Work Ethics

EEOC Paper

Laws are created to guarantee the protection of groups and individuals within the context of what is right and decent in society. Although some laws do conflict with some moral and ethical principles, laws generally aim to provide equality among people in society. It always has been a common saying that: "Ignorance of the law excuses no one." Bearing this in mind, Equal Employment Opportunity laws are there to protect both employees and employers from discrimination. A diligent company and its management will ensure compliance of the four major EO laws comprising (AllBusiness.com, 2009):

* Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin.

* The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) prohibits age discrimination against individuals who are forty years of age or older.

* Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) prohibits employment discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities.

* The Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA) prohibits wage discrimination between men and women in substantially equal jobs within the same establishment.

Indeed, the best way for a company to meet compliance requirements of EEOC is to have one point of contact person or team whose job function is to keep up-to-date with EEO regulations. Should there be any EEO case filed in the company, this individual or group will take the lead in handling the case.

One such lawsuit the EEOC involved itself with is dealing with the subject of age discrimination. What started the discrimination lawsuit began with a 53 year-old employee. This person was terminated because of her age. Essentially what ensued began with the EEOC filing a lawsuit against Kanbar Property Management LLC. This lawsuit came into effect after the company informed Toni Strength that "due to a reorganization of services, it has become necessary to reduce the administrative management staff" and that her property manager position had been "eliminated effective October 29, 2010." Not long after the firm hired two new property managers, prettier and younger, ages 29 and 39. The chief operating officer felt that they would be more able to entertain potential tenants.

EEOC Functions

The EEOC's role dealt specifically with age discrimination. Discrimination against applicants age 40 and over based on this fact violates the ADEA. The ADEA is the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. The EEOC filed the complaint in the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process (EEOC, 2011).

The function of the EEOC is to make sure no one is discriminated against under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The responsibility of this commission is to enforce the provisions of Title VII against unlawful employment practices. This ensures everyone the right to have a workplace free of harassment and injustice in despite a person's race, sex, disability, age, national origin, pregnancy, and religion as well as sexually harassed and retaliated against. The parties will either come to terms in a settlement or go on to trial.

The EEOC and the Lawsuit

Once there has been a file charged the particulars of the case is investigated to see if the case were one they considered and would hold up in court. The next step is to receive a

"Notice of -Right-to-Sue," at that time there is 90 days to file a lawsuit.

The EEOC filed a suit in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma (EEOC v. Kanbar Property Management LLC, Civil Case No.:12-CV-_______) with no pre-litigation settlement. The Commission was seeking back pay, liquidated damages and reinstatement or front pay for Strength as well. as injunctive relief, including a court order prohibiting KPM from any further discrimination against employees on the basis of their age.

Promoting Social Change

Certainly lawsuits, such as the one previously mentioned help to promote social change. There has been an appreciable change in the amount of older workers into the workforce. Acceptance in the past on the subject of age discrimination was more prevalent. Employers believed he or she could not obtain his or her money's worth out of older employees as their employment time was less than that of his or her younger counterparts. The preference of the younger worker is understood better by revisiting the history of age discrimination.

The term "age discrimination" started after World War II. The advent of the baby boom began and an onset of younger workers saturated the workforce leaving older employees with little choice but to depart. The baby boom spanned an era between 1945 and the early part of the1960s.

The arrival of so many young potential workers brought about contradictory viewpoints and ideas. Many companies changed their older policies and welcomed this young generation and the modern technology that came with it. The problem started when the older employees, according to the companies, were conservative in their styles of working and lack of energy. The older employees debated that the younger generation lacked maturity, experience, and technical know-how. All of this was the start of the age discrimination laws (Free Legal Advice, 2007).

The most important message put forth as a result of this lawsuit is that