Employer laws prevent discrimination in workplace

More than 100 federal and state laws apply to the vast majority of employers in Missouri. Myriad unknown laws and little-known regulations in current statutes leave many organizations in noncompliance. Let’s look at some laws and what they say.

Age and race discrimination. Commonly known laws are the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 and the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title VII, which prohibits discrimination, harassment and retaliation based upon age, sex and minority status, with some corporations translating minority as race. Title VII also includes color, religion and national origin as protected classes. Companies may not create blanket policies requiring staff to only speak English.

Religion at work. Religious beliefs must be reasonably accommodated unless doing so imposes an undue hardship, defined as losing efficiency, burdening colleagues, increasing operating costs, breaching a valid seniority system, violating a collective bargaining agreement, requiring the regular payment of overtime or entailing more than a minimal expense.

Disabled workers. The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 forbids discrimination, harassment and retaliation due to age and physical or mental disabilities. A regular misconception is that a person is considered disabled if he is clearly disabled. There are, however, two additional criteria that apply: if the employee has a record of being disabled; and if the employee is regarded by the employer as being disabled – even if he is not. An enterprise does not have to create a job to accommodate a person with a disability, nor can a disabled employee be forced to accept an accommodation. If the accommodation imposes significant difficulty or expense, an establishment may offer to let the employee pay a portion of the undue hardship.

Equal employment. Under the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures of 1978, once a company that is not a federal contractor attains a work force of 100, a yearly EEO-1 report must be completed and submitted to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. This report affects requirements in the selection process in order to be able to calculate the proper statistics and prepare the report.

A female may not be disqualified from selection or promotion to a high-risk, hazardous job with known or potential reproductive hazards under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978.

An I-9 form must be accurately completed within three days of a new employee’s start date per the Immigration Reform & Control Act of 1986. An organization is not required to make copies substantiating documentation, nor keep I-9s in a separate file, although it is a best practice to do so.

Investigating theft. Assuming a reasonable suspicion of guilt, the Employee Polygraph Protection Act of 1988 permits businesses to have associates take polygraph tests during the investigation of a financial loss or injury through theft, embezzlement or misappropriation. That same law, however, prohibits the use of polygraphs in pre-employment screening, except for specific exemptions such as certain government agencies.

Sexual orientation. There is no federal sexual orientation discrimination law.  Certain states and cities have passed such statutes. Missouri does not have such a law, though St. Louis and Kansas City have both passed laws forbidding discrimination, harassment and retaliation.

Military leave. Under various military leave statutes, corporations do not have to pay a worker or continue group health coverage while the military employee is gone. Military employees also may not be forced to use paid time concurrently with military leave.

Be sure to contact legal counsel when any questions arise about these laws or others.

Lynne Haggerman, M.S., is president/owner of Haggerman & Associates, a firm specializing in management training, retained search, outplacement and human resource consulting. She can be reached at lynne@haggermanandassociates.com.