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Because of this, I have decided to discuss one type of discrimination, which is employment discrimination. Throughout this paper I will attempt to answer several questions. Such questions are what is employment discrimination and whom does it effect? What could one do if find that they are a victim of discrimination? After answering these questions I will incorporate my own experience on this topic. Employment discrimination occurs when an employee or a group of employees are treated unfairly as compared to others because of their race, age, sex, religion, etc. Employment discrimination usually effects those who are considered the minority. If a company is found guilty of employment discrimination they can be find several hundreds of thousands of dollars. There are 2 forms of unfair treatment that one could experience in his/her workplace. The first form of treatment is done with intent. An example of this form of treatment would be if fellow employees or the employer makes up jokes or slurs about others, which would cause the other party to feel uncomfortable and unwanted in the workplace. The second form of unfair treatment is done a little different. This treatment is done in a sly and tricky way. For example, the employer would assign certain employees jobs that are out of the ordinary. These assignments that are seen as beneath a person’s job description. These people are used as scapegoats. Another example of this would be if the employer withheld an employee from achieving a promotion because of their age, sex, race, or whatever the case may be. Most cases of employment discrimination follow the sly and tricky form of unfair treatment. (The 2nd form). The law prohibits any discrimination against any person who is applying for a job and or any employee who is currently working for a company. Title V11 of the Civil Rights act of 1964 fights against employment discrimination. Title V11 doesn’t allow for employment decisions to be made on the basis of stereotypes and or the assumptions about a person’s abilities, performance and traits because of their race, age, sex, religion, etc. It also puts a stop to intentional discrimination and certain job polices that may exclude certain groups of people from achieving different positions that may otherwise be eligible to other groups. The question now one should ask is, “How does one prove discrimination?” To prove that discrimination has happened one must have a job where their job performance meets satisfactory standards. If one has a satisfactory performance and is fired or mistreated then it is believed that these actions occurred because of reasons other then job related. In a case in which a new employee (one who may still be on probation) is terminated may have a hard time trying to prove his/her termination was on the basis of discrimination because he/she doesn’t have an established performance record. An employee however, must not have any warnings, probation or suspension on their record. They must also make sure that there are no statements on their resume that are false otherwise these false statements could be used to disprove the employee’s case along with his/her creditability. What should an employee do if they are the victims of discrimination? The employee should file a complaint with either their employer or the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The EEOC was established by Title V11 in 1965. The EEOC promotes equal opportunity, which maybe achieved through both administrative and judicial enforcement of the federal civil rights. It tries to determine if there was “reasonable cause” for discrimination. If they can prove that there was “reasonable cause” then it is up to the EEOC to try to resolve this problem by coming up with a solution where both parties agree. However if the EEOC can’t determine if there was “reasonable cause” then a lawsuit in the federal courts may persist. Statistics show the following about the EEOC. The EEOC helps to manage anywhere from 75,000-80,000 filed charges a year. In 1998 the EEOC was resolving charges faster then they where being filed. In 1998, this agency gathered an estimate of $170 million dollars in monetary for those who brought forward discrimination charges. (Theses were cases that could be consolidated voluntarily.) Also in this year the EEOC received 12,218 requests for hearing and they were able to resolve 7,494 cases. Lastly they were able to decrease discrimination charges by 53%. As you can see, the EEOC plays a very important role in employment discrimination along with being very effective. When talking about employment discrimination, employers must be very careful not to get caught up in this mess. So one could ask, “How could it be prevented? There are several guidelines that an employer must follow to ensure that discrimination doesn’t occur. First, they must establish a no tolerance policy. In otherwords, it is a policy stating that the employer will not stand for any kinds of discrimination what so ever in his workplace. Anyone who violates this will either be suspended or terminated. Next the employer must make sure that this policy is widely spread out among the employees along with being understood. Thirdly, employees should be able to go to anyone in charge such as human resources to complain about any problems. Fourth, all complaints must be investigated as soon as they are brought to someone’s attention. Lastly, employers must make sure that such and act will not occur again and they should provide the appropriate punishment to make sure. The reason why I chose this topic was because I was able to relate to it. I could remember one particular incident in which I had experienced employment discrimination. I was 18 years old and unemployed at the time. I was looking for a good paying job. I had told a few friends that if they heard of any job openings they should let me know. After a few days of looking, a few friends of mine had told me that there were several different job openings at the Fort Hamilton army base. They told me to apply there because the pay was good and so were the benefits. So I decided to take their advice. I went there a few days later with a friend of mine who was also looking for a job. While I was there I filled out an application. Since I was applying for a job that was on the military base, they asked questions like, “Do you know anyone who is currently serving in the military and if so who? What is his/her relationship to you? Where are they currently serving and for how long?” After seeing these questions, I felt reassured that I had my foot in the door because my father was one of the members in one of their military units. Also he has been serving in this unit for several years. (Not to mention that my friend had told me that I would have a good chance at getting the job because of my father’s status in the army. She told me that they like to see that on the applications.) Along with me filling out an application I also got an interview that very same day. The manager told me that I would be perfect for the job because I had a few years of experience being a cashier and supervisor and that is exactly what they are looking for. She also told me that it was a plus that I was available at anytime because not many of the people that have applied have had the availability like I did. After a few days I found out that neither my friend nor me got the job. The lady who interviewed me told me that there weren’t anymore positions available and they are no longer hiring anyone. She told me that she would still keep my application on file so that as soon as a position was available she would call me and let me know. I was a little disappointed when she gave me the news but I figured that’s life. A few days later I spoke to my friend. He had asked me if I got the job and I told him no and explained why. He said that was strange because two people went there that day and filled an application out then got hired on the spot. When I heard that I was really upset. I decided to wait a few days, then return there to see if there were any positions that were open. To my surprise there were and they were the same positions that I had applied for. Later that day I found out that the two people who were hired once worked with my mother not to long ago. My mother told me 2 young black guys who worked with her but only for a few months because they were fired. When she told me that they were both black I began thinking of some crazy things that I later found out were true. I thought, “Well maybe they didn’t hire me because I’m white and most of the people in there are black or Hispanic.” It turned out that my crazy thoughts were right. Another one of my friends who worked there told me that all the people they hired were black and that anyone who came in applied who was white didn’t get hired. Also if a white person went in and asked about the job positions, they were told that they were only looking for a night crew for maintenance. When a black or hispanic person asked about the job positions they were told a different story. They were told that many different positions were open. My friend even over heard a conversation between the 2 people who were doing the hiring, stating that they positions that were open were to only be given to the black or hispanic people. When I heard this I was disgusted. I was upset that I didn’t get the job because of my color. As you can see, discrimination is alive and going strong. It is not something that is very easy to solve. It is said that people are prejudged because of their color, age, religion, etc. People should be judged from within not from the outside. It’s like that famous saying, “You shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.” Bibliography: Word Count: 1795
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