Affirmative Action in Hiring

• What legal issues do Hugo and Gregory need to be mindful of as they react to Osanna's complaint?

Hugo and Gregory are pushing the limits when it comes to affirmative action at Reliable Insurance. Chances are there wasn’t any malicious intent when turning Osanna away from the job she was interested in, however from her point of view, it is easy to see why she is complaining to the EEOC: 90+% of Reliable Insurance’s workforce is white males, she was told there are no jobs available right around the same time another white male is hired for the exact same position Osanna was after.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission was put in place to safeguard against practices similar to what seems to be going on at Reliable Insurance. There are a myriad of laws that Hugo and Gregory need to be mindful of as they work to solve Osanna’s complaint. The law that Osanna is complaining against is Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. According to the EEOC website, Title VII is a law that oulaws the discrimination of someone based on their race, color, religion, national origin, or sex (Laws Enforced by EEOC, n.d.). In Osanna’s case, both race and gender could be called into question on discrimination, as it seems there are many more males than females employed at Reliable, as well as white seems to be the most prevalent race/color at the company.

In addition to Title VII, Hugo and Gregory should be mindful of other laws enforced by the EEOC. The Pregnancy Discrimination Act makes it illegal to discriminate against a woman because of pregnancy, childbirth, or a medical condition related to pregnancy or childbirth; the equal Pay Act of 1963 is a law that enforces that men and women should have equal pay if they perform equal work in the same workplace; and the Age of Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 protects workers over 40 from discrimination because of age (Laws Enforced by EEOC, n.d.). Any of these laws safeguard employees from discrimination and although Reliable might not know they are discriminating against Osanna, these laws will signify if they were. It is best they read these laws by the EEOC and make sure they fully interpret them the way the law was meant to be interpreted in order to work to solve