INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY (SUMMARIZED REVIEWER), Study notes of Industrial and organizational psychology

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Industrial/organizational psychology is a branch of psychology that applies the principles of psychology to the workplace. The purpose of I/O psychology is “ to enhance the dignity and performance of human beings, and the organizations they work in, by advancing the science and knowledge of human behavior ” (Rucci, 2008). THE I/O PSYCHOLOGIST

• I/O psychology relies extensively on quantitative research and testing techniques.
• I/O psychologists are trained to use empirical data and statistics rather than intuition to make a decision.
• I/O psychologists are not clinical psychologists who happen to be in the industry, and they do not conduct therapy for workers.
• A factor that helps differentiate I/O psychology from other branches of psychology is the reliance on the science-practitioner method. In addition, I/O psychologists act as scientist- practitioners when they apply research findings so that the work they perform with organizations will be of high quality and enhance an organization’s effectiveness. Though the goal of I/O psychology is to increase the productivity and well-being of employees , there are two approaches as to how this can be accomplished.

PERSONNEL PSYCHOLOGY

The field of study that concentrates on the selection and evaluation of employees. I/O psychologists and HRM professionals involved in personnel psychology study and practice in such areas as analyzing jobs, recruiting applicants, selecting employees, determining salary levels, training employees, and evaluating employee perforance. ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY The field of study that investigates the behavior of employees within the context of an organization. Organizational psychology are concerned with the issues of leadership, job satisfaction, employee motivation, organizational communication, conflict management, organizational change, and group processes within an organization. The organizational psychology creates an organizational structure and culture that will motivate employees to perform well, give them the necessary information to do their jobs, and provide working conditions that are safe and result in an enjoyable and satisfying work/life environment. INDUSTRIAL PSYCHOLOGY The industrial psychology (the HR side) focuses on determining the competencies needed to perform a job, staffing the organization with employees who have those competencies, and increasing those competencies through training. HUMAN FACTORS/ERGONOMICS A field of study concentrating on the interaction between humans and machines. Human factors concentrate on workplace design, human-machine interaction, ergonomics, and physical fatigue and stress. I/O psychology was born in the early 1900s. Interestingly, the term “industrial psychology” was seldom used prior to World War I. Instead, the common terms for the field were “economic psychology,” “business psychology,” and “employment psychology” (Koppes & Pickren, 2007). Industrial and organizational psychology is a relatively new idea. The notion that the principles of science should be applied to work settings has been around for less than 100 years.

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION TO I/O PSYCHOLOGY

The Field of I/O Psychology Differences Between I/O and Business Programs Major Fields of I/O Psychology Brief History of I/O Psychology

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questionnaire regarding products, services, advertisements, or other promotional efforts. For examle,somone will ask yout to try a product and asks for fedbacks. DIARY PANEL Market research is a qualitative research method whereby a selection of respondents will be asked to keep a record of their experiences or observations over a particular period of time. ROBERT MEARNS YERKES

• Invented psychological tests used in world war to identify potentials arm forces applicants.
• I/O psychology made its first big impact during WWI.
• Screening and classifying millions of recruits
• A number of Psychologists devised a general intelligence test so that persons with low intelligence could be identified and eliminated from the training.
• Two tests were developed: The ARMY ALPHA for the literates wherein they’re assign to hgher positions and the ARMY BETA for the non- literates and are deployed to war. First big impact: large number of soldiers who had to be assigned to various units. Less intelligent to the infantry. FRANK AND LILLIAN GILBRETH
• Two other famous trailblazers in the scientific approach. o Frank Gilbreth began his career as a contractor and became famous for developing improvements in bricklaying that reduced the number of motions needed to lay a brick from 18 to 4½. o Lillian Moller Gilbreth was more educated - received her Ph.D. from Brown University (1915). In 1935: became a professor of management and engineering at Purdue University, the first woman to hold such a position. She had 12 children, and the efficiency methods they used to raise their children while having busy careers were the inspiration for the book and the movie.
• A married couple best known for the TIME AND MOTION STUDIES they conducted in the early twentieth century. And was the first to employ theory of time and motion studies of Taylor. - Its aim is to reduce fatigue and improve productivity by studying the motions used by workers. HENRY FORD - Founder of ford motor company - Invented the assembly line, in which the workers stayed in one place and an individual laborer assembled one (and only one) part of a car as it moved along on a mechanized conveyor belt. 2. ERGONOMICS: WHERE PSYCHOLOGY MEETS ENGINEERING - Today, many occupations involve the interaction of human beings with tools. Understanding and enhancing the safety and efficiency of the human-machine interaction is the central focus of ergonomics , also called HUMAN FACTORS , a field that combines engineering and psychology. - The field of ergonomics is the origin of the term applied psychology, as those who conducted this work during the war were the first to apply the principles of psychological research to the workplace setting. - Today, ergonomics specialists represent a range of expertise; - Perception - Attention - Cognition : individuals who might have good ideas about the placement of buttons on a control panel or the preferred coloring of those buttons. This makes employees know the function by just looking at the color for instance. - Learning : individuals who might design training programs for the use of machines - Social and environmental psychologists individuals who might address issues such as living in a constrained environment like that of the space shuttle. - Areas of study in which psychologist and engineers try to produce products and systems that are easy to use and safe; - Maximize efficiency - Minimize physical strain - Minimize psychological strain

