MGMT 350: Managing Diversity, US Federal Employment Law, & US Labor Law

Flashcards covering key concepts and terms from the lecture on diversity management, US federal employment law, and US labor law.

Deep-level diversity

Differences due to values, backgrounds, experiences, perceptions, personality, ability, and skills.

Surface-level diversity

Visual demographic differences such as race, ethnicity, gender, and age.

Diversity (in the workforce)

The existence of differences among people in an organization, fostering creativity and innovation.

Heterogeneity

Advantages of diversity in the workforce, including creativity, innovation, and divergent thinking.

Homogeneity

Can lead to challenges like functional and dysfunctional conflict if diversity is not managed effectively.

Managing Diversity

Strategies including diversity leadership, top management support and commitment, diversity training, and diversity policies and practices.

Individualism/Collectivism

A cultural dimension where individualism emphasizes 'I' vs. 'we' and personal success, while collectivism focuses on group well-being.

Power-Distance (High)

A cultural dimension where people are comfortable with hierarchical distribution of power and respond favorably to authority.

Uncertainty avoidance (High)

A cultural dimension where people seek structure and certainty, avoid deviance, and value stability and predictability.

Short-term/Long-term orientation

A cultural dimension where short-term values emphasize efficient use of time and speed in actions, aiming for outcomes in the near future.

Masculinity (Cultural Dimension)

Emphasizes independence, aggressiveness, physical strength, dominance, visible accomplishment, and acquisition of money and things.

Quality of life societies (Femininity)

Cultural dimension that emphasizes relationships among people, concern for others, and the overall quality of life.

Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)

Makes it illegal for U.S. firms to knowingly corrupt foreign officials.

Expatriation

The process of an employee taking an assignment in a foreign country, involving considerations for training, organizational support, and pay.

Repatriation

The process of an employee returning to their home country after an overseas assignment, requiring organizational support for new skills and opportunities.

Traditionalists (Generation)

Individuals born between 1925 and 1945.

Baby Boomers (Generation)

Individuals born between 1946 and 1964.

Generation X

Individuals born between 1965 and 1980.

Millennials (Generation)

Individuals born between 1981 and 2000; the largest generation in the labor force since 2018.

Generation Z

Individuals born between 2001 and 2020; overtook Baby Boomers in the full-time workforce in 2023.

Glass Ceiling

An invisible barrier blocking women and other minorities from top management positions.

Pay Gap

The difference in earnings between different groups of workers, often debated in terms of gender.

Diversity Training

Training programs used by companies to foster awareness or develop skills and behavioral changes related to diversity.

13th Amendment

Abolished slavery in the United States.

14th Amendment

Limits actions of government, provides equal protection, and requires due process.

Equal Pay Act (EPA) of 1963

Requires women who do the same job as men in the same organization to receive the same pay, allowing differences based on seniority, merit, or quantity/quality of production.

Title VII of Civil Rights Act (CRA) of 1964

Makes it illegal for an employer to discriminate against individuals based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin in employment decisions.

Age Discrimination Act (ADEA) of 1967

Prohibits discrimination against employees age 40 or older in organizations with 20 or more workers.

Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA) of 1974

Requires federal contractors to provide equal opportunity and affirmative action for Vietnam era veterans, special disabled veterans, and certain other veterans.

Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) of 1978

An amendment to Title VII, requiring employers to treat pregnant women the same as any other employee with a medical condition for employment-related purposes.

Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) of 1986

Requires employers to only hire individuals who are authorized to work legally in the United States.

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990

Requires employers to make 'reasonable accommodation' to individuals with disabilities who are otherwise qualified for a job, unless it imposes undue hardship.

Civil Rights Act (CRA) of 1991

Corrects omissions of the 1964 CRA, allowing compensatory and punitive damages for intentional discrimination and prohibiting 'race-norming' of test scores.

Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993

Entitles eligible employees to up to 12 workweeks of unpaid leave in a 12-month period for specified family and medical reasons, with maintenance of health benefits and job protection.

Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) of 1994

Ensures civilian reemployment rights of military members called away from their non-military jobs by U.S. government orders.

