The Workplace and Affirmative Action

The 44th president of the United States of America has been sworn in (twice). Many people expect President Obama to waste little time before he begins to try to deliver the kind of change promised by his campaign.  Most of the country seems eager to move in a new direction.  I know I am.

A former civil rights attorney, President Obama noted during his campaign that there is more work to be done to prevent discrimination and guarantee civil rights. He is likely to encourage change that promotes equality and protects more individuals from discriminatory acts. Such change could potentially come in the form of the following legislation which, if reintroduced and passed, may substantially affect the workplace.

Fair Pay Act

Not to be confused with the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act (which would amend the statute of limitations for pay discrimination claims), the Fair Pay Act would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to provide equal pay for work in equivalent jobs. Equivalent jobs are those for which the skill, effort, responsibility, and working conditions are equivalent, even if the jobs themselves are dissimilar.

The Fair Pay Act is similar to the Equal Pay Act, which already requires that men and women receive equal pay for working in similar jobs. The Fair Pay Act, however, expands that coverage to prohibit not only sex-based discrimination, but also discrimination based on race and national origin as well.

Workplace Religious Freedom Act

Currently, under Title VII of the Civil Rights Acto of 1964, employers must reasonably accommodate employees' sincerely held religious beliefs or practices unless doing so would impose an undue hardship on the employer. For example, undue hardship would occur if accommodating an employee's religious practices would unreasonably infringe upon other employees' job rights, impair workplace safety, or require more than administrative costs.

The Workplace Religious Freedom Act (WFRA) would amend Title VII to make it much more difficult for an employer to prove undue hardship as grounds to deny a religious accommodation. The term "undue hardship" would be redefined to mean a situation which imposes "significant difficulty or expense" upon the employer. This change would require employers to make more accommodations for employees' religious observances.

Equal Remedies Act and Civil Rights Act

The Equal Remedies Act and Civil Rights Act would remove the $300,000 statutory maximum for compensatory and punitive damages under Title VII. This means that there would be no limit to the amount that a person could receive in damages for having their civil rights violated. This act would also make it easier to file claims of discrimination based on disparate impact.

What does it mean?

While these pieces of legislation may not become law in their past forms, they may still serve to give you an indication of the direction the country could be moving in terms of civil rights. From the looks of potential legislation, employers will probably need to become more diligent about avoiding discrimination. It will likely become more difficult to ensure that you are not discriminating against any protected class, old or new, since the parameters defining what constitutes discrimination and the potential penalties for discriminatory acts are both likely to expand.

I know this isn't motivational or inspirational information.  But it is an important part of what leaders must be aware of in the workplace.  I am not an expert in this area, but I try to maintain an awareness of what is happening with regard to legislation that applies to the workplace.  Some of you don't have HR departments that help you stay up on this, and if you don't, share the information with your peers.  Mistakes in this area can cost you and your company a HUGE amount of money and grief.