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3. THE HAWTHORNE STUDIES AND THE

HUMAN RELATIONS APPROACH TO

MANAGEMENT

A series of studies at the Western Electric Hawthorne Works , a plant outside chicago , conducted from 1927-1932 under the leadership of psychologist and sociologist. This study emphasizes the relationship of work environment and the attitudes of the employees. ELTON MAYO

• Initially interested in examining how various work conditions could influence productivity (ex., room lighting, humidity, breaks, work hours, and management style)
• Workers were randomly assigned to one of two groups. ➢ Control group , the lighting remained constant ➢ Experimental group a variety of different lighting intensities was employed
• The results were surprising. Both groups did better - and they performed increasingly better over time. With his human relations approach countered scientific management; recognized the inadequacies of existing scientific management approaches. THE HAWTHORNE STUDIES
• Workers' feelings affect their work behavior. o Interpersonal interactions between managers and employees played a tremendous role in employee behavior.
• It was a field experiment, demonstrated the value of research. Initially designed to investigate such issues as the effects of lighting levels, work schedules, wages, temperature, and rest breaks on employee performance.
• Worker perceptions of reality more important than objective reality.
• Hawthorne effect , which refers to the tendency of individuals to perform better simply because of being singled out (observed) and made to feel important, which can either lead to facilition (increase) or inhibition (decrease) of performance.
• The human relations approach emphasizes the psychological characteristics of workers and managers, stressing the significance of factors such as: o Morale, attitudes, values, humane treatment of workers, management stress, positive interpersonal relations among co-workers, teamwork, leadership, job attitudes, social skills of managers. o These methods emphasize that fulfilling work meets other important human needs beyond purely economic considerations. 1960’s
• Characterized by the passage of several major pieces of civil rights legislation. Use of sensitivity training and T-GROUPS for managers. And an anti-discrimination legislation. B .F SKINNER
• Beyond Freedom and Dignity resulted in the increase use of behavior modification techniques in organizations. 1980’s – 2000’s
• Increase use of fairly sophisticated statistical techniques and methods of analysis. A new interest in the application of cognitive psychology to industry.
• Increased interest in the effects of work on family life and leisure activities.
• Renewed interest in developing methods to select employees (Ex: cognitive ability test, personality test , bio data, and structured interview, TQM, re-engineering, employee empowerment, downsizing)
• Rapid advances in technology (Ex: test and survey on the internet, recruit and screen applicants online, Twitter, Linkedln, Facebook, E-learning and Distance learning). Institutional Review Board : a committee designated to ensure the ethical treatment of research subjects. A. Ideas, Hypotheses, and Theories First step: decide what to research.
• Hypothesis : educated prediction about the answer to a question.
• Theory : a systematic set of assumptions regarding the cause and nature of behavior. This is where we based our hypothesis/prediction. B. Literature Reviews Second step: search the literature for similar research.
• Four Types of Periodical Research Methods in Industrial Psychology

