Research the term BFOQ. Explain its importance and relevance to HRM. How might not appropriately incorporating well defined BFOQs lead to difficulties for the organization? How would the concept of BFOQ be linked to “disparate treatment” and/or “disparate impact” in respect to staffing? What is the link between the ADA (1990) and BFOQs? Present your views in 200 words or more in your discussion post. Respond to at least two of your classmates’ posts. Use at least two scholarly source in your reply. Remember to properly cite your sources.
Reply to: Ronchera
Bona Fide Occupational Qualification (BFOQ) expects businesses to demonstrate a specific aptitude or qualification is vital for somebody to play out a specific employment. BFOQ enables a few bosses to enlist people dependent on race (just for performers), sex, age, religion, and national starting point. Massengill (2007) utilized the case of a retail chain utilizing females to act like mannequins in the underwear office. As a rule, we will locate that numerous directors and organizations are reluctant to actualize a BFOQ in light of the fact that the organization may end up oppressing individuals if the right wording isn’t utilized and the connection between the individual and the expected set of responsibilities can’t be built up.
The unsuccessful usage of a BFOQ could prompt numerous issues inside an association. One issue that numerous organizations need to maintain a strategic distance from are claims. Obviously business law restricts EEOC bosses to segregate on individuals dependent on their race, ethnicity, religion, sex, and national cause. In a few occurrences, BFOQ fills in as a barrier and could be utilized in instances of dissimilar treatment segregation. Unique treatment is a path for individuals to demonstrate businesses are executing illicit work separation. For instance, assume a little organization of 35 individuals were separated into 5 divisions; fund, HR, showcasing and deals, client administration, and selection representatives. Each office enlisted no less than 3 men and something like 4 unique races, to fuse decent variety and diverse foundations. Amid the week’s end, the offices all needed to guarantee that one individual remains to clean up their zone as there were no janitorial administrations. Each Friday administration discovered that just Hispanics were remaining to clean up, however he never made reference to it to different representatives. One of the Hispanics that worked in the deals and showcasing office progressed toward becoming tired of being the just a single remaining to clean the territory consistently, even after she made reference to in to alternate representatives. She started to do research and felt like she was being oppressed dependent on her ethnicity. She and the others from alternate offices had a similar story. Cavico and Mujtaba (2016) made reference to that these workers can record a unique treatment guarantee that claims they were dealt with uniquely in contrast to different representatives similarly situated or circumstance, and the thing that matters depended on a secured trademark.
In the article “BFOQ Defenses in Workplace Discrimination Lawsuits”, the author mentioned that “the ADA only protects qualified people with disabilities from discrimination, it essentially has a BFOQ defense built into its own language” (2012). Americans with Disabilities aren’t permitted to be in the running for a BFOQ because of the ADA however numerous individuals can demonstrate that the potential worker will be unable to play out his or her activity well because of security. For instance, a man with vision disabilities driving a forklift in an assembling organization. The article likewise expressed that “the difference in ADA cases is that the burden is on the employee to prove that he is qualified despite his disability” (BFOQ Defenses in Workplace Discrimination Lawsuits, 2012).
BFOQ’s can be precarious however it is critical to know the upsides and downsides of utilizing these before endeavoring to actualize them into the framework.
References
BFOQ Defenses in Workplace Discrimination Lawsuits. 17 July 2012. Retrieved from http://www.workplacediscriminationlaw.com/bfoq-defenses-in-workplace-discrimination-lawsuits/
Cavico, F. J., & Mujtaba, B. G. (2016). The bona fide occupational qualification (BFOQ) defense in employment discrimination: A narrow and limited justification exception. Journal of Business Studies Quarterly, 7(4), 15-29. Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/1807471974?accountid=32521
Massengill, D. (2007). Gender as bona fide occupational qualification. Employee Relations Law Journal, 32(4), 52-65. Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/194222075?accountid=32521 (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
Reply to: Kathryn-
Bona Fide Occupational Qualification, also referred to as BFOQ, is a term used when an employer requires a specific religion, sex, or national origin to fulfill a determined job role (www.cornell.edu (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.). However, a BFOQ may not be used to discriminate based upon race (www.cornell.edu (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.).
Egan (2014), describes a situation in which the University of Rhode Island needed a female athletic store attendant. The university enacted a BFOQ for hiring only a female for this position because of the job requirements for the employee to be in the female locker rooms at all times of the day and evening, during game and changing times, and the need to touch various areas of the female athletes bodies while fixing uniforms (Egan, 2014).
When considering a BFOQ from a HRM perspective, it can be understood why a company would need to enact a BFOQ for certain positions in order to avoid lawsuits. For example, if the University of Rhode Island would not have enacted a BFOQ for the female athletic store attendant, and hired a male instead, then the University could have faced numerous counts of sexual misconduct, rape, and other complaints. Additionally, not properly incorporating well defined BFOQ’s into the HRM strategies can lead to litigation for companies, as well as possibly ruining their public and business reputations within the area. The University, or any other business, could face going out of business if a BFOQ situation spirals out of control. A BFOQ cannot be connected to disparate treatment if it is indeed a job requirement. In the case of the University of Rhode Island, the University was correct in what they did. However, if a company would place an ad for a female CEO of a computer company, this is not covered under the BFOQ because there is no defined need for the CEO to be a woman.