Veteran’s Benefits Improvement Act (VBIA) of 2004

An amendment to USERRA, extending health care coverage for active duty employees and requiring employers to post a notice of USERRA/VBIA rights.

Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) of 2008

Prohibits the use of genetic information in employment decisions and intentional acquisition of such information, imposing strict confidentiality requirements.

Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act (LLFPA) of 2009

Amends Title VII to extend the period for filing compensation discrimination lawsuits to within 180 days after 'any application' of a discriminatory compensation decision.

Adverse employment decisions

Applies to all decisions regarding hiring, firing, training, discipline, compensation, benefits, classification, and other terms of employment.

Disability (ADA definition)

A physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a record of such impairment, or being regarded as having such an impairment.

Reasonable accommodation

Employers' legal obligation to adjust a job or work environment to enable a qualified individual with a disability or religious practice to perform essential job functions.

Discrimination (in HR)

Making distinctions among people.

Illegal discrimination

Making distinctions that harm people by inappropriately using an individual’s membership in a protected class as a basis for an employment decision.

Disparate (adverse) treatment

When an employee is intentionally treated differently based on their membership in a protected class.

Disparate (adverse) impact

When an officially neutral employment practice disproportionately and unintentionally excludes members of a protected group.

Pattern or practice

When an employer engages in actions over time that intentionally deny rights provided by Title VII to members of a protected class.

Bona Fide Occupational Qualification (BFOQ)

A quality or attribute that employers are allowed to consider when making decisions on the hiring and retention of employees, typically an attribute that would otherwise be illegal to discriminate on.

Business necessity

A legal defense used to justify an employment practice that has a disparate impact on a protected class, by demonstrating it is essential to the safe and efficient operation of the business.

Job relatedness

The requirement that a selection procedure be shown to be significantly related to successful job performance.

Sexual Harassment

Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature that affects employment, interferes with work performance, or creates a hostile work environment.

Quid pro quo sexual harassment

Sexual harassment where submission to or rejection of sexual conduct is used as a basis for employment decisions.

Hostile work environment sexual harassment

Sexual harassment that occurs when unwelcome sexual conduct unreasonably interferes with an individual's work performance or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment.

Religious Discrimination

Discrimination based on an employee's religious beliefs or practices, requiring employers to make reasonable accommodation unless it creates undue hardship.

Affirmative action

Policies designed to prefer hiring of individuals from protected groups in certain circumstances to mitigate past discrimination.

Reverse discrimination

The argument that affirmative action policies unfairly disadvantage members of the majority or historically advantaged groups.

OUCH Test

A checklist for evaluating employment actions: Objective, Uniform in application, Consistent in effect, and Has job relatedness.

EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission)

A federal agency responsible for investigating and resolving discrimination complaints, gathering statistics, and issuing guidelines.

OFCCP (Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs)

Monitors and enforces Executive Orders and acts requiring federal contractors to provide equal opportunity and affirmative action.

Retaliation

Adverse action taken against an employee for exercising their rights, such as filing an EEOC complaint or participating in an investigation.

Constructive discharge

When an employer makes working conditions so intolerable that an employee is forced to resign, essentially amounting to a firing.

National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) / Wagner Act

A foundational U.S. labor law that guarantees the right of employees to organize and bargain collectively with their employers.

Taft-Hartley Act (Labor Management Relations Act)

A U.S. federal law that restricts the activities and power of labor unions.

Landrum-Griffin Act (LMRDA)

A U.S. labor law that regulates labor unions' internal affairs and officials' relationships with companies.

Collective bargaining

A negotiation process between an employer and a group of employees aimed at reaching agreements to regulate working conditions.

Lockout

A temporary work stoppage or denial of employment initiated by the management of a company during a labor dispute.

Economic Strike

A work stoppage by employees to press for better wages, hours, or working conditions, as opposed to unfair labor practices.

Whistle-blowing

The act of reporting perceived dishonest or illegal activities within a company, often protected by laws like the Federal False Claims Act and Dodd-Frank Act.

Wrongful Discharge

A legal concept that protects employees from being fired for illegal reasons, such as discrimination or retaliation.