Sport Law: A managerial Approach-Chapter 6
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Transcript of Sport Law: A managerial Approach-Chapter 6
Sport Law: A Managerial Approach- Chapter 6
Hiri
ng, P
rom
otio
n, Termination, Compensation, & Leave
By: Alexandra Sutter for Sport Law at Endicott College
Chapter 6
§ Safeguarding against employment discrimination is critical for human resources
§ Chapter 6 explores hiring, promoting, and terminating employees in a way that does not involve intentional discrimination or use of policies that can put an entire group at a disadvantage
Title VII
§ Part of Civil Rights Act of 1964 § Focuses on employment discrimination § Only applies to employers that impact interstate commerce and that have 15 or more employees who work at least 20 calendar weeks in a given year
§ Only protects employees based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin § Does not cover citizenship or sexual orientation
§ Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) administers and enforces Title VII
§ Title VII outlines remedies for when the law is violated
Proof of Discrimination
§ Often very difTicult to prove § 2 theories of liability to determine Title VII cases 1. Disparate treatment (Direct evidence):
an employer intentionally discriminated against a member of a protected class
2. Disparate treatment (Inference): often direct evidence is hard to come by so use the inferential McDonnell Douglas test
BFOQ Defense
§ One type of defense in a gender discrimination case is a bona Tide occupational qualiTication
§ “The employer must show that the alleged discrimination was justiTied because members of the excluded, protected class could not effectively perform the essential job functions” (Sharp et al., p.109)
§ Viewed narrowly and rarely successful § Customer preference usually does not count but religion often does
Title IX-1972
“No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from
participation in, be denied the bene9its of, or be
subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity
receiving federal 9inancial assistance.”
Equal Protection Clause
§ Applicable when a branch of the state or federal government is the employer
§ Applicable only when the government PURPOSELY deprives someone of a right but not when a law has UNINTENDED discriminatory effects
§ “Similarly situated people must be treated similarly under the law unless there is a constitutionally permissible reason to do otherwise” (Sharp et al., p.111)
§ 3 tests to determine if a violation of clause has occurred: strict scrutiny (race), intermediate scrutiny (gender), rational basis review (group classiTications)
Age Discrimination
§ Becoming more problematic as companies cut costs § Older employees are protected by the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), passed in 1967
§ Employees over the age of 40 are protected
§ No upper age limit § ADEA protects older workers who face stereotypes about their ability or willingness to perform
§ ADEA also contains good cause and reasonable factors other than age defenses for when employers have a legitimate reason for letting go older workers
Discrimination based on Disability
§ About 22.9% of the workforce is made up of people with disabilities (2009)
§ 2 major legislations to protect these people 1. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973-‐applies only to
recipients of federal funding 2. Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA)-‐applies to the
private sector
§ “These laws prohibit discrimination against a qualiTied individual with a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, if the individual, with or without reasonable accommodation, can perform the essential duties of the job” (Sharp et al., p. 117)
§ If an employee requires an accommodation, it must be reasonable in scope and cost and not impose an undue hardship on the employer
§ Provisions set in place so abuses of the policy are aren’t commonplace
Elements of a disability claim
§ Plaintiff has a covered disability § The disability substantially limits a major life activity (caring for oneself, hearing, seeing, eating, etc.)
§ Plaintiff was discriminated against on the basis of the disability (rather than other factors)
§ No reasonable accommodation was made § most necessary accommodations cost employers nothing
Defending a disability claim
§ Employers needs to demonstrate that their actions were not solely based on the plaintiff’s disability-‐rather it was job related
§ Employers can also show that the action was due to the inability of the employee to meet the main functions of the position
§ Employers cannot require a medical examine prior to hiring an employee
§ If employers can prove that the employee creates an undue burden on them or that the disability requires a fundamental alteration to the business, they have grounds to defend a disability claim
Compensation Discrimination
§ Many claims result from gender inequity in coaching salaries
§ Claims fall under jurisdiction of Title VII, Title IX, and the Equal Pay Act of 1963
§ Equal Pay Act: requires women to receive the same pay as men for doing similar/equal work § Equal work = “equal skill, effort, and responsibility, which is performed under similar working conditions”
§ Coaching skills and effort generally are not disputed § Cases usually arise because of issues regarding differences in coaching responsibilities (ex. revenue generation, public speaking, fund raising, etc.) § Stanley v. University of Southern California
Compensation Discrimination cont.
§ In 1997 EEOC put forth the Enforcement Guidelines on Sex Discrimination in the Compensation of Sports Coaches in Educational Institutions
§ These are not laws but help persuade courts to follow the intent of compensation discrimination laws
§ Guidelines have also encouraged many universities with substantial women’s sports programs to provide equitable salaries for female coaches
Employee Leave
§ 1978: Title VII was amended to include Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) due to increasing number of women who were Tired once they became pregnant
§ Maternity leave is not a huge issue in sport organizations, but in general pregnancy claims increased by 31% from 1992-‐2005
§ PDA states that employers have to treat maternity leave like any other temporary leave/inability to work § Must also allow pregnant women to take leave § Does not allow employers to use pregnancy as a reason for an adverse employment action
Family Leave
§ Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993: guarantees 12 weeks of unpaid leave per year
§ Leave can be used for childbirth, adoption, or to care for a sick family member
§ Also requires employers to provide the same job or an equivalent one upon the employee’s return