Analyzing Employment Issues

The Topic selected is Employee Discrimination. Employee discrimination has become a
substantive human resource problem in the past. Employees have reported instances of
discrimination, and this has an impact on the workplace environment as well as the level of
employee motivation in the workplace. One of the real-world problems that can be addressed
using the concepts covered in this week’s reading relates to racial discrimination in the
workplace. Pay or compensation discrimination exists in certain workplaces. Employees tasked
with similar responsibilities receive different compensations for the services rendered. Pay
discrimination creates inequality in the workplace.
All forms of discrimination are outlawed by federal laws. Individuals performing duties
that require similar skill, effort, and responsibility must be given a similar compensation. Racial
and gender-based discrimination is outlawed by federal regulations. The Equal Pay Act is a
federal regulation that addresses issues relating to workplace discrimination (Walsh, 2016). The
act states that both men and women who are in the same workplace must be given equal wages
and benefits for equal work. The jobs may not be similar, but if they are substantially equal, then
employees undertaking the jobs must be given a similar compensation package. Employees who
feel that their employers are discriminating against them by way of not giving them equal pay
can file their complaints in courts of law. The cases should be filed within two years of the
alleged unlawful compensation (Walsh, 2016). Employees are thus empowered by the law to
fight for equitable workplaces. Human resource departments should seek to eliminate any form
of discrimination to avoid legal battles that could ensue.
References

Walsh, D. J. (2016). Employment law for human resource practice (5th ed.). Boston, MA:
Cengage Learning.