well when employees are included in the policy formulation process (Moss & Tilly, 2001). Managers should thus engage employees to help create fair and inspiring workplaces. Making them stakeholders helps them realize how a breach in compliance compromises the future of a business and in turn its employees. The employee viewpoint is extremely important, as it can help hiring managers, plug loopholes they had not seen form their perspective as managers.

Employers should also consider the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection. These are criteria used by the EEOC to help employers come up with valid recruitment criteria. They advocate the use of job requirements that are related to the actual work description. For example, requiring a college degree for a position that can be capably filled by a high school graduate could be seen as discrimination against people with high school diplomas.

At the end of the day, the regulations governing human resource are meant to protect everyone from abuse in the workplace. The human resource environment can be hard to navigate at times but with the active participation of all stakeholders, ethical laws that protect everyone can be made. Fair and ethical workplaces are beneficial to everyone. Employees get a chance to practice their talents without oppression. They also get fair growth opportunities. On the other hand, employers save on the costs associated with regulatory non-compliance. In addition, employers with a reputation for ethical practices and legal compliance are more likely to win lawsuits, as opposed to known offenders.

References

Cihon, P. J. & Castagnera, J. O. (2010) Employment & labor law. Stamford, CN: Cengage Learning.

Moss, P. I. & Tilly, C. (2001). Stories employers tell: race, skill, and hiring in America. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

Robinson, R. K., Franklin, G. M., & Wayland, R. F. (2010). Employment regulation in the workplace: basic compliance for managers. Armonk, N. Y. : M. E. Sharpe