HR roles and strategies

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What is the importance of Griggs V. Duke Power Company and the effects on equal employment legislation.

With this ruling, the courts were making clear testing of employees for hiring or promotion must be related to the job and the ability to learn and perform the job. Any job that requires testing should have proof that the education and tests are needed to find qualified individuals and not to block any individuals. This is especially true in companies where minorities are disproportionately assigned to low wage positions. In this case, the minority black employees were assigned to Labor and to advance must first be high school graduates. This occurred in 1955. After the Civil Rights Act, Duke Power changed the policy, taking out the racial designation, but adding an IQ test. It was found that white people who had been with the company, but did not have either of the requirements, did their jobs as well as those who did meet the requirements. However, black individuals were less likely to have a high school diploma and scored lower on the IQ tests.

Describe the impact the Civil Rights Act of 1991 had on employers.

Employers could no longer hide behind methods such as how they would have taken discriminatory actions under lawful motives or how there was a business justification, forcing plaintiffs to prove a lack of business justification. Other Supreme Court rulings and changes needed, addressed under the law were the right to jury trials for cases brought under the EEOC and recover both compensatory damages and punitive damages. The act did cap future losses, pain and suffering, and punitive damages on a scale based on the size of the company. Using the Price Waterhouse v Hopkins case as the foundation, the act also addressed the issues of attorney's fees, costs, and injunctive relief where the plaintiff shows discrimination was a motivation in the employment decision. Employment discrimination was extended to employees of Congress and high level political appointees. Title VII and ADA were extended to include American and American controlled employers operating abroad.

With all of these, employers were held more accountable for their employee decisions, even when found that the decisions were or could have business justifications. Employers would be liable for damages, both compensatory and punitive and those filing cases could be working ...