Evaluate and critique the role of public personnel administration in protecting employee rights.
Although public personnel administration has much in common with its private sector counterpart, there are also fundamental differences in practices between the two sectors. Many of those differences are grounded in the political environment of public management. Public personnel practices are open to public scrutiny, and partisan issues and questions of political control are always on the agenda (Nigro, Nigro, & Kellough, 2007, p.233).
Public employees retain important constitutional rights when they enter the public service, and as a result, the actions available to personnel managers in the public sector are limited in significant ways. Public employees had virtually no rights in termination proceedings (Nigro, Nigro, & Kellough, 2007, p.234). For public workers, the most important change was when the Supreme Court established that they may have property and liberty interest in their jobs that warrant protection under the due process clause.
Equal protection of the laws is required by the Constitution’s Fourteenth Amendment. Equal protection cases arise when government draws distinctions between people. The first standard requires that a rational basis exist for the distinctions drawn between individuals. (Nigro, Nigro, & Kellough, 2007, p.239). The second standard is strict scrutiny. This has usually been applied when government classifications limit fundamental freedoms or rights or force distinctions based on race or national origin (Nigro, Nigro, & Kellough, 2007, p.240).
Today, public employees enjoy an array of rights that are grounded in constitutional limitations on the exercise of governmental authority. Constitutional limitations of government restriction of freedom of speech or association means that public employees are often protected from adverse action initiated in response to opinions they have expressed.
Identify and explain four (4) challenges in promoting diversity in the public sector.
Diversity is generally defined as acknowledging, understanding, accepting, valuing, and celebrating differences among people with respect to age, class, ethnicity, gender, physical and mental ability, race, sexual orientation, spiritual practice, and public assistance status. Diversity issues are now considered important and are projected to become even more important in the future due to increasing differences in the U.S. population. Companies need to focus on diversity and look for ways to become totally inclusive organizations because diversity has the potential of yielding greater productivity and competitive advantages. There are challenges to managing a diverse work population. Managing diversity is more than simply acknowledging differences in people. It involves recognizing the value of differences, combating discrimination, and promoting inclusiveness. Managers may also be challenged with losses in personnel and work productivity due to prejudice and discrimination and complaints and legal actions against the organization Negative attitudes and behaviors can be barriers to organizational diversity because they can harm working relationships and damage morale and work productivity. Negative attitudes and behaviors in the workplace include prejudice, stereotyping, and discrimination, which should never be used by management for hiring, retention, and termination practices.
Describe four (4) strategies you believe public managers should use to enforce sexual harassment policies.
According to Neeta Raymond, sexual harassment is any unwelcome sexually determined behavior such as physical contact, a demand or request for sexual favors, sexually remarks, showing pornography, or any other physical, verbal or non-verbal conduct of a sexual nature. Public managers are legally required to do everything reasonably possible to prevent sexual harassment in the work place. For clarity, sexual harassment policies should provide descriptions of unacceptable behaviors. Policies prohibiting sexual harassment are now the norm for public as well as private sector employers (Nigro, Nigro, & Kellough, 2007, p. 272).
There are four strategies that can help public managers enforce policies. One strategy as an employer is to first and foremost, acknowledge that it is your legal responsibility to provide safe working environment for women free from sexual harassment and discrimination and that you can be held liable for sexual harassment by employees. The second strategy is to know that sexual harassment can have a devastating effect upon the health, confidence, morale and performance of those affected by it. The anxiety and stress produced by sexual harassment commonly leads to those subjected to it taking time off work due to sickness, being less efficient at work, or leaving their job to seek work elsewhere. The third strategy is to understand the reasons why women remain silent about sexual harassment. An absence of complaints about sexual harassment does not necessarily mean an absence of sexual harassment. It may mean that the recipients of sexual harassment think that there is no point in complaining because nothing will be done to correct the situation. The fourth strategy is to recognize the tangible and intangible expenses and losses such as costly investigation and litigations, negative exposure and publicity, increased absenteeism, lowered employee morale, reduced productivity, decreased efficiency, and higher employee turnover.
Identify and describe four (4) laws that have had a significant influence on affirmative action.
One of the more important developments for personnel policy was passage of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) in 1967. The ADEA prohibits employment discrimination against persons aged 40 years or older. Protection was extended only through age 65, but through subsequent amendments (Nigro, Nigro, & Kellough, 2007, p. 256). The Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972 brought all state, local and federal government entities under coverage of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and thereby brought the incentive for affirmative action grounded in disparate impact theory to the public sector (Nigro, Nigro, & Kellough, 2007, p. 257). The Rehabilitation Act of 1973, prohibited discrimination against “otherwise qualified handicapped individuals” by any organization receiving federal financial assistance or by federal contractors or agencies. The purpose of this law was to make sure that no qualified individual who has a disability would be subjected to discrimination under any program supported by federal funds (Nigro, Nigro, & Kellough, 2007, p. 264). Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, and sex. The EEOC is responsible for enforcement in this area and it has interpreted Title VII to mean that sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination. Sexual harassment is illegal, and violators may be prosecuted and held liable for damages.