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• Random Sample : every member of the relevant population had an equal chance of being chosen to participate in the study.
• Convenience Sample : nonrandom research sample that is used because it is easily available.
• Random Assignment : unbiased assignment of subjects in a research sample to the various experimental and control conditions. F. Running the Study Sixth step: run the study and collect data.
• All instructions to the subjects be stated in a standardized fashion and at a level that is understandable.
• Debriefed : informing the subject in an experiment about the purpose of the study in which he or she was a participant and providing any other relevant information G. Statistical Analysis Seventh step: results are statistically analyzed.
• Significance levels : statistical significance. Indicate only the level of confidence we can place on a result being the product of chance and nothing about the strength of the results.
• Effect Sizes : practical significance of a study.
• Correlation : to determine the relationship between two variables.
• Intervening Variable : third variable that can often explain the relationship between two other variables
• Correlation Coefficient : result of correlational analysis. Range from 1 to 1: the further the coefficient is from zero, the greater the relationship between two variables. o (+) and (-) signs: Direction of the correlation o Positive (+) Correlation : values of one variable increase, so do the values of a second variable. o Negative (-) Correlation : values of one variable increase, the values of a second variable decrease. Ethical Dilemmas : ambiguous situations that require a personal judgment of what is right or wrong because there are no rules, policies, or laws guiding such decisions.

TWO TYPES OF ETHICAL DILEMMAS

1. Type A Dilemma : high level of uncertainty as to what is right or wrong, there appears to be no best solution, and there are both positive and negative consequences to a decision. Ex. using animals for clinical trials.
2. Type B Dilemma : also called rationalizing dilemmas: “rationalize” they are right because “everyone else does it.” Individuals know what is right but choose the solution that is most advantageous to themselves. Ex. cheating on a test. Job analysis or work analysis is the process of gathering, analyzing , and structuring information about a job's components, characteristics, and requirements, and determining the work activities and requirements. Job analysis is the foundation for almost all human resources activities. Job profile describes the job in terms of key result areas, functions, roles, and competencies, and less emphasis on specific duties and responsibilities. I. Writing Job Descriptions

• Job Description o Written result of a job analysis. o A brief, two-to-five-page summary of the tasks and job requirements, and the wrtten resuly of the job analysis. Job

CHAPTER 2

JOB ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION

Job Analysis ETHICS IN INDUSTRIAL/ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY Importance of Job Analysis

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analysis is the process of determining the work activities and requirements and a job description. II. Employee Selection

• Clear understanding of the tasks to be performed and the competencies needed allows to select tests or develop interview questions that will determine whether a particular applicant possesses the necessary knowledge, skills, and abilities to carry out the job. III. Training
• Job analyses yield lists of job activities that can be used to create training programs. IV. Personpower Planning
• Use to determine worker mobility within an organization. To what other jobs can they expect to eventually be promoted and become successful.
• Peter Principle o Promoting employees until they eventually reach their highest level of incompetence. o Continue to rise up the ladder until you reach the point where you can no longer perform well. V. Performance Appraisal
• Construction of a performance appraisal instrument. The evaluation of the employee must be job-related. o Excellent source of employee training and counseling. VI. Job Classification
• Classify jobs into groups based on similarities in requirements and duties.
• Useful for determining pay levels, transfers, and promotions.
• Enable to classify jobs into groups based on similarities in requirements and duties. o Useful for determining pay levels, transfers, and promotions. VII. Job Evaluation
• Used to determine the worth of a job.
• Determine how much employees in a position should be paid.
• Comparable Worth is the idea that jobs requiring the same level of skill and responsibility should be paid the same regardless of supply and demand.
• Internal Pay Equity i nvolves comparing jobs within an organization to ensure that the people in jobs worth the most money are paid accordingly.
• External Equity Pay is the involves comparing jobs within an organization to ensure that the people in jobs worth the most money are paid accordingly.
• Compensable Job Factors level of responsibility, physical demands, mental demands, education requirements, training and experience requirements, working condition differentiate the relative worth of jobs.
• Wage Trend Line is the total number of points for a job is compared with the salary currently being paid for the job.
• Salary Surveys surveys ask how much an organization pays its employees in various positions.
• Absolute Amount the actual salary paid for a particular job.
• Point Method job evaluation system in which jobs are assigned points across several compensable factors to determine. VIII. Compensation Information contain information in the salary grade.
• Grade - cluster of jobs of similar worth.
• Direct Compensation - amount of money paid to an employee; does not count benefits, time off, and so forth. IX. Formal vs Informal Requirements
• Formal requirements for a secretary might include typing letters or filling memos.
• Informal requirements might involve making coffee or picking up the boss's children from school X. Job analyst interviews only one employee at a time. XI. SME Conference is a larger number of employees together. XII. Job Design
• Used to determine the optimal way in which a job should be performed. o Wasted and unsafe motions can be eliminated. o Resulting in higher productivity and reduced numbers of job injuries. XIII. Compliance with Legal Guidelines
• Employment decision must be based on job- related information. o Legally acceptable way to directly determine job relatedness is by job analysis.
• Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures (UGESP, 1978) o HR principles designed to ensure compliance with federal standards— contain several direct references to the necessity of job analysis.