According to the EEOC, the ADA does not allow an employer to discriminate a potential candidate for a position based upon the existence of a disability (www.eeoc.gov (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site., 2018). However, if a potential candidate applies for a position and cannot perform the essential functions of the job with or without reasonable accommodations, then the employer may disqualify them as a potential employee (www.eeoc.gov (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.).
References
. (2018). Bona Fide Occupational Qualification. Retrieved from https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/bona_fide_occupational_qualification_%28bfoq%29 (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
. (2018). Titles I and V of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). Retrieved from https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/statutes/ada.cfm (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
Egan, T. (2014, September 16). Employment – BFOQ – Gender. Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly. Retrieved from EbscoHost.
Discussion 2-
Foreign Restrictions on Termination
Research the topic of restrictions on termination of employment in European countries. Assess the different requirements and consider risks, operational requirements for MNCs, modified HRM policies, and any other conditions or restrictions facing a firm operating in such environments. Present your views in 200 words or more in your discussion post. Use at least two recent, scholarly source in your reply Respond to at least two of your classmates’ posts.
Reply to Ronchera-
The United States is entirely different in numerous regions with regards to a variety of things. One of them is business and work laws. Realizing that the United States is a work freely nation, this is one of the numerous things that different the U.S. from different nations. Work At-Will implies that a business can fire a representative whenever, for reasons unknown by any means. Luckily for different nations, for example, European nations, bosses are not permitted to fire the representative whenever and unquestionably not for reasons unknown. At the point when contracted in America, most nations send offer letters, offering the business chance to the competitor. In European nations, applicants are offered a work contract which makes the end more troublesome than America.
Utilizing France for instance, all work game plans are between the business and worker are administered by an agreement that sets arrangements of work that can just fire a representative for particular reasons (Dismissal Under French Law, 2011). As per the French, the particular reasons must be perceived by French Law or French Case Law. All material expulsion strategies ought to be kept as per the laws in the occasion the representative difficulties the rejection.
Assumed the United States was working an insurance agency over in France. Despite the fact that the organization is an American based organization, the organization and the HR office needs to utilize people dependent on the host nation; which means all representatives in France should sign and concur with their business contract. This could be troublesome or it could be a learning knowledge. As of now I work with an assembling organization and we just have 3 organizations situated in the US. The majority of alternate organizations are situated in Germany, Australia, Bahrain, and so forth which enables us to take in the laws and contracts of how different nations work and function. Having a MNC can be a remarkable test however it can likewise be advantageous, as long as all arrangements and techniques are joined effectively (Tharenou and Harvey, 2006). The most critical thing to know about is guaranteeing the HR Department knows about all laws and contracts of alternate nations so there are no illegitimate terminations as France isn’t a work voluntarily nation.
References
Dismissal Under French Law. May 26, 2011. Retrieved from: http://www.eurojuris.net/en/node/41566 (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
Tharenou, P., & Harvey, M. (2006). Examining the overseas staffing options utilized by Australian headquartered multinational corporations. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 17(6), 1095. Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/218139983?accountid=32521
Reply to Kathryn-
Hunt (2014), notes that companies should aggressively promote the use of strategic HR as part of business strategies because strategic HR has an impact on the bottom line, we know how to do it, we have the technology, and it reduces the impact on employees overall lives.
When considering the restrictions of termination in foreign countries, Kuddo (2009), notes that voluntary resignations from employees mean that no severance or benefits are paid out. The same is the case if an employee is fired. However, if an employer must lay off employees as a result of economic reasons, restructuring of the company, or technological reasons, then they must pay out severance and benefits (2009).
Additionally, Kuddo lists reasons that an employer in a foreign country may terminate employment as including liquidation of the enterprise, agency or other organization, bankruptcy of the employer, layoff of employees, unsuitability of an employee for his or her office or the work to be performed due to professional skills or for reasons of health, unsatisfactory results of a probationary period, breach of duties an employee, loss of trust in an employee, indecent acts by an employee, the long-term incapacity for work of an employee, the employee reaches a certain age, hiring an employee for whom the position is a principal job, and any acts of corruption of an employee (2009). According to the ILO termination of employment convention, if an employer decides to terminate based upon reasons of technological, economic, or structural, then the employer is to notify employees within a reasonably advanced timeframe (Kuddo, 2014).
Some of the risks associated with working in foreign countries could include individuals who are working in a foreign country as a result of a transfer, whether it is a part time assignment, or a lengthier amount of time. Consider this situation for an MNC. This would be determined based upon whether the company follows rules based on home country laws, visiting country laws, or home office laws. The waters can become muddied for employees working in countries other than their home based country. It could end up that both the company in the foreign country and the home based office would have to follow both countries laws regarding terminations. Or, it could end up that the company would only follow the law based upon where the employee spends a majority of their time.
References
Hunt, S. (2014). Commonsense Talent Management. San Francisco, CA: Wiley.
Kuddo, A. (2009, November 1). Labor laws in Eastern European and Central Asian countries: minimum norms and practices (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. Worldbank.org. Retrieved October 8, 2015. From-http://siteresources.worldbank.org/SOCIALPROTECTION/Resources/SP-Discussion-papers/Labor-Market-DP/0920.pdf