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compensable factors used to determine salary.

• Salary Grade o A cluster of jobs of similar worth VIII. Personal Requirements (Job Competencies or Job Specifications)
• Refers to the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to successfully perform a job.
• Competencies section should be divided into two subsections: o Employee must have at the time of hiring. o KSAOs that can be obtained after being hired I. Who Will Conduct the Analysis?
• Trained individual in the Human Resources department. o Can also be job incumbents, supervisors, or outside consultants. They must be thoroughly trained in job analysis procedures. o Job Incumbents & Supervisors need to be released from other duties. o Consultants are good choice as they are well trained and have extensive experience. Drawback : expensive (charge between $100 and $500 per hour). o College Interns tend to have job analysis training and experience and can be employed for a relatively small cost. II. How Often Should a Job Description Be Updated?
• Should be updated if a job changes significantly. o High-tech jobs – probably often. o Package handling - not change substantially for 20 years.
• Job Crafting o Employees unofficially change their job duties to better fit their interests and skills. Add tasks they want to perform and to remove tasks that they don’t want to perform. III. Which Employees Should Participate?
• Few people in each job– all employees participate.
• Many people perform the same job (e.g., teachers at a university, assemblers in a factory), every person need not participate. o Keep interviewing incumbents until they do not hear anything new. o Committee-Based Job Analysis ▪ Group of subject-matter experts meet to generate the tasks performed, the conditions under which they are performed, and the KSAOs needed to perform them. ▪ Knowledgeable about the job and include job incumbents, supervisors, customers, and upper-level management. o Field-Based Job Analysis are job analyst individually interviews/observes a number of incumbents out in the field.
• Random Sampling o Should be selected in as random a way as practical yet still be representative. o Employee differences in gender, race, job performance level, experience, job enjoyment, and personality can at times result in slightly different job analysis outcomes. IV. What Types of Information Should Be Obtained?
• Concerns the level of specificity. o Should the job analysis break a job down into very minute, specific behaviors or should the job be analyzed at a more general level.
• Issue of formal versus informal requirements. o Secretary – responsible for typing letters or filing memos (formal), making coffee or picking up the boss’s children from school (informal). Preparing for Job Analysis

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The goal is to identify the tasks performed in a job, the conditions under which the tasks are performed, and the KSAOs needed to perform. STEPS IN JOB ANALYSIS:

1. Identify Tasks Performed Identify the major job dimensions and the tasks performed for each dimension, the tools and equipment used to perform the tasks, and the conditions under which the tasks are performed.

• Gathering Existing Information o Gather existing job descriptions, task inventories, and training manuals. ▪ From the organization with which you are working, other organizations, trade publications, and journal articles.
• Interviewing Subject-Matter Experts o Common job analysis technique. o Asking the employee to describe what she does from the moment she first enters the parking lot at work to the moment she arrives back home. o Subject-Matter Experts (SMEs) ▪ Sources such as supervisors and incumbents who are knowledgeable about a job. o Two Main Forms ▪ Individual Interview - Job analyst interviews only one employee at a time. ▪ Group interview (SME conference) - a larger number of employees are interviewed together. o Committee-Based Approach ▪ A committee of SMEs meets to brainstorm the major duties involved. ▪ Identifies the tasks (work- related activities) that must be completed. ▪ Results are then summarized in job descriptions. ▪ Ammerman Technique - a job analysis method in which a group of job experts identifies the objectives and standards to be met by the ideal worker.

1. Convene a panel of experts that includes representatives from all levels of the organization.
2. Have the panel identify the objectives and standards that are to be met by the ideal incumbent.
3. Have the panel list the specific behaviors necessary for each objective or standard to be attained.
4. Have the panel identify which of the behaviors from Step 3 are "critical" to reaching the objective.
5. Have the panel rank order the objectives on the basis of importance.

• Observations o Job analyst watches job incumbents perform their jobs. Advantage: see the worker do her job and thus obtain information that the worker may have forgotten to mention during the interview. Disadvantage : very obtrusive, observing someone without their knowing is difficult.
• Job Participation o Job analyst performs the job being analyzed. Advantage : easier to understand every aspect of a job once you have done it yourself. Disadvantage : limited to certain occupations that involve quick training and minimal consequences from an error.

2. Write Task Statements

• Used in the task inventory. o Write the task statements that will be used and included in the job description. A questionnaire containing a list of tasks each of which the job incumbent rates on a series of scales such as importance and time spent. Conducting Job Analysis

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o Disadvantage : suggest that incumbents have education levels between grades 10 and 12 but found out that it is written at the college graduate level. o Designed to cover all jobs but limited to 194 questions and six dimensions, it has not proven very sensitive.

2. Job Structure Profile (JSP)
   • Revised version of the PAQ was developed by Patrick and Moore (1985).
   • Designed to be used more by the job analyst than by the job incumbent. o Changes in item content and style, new items to increase the discriminatory power of the intellectual and decision-making dimensions, and and an emphasis on having a job analyst, rather than the incumbent.
3. Job Elements Inventory (JEI)
   • Developed by Cornelius and Hakel as an alternative to the PAQ.
   • Contains 153 items and has a readability level appropriate for an employee with only a tenth-grade education.
4. Functional Job Analysis (FJA)
   • Initially designed by Sidney Fine (1955) as a method that could be used by the federal government to analyze and compare thousands of jobs.
   • Rates the extent to which a job incumbent is involved with functions in the categories of data, people, and things. o Small group of subject matter experts meets to identify the key functions of a job (what gets done) as well as the tasks performed. o Job analyzed by FJA are broken down into percentage of time the incumbent spends on three functions: data (information and ideas), people (clients, customers, and coworkers), and things (machines, tools, and equipment). o Analyst is given 100 points to allot to the three functions. Usually assigned in multiples of 5, with each function receiving a minimum of 5 points. B. Methods Providing Information About Tools and Equipment 1. Job Components Inventory (JCI) - Developed by Banks, Jackson, Stafford, and Warr (1983) for use in England. - More than 400 questions covering five major categories: (1) tools and equipment, (2) perceptual and physical requirements, (3) mathematical requirements, (4) communication requirements, and (5) decision making and responsibility. - It is the only job analysis method containing a detailed section on tools and equipment. C. Methods Providing Information About the Work Environment 1. AET (Arbeitswissenschaftliches Erhebungsverfahren zur Tätigkeitsanalyse) - Means ergonomic job analysis procedure. - Developed in Germany by Rohmert and Landau with 216 - item standardized questionnaire that analyzes a job along a list of dimensions. - Primarily concerned with the relationship between the worker and work objects. D. Methods Providing Information About Competencies 1. Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT) - The DOT is a directory that was published by the federal government that supplied information for almost 30, jobs. 2. Occupational Information Network (ONET)* - The job analysis system used by the federal government that has replaced the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT). o Includes information about the occupation (generalized work activities, work context, organizational context) and the worker characteristics (ability, work style, occupational values and

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interests, knowledge, skills, education). o Information about such economic factors as labor demand, labor supply, salaries, and occupational trends.

3. Critical Incident Technique (CIT)
   • Developed by John Flanagan that uses written reports of good and bad employee behavior.
   • Supervisor records employee behaviors that were observed on the job and rates the employee on the basis of that record.
     • Employee performance record is a standardized use of the critical incident technique developed at General Motors.
   • Usually done after the HONEYMOON PERIOD or after 3 months. Disadvantage : emphasis on the difference between excellent and poor performance ignores routine duties.
4. Job Components Inventory (JCI)
   • Provides information about the perceptual, physical, mathematical, communication, decision making, and responsibility skills needed to perform the job.
5. Threshold Traits Analysis (TTA)
   • A 33-item questionnaire developed by Lopez that identifies traits necessary to successfully perform a job. o Desirability is the extent lo which a trait or behavior is valued as being good in society. o Cover five trait categories: physical, mental, learned, motivational, and social. Advantage : short and reliable and can correctly identify important traits. Disadvantage : it is not available commercially.
6. Fleishman Job Analysis Survey (F-JAS)
   • Requires incumbents or job analysts to view a series of abilities and to rate the level of ability needed to perform the job. A job analysis method in which jobs are rated on the basis of the abilities needed to perform them. Advantages : easy to use by incumbents or trained analysts, demonstrates acceptable levels of reliability, and is supported by years of research. Advantages over TTA are that it is more detailed, is commercially available, is available in several languages, and can be completed online.
7. Job Adaptability Inventory (JAI)

• 132 - item inventory developed by Pulakos, Arad, Donovan, and Plamondon (2000).
• A job analysis method that taps the extent to which a job involves eight types of adaptability.
• Taps the extent to which a job incumbent needs to adapt to situations on the job.

8. Occupational Analysis Inventory (JAI)

• This contains 617 work elements.
• The major categories of items are five fold: information received; mental activities; work behavior; work goals; and work context.

9. Personality-Related Position Requirements Form (PPRF)

• Developed by Raymark, Schmit, and Guion (1997) job analysis instrument that helps determine the personality requirements for a job.
• Consists of 107 items tapping 12 personality dimensions that fall under the “Big 5” personality dimensions.

10. Performance Improvements Characteristics (PIC)

• Similar to the PPRF, the 48 questions help determine which of the seven main personality traits are needed to perform a given job.

1. The PAQ is seen as the most standardized technique and the CIT the least standardized.
2. The CIT takes the least amount of job analyst training and task analysis the most.
3. The PAQ is the least costly method and the CIT the most.
4. The PAQ takes the least amount of time to complete and task analysis the most.
5. Task analysis has the highest-quality results and TTA the lowest.
6. Task analysis reports are the longest and job- elements reports the shortest.
7. The CIT has been rated the most useful and the PAQ the least.
8. Task analysis gives the best overall job picture and the PAQ the worst. Evaluation of Methods

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Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is a branch of the Department of Labor charged with investigating and prosecuting complaints of employment discrimination. I. Forms of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) is a method of resolving conflict internally. a. Grievance system - employee files a complaint with the organization and a person or committee within the organization makes a decision regarding the complaint.

• Open-door Policy - method which allows for setting grievances and one that identifies various levels of management above the immediate supervisor for employee contact. b. Mediation - neutral third party is asked to help the two parties reach an agreement. o Not choosing which side is correct unlike arbitration. c. Arbitration - neutral third party is asked to choose which side is correct.
• Binding arbitration - neither party is allowed to appeal the decision.
• Nonbinding arbitration - either party may appeal the decision to the court.
• A charge of discrimination is usually filed with a government agency.
• A state agency is used if the alleged violation involves a state law; a federal agency, usually the EEOC, handles alleged violations of federal law.
• An EEOC complaint must be filed within 180 days of the discriminatory act, but within 300 days if the complainant has already filed a complaint with a state or local fair-employment practice agency.
• Whistle blowing reporting an employer's illegal practices to government agencies.
• Peer-review system a system for reviewing employee complaints that utilizes a group composed of equal numbers of employees and management appointees.
• Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) is federal law that, with its amendments, forbids discrimination against an individual who is over the age of 40.
• Vocational Rehabililation Act is a federal act passed in 1973 that prohibits federal government contractors or subcontractors from discriminating against the physically or mentally handicapped.
• Serverance Pay - to make it financially worthwhile for an employee to retire earlier than planned.
• Protected Class - any group of people for whom protective legislation has been passed.
• Investigative Interview o Initiated before disciplinary action is done o Interview concentrates on how the offense violated performance standards o Employee is given full chance to explain his or her side o Employee should be reminded of the organization's rules and should be aware that he or she has not followed them
• Ombudsperson - a person who investigates employees' complaints and solves problems. I. Charge Does Not Have Merit After reviewing a complaint, the governmental agency does not find merit, one of two things can happen based on whether the person filing the complaint accepts the decision.
• Complainant accepts the decision: process ends.
• Does not accept the decision: issued a “right to sue” letter letter that entitles him to hire a private attorney and file the case himself. o Private attorney and file the case himself. II. Charge Has Merit If the EEOC believes that the discrimination charge has merit, it will try to work out a settlement between the claimant and employer without taking the case to court.
• These settlements might include an employer offering a job or promotion to the person filing the complaint, the payment of back wages, and the payment of compensatory or punitive damages.

CHAPTER 3

LEGAL ISSUES IN EMPLOYEE SELECTION

The Legal Process Resolving the Complaint Internally Filing a Discrimination Charge Outcomes of an EEOC Investigation

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• If a settlement cannot be reached, however, the case goes to a federal district court, with the EEOC representing (physically and financially) the person filing the complaint.
• If either side does not agree with the appeals court decision, it can ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review it.
• When the district court makes a decision, the decision becomes case law ; judicial interpretation of a law and is important because it establishes a precedent for future cases. The first step in determining the legality of an employment practice is to decide whether the practice directly refers to a member of a protected class ; any group of people for whom protective legislation has been passed.

1. Race

• Four races - African American, White, Asian American, and Native American Indian.
• Fifth Amendment mandates that the federal government may not deny a person equal protection under the law. o May not intentionally discriminate or allow intentional discrimination to take place.
• Fourteenth Amendments mandates that no state may deny a person equal protection under the law. o May not intentionally discriminate or allow intentional discrimination to take place.
• Civil Rights Acts of 1964 (known as Title VII ) and 1991 extended the scope of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the private sector and to local governments. o Fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment. o Limit, segregate, or classify his employees. o Civil rights acts do not require that the employment practice discriminate intentionally to be deemed as potentially illegal. Determined through statistical analysis of selection rates and by the presence or absence of adverse impact.

2. Color

• Protects individuals against discrimination based specifically on variations in skin color. o 1989 case of Walker v. Secretary of the Treasury illegally fired a lighter-skinned African American employee.

3. Sex

• Protected under Civil Rights Acts and Equal Pay Act of 1963.
• Intentional discrimination against either women or men is illegal. o Included in the definition of sex are sexual stereotypes. o Illegal to not hire a female applicant because she looks or dresses too masculine.

4. National Origin

• Protected under the Civil Rights Acts.
• Most common complaints is about “English only” or “understandable English” speaking requirements. o Language requirements are legal if they are job related. o Limited to communication during “company time”. o EEOC and the Delano Regional Medical Center ▪ Hospital forbid Filipino employees from speaking Tagalog.

5. Religion

• Also protected under the Civil Rights Acts.
• Illegal to use an individual’s religion as a factor in an employment decision.
• Require organizations to make accommodations for religious beliefs. o Days of Worship ▪ Religions forbid their members from working on particular days. ▪ Seventh-day Adventists and Orthodox Jews - cannot work from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday. ▪ Greek Orthodox Church - cannot work on Sunday. o Worship Practices ▪ Require members to pray at certain times - Salat ritual prayer five times daily. ▪ Fasting requirements- Islam must refrain from food and drink during the 30 - day period of Ramadan (affect work performance). ▪ Cannot celebrate birthdays or nonreligious holidays ( Jehovah’s Determining Whether an Employment Decision Is Legal

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2. Practical Significance
   • Four-Fifths Rule - when the selection ratio for one group (e.g., females) is less than 80% (four-fifths) of the selection ratio for another group (e.g., males), adverse impact is said to exist.
   • Percentages rather than raw numbers.
   • 25 of 50 male applicants are hired, the hiring percentage is 50% - females must be at least four-fifths (80%) of 50%. Thus,. .80 .40, (10:4). Job related is the extent to which a test or measure taps a knowledge, skill, ability, behavior, or other characteristic needed to successfully perform a job. a. Valid Testing Procedures a. Adverse impact may still be legal as long as the test is job related (valid) and as long as find other tests that might be just as valid but have less adverse impact. o Uses a cognitive ability test to select employees – it predicts performance on the job. b. Exceptions b. Bona Fide Seniority System o Has long-standing policy of promoting employees with the greatest seniority or laying off employees with the least seniority can continue to do so. c. National Security o Legal for an employer to discriminate against a member of a particular national origin or other protected class when it is in the best interest of the nation’s security. o Ex. Russians prohibited from working in any defense-related industry. d. Veteran’s Preference Rights o Most civil service jobs provide extra points on tests for veterans of the armed forces. o Get five points added to their exam score. A. Quid Pro Quo
   • Granting of sexual favors is tied to such employment decisions as promotions and salary increases. Single incident is enough to constitute sexual harassment. B. Hostile Environment

• A pattern of unwanted conduct related to gender that interferes with an individual’s work performance. Comments, unwanted sexual or romantic advances, or the display of demeaning posters, signs, or cartoons. a. Pattern of Behavior o Pattern of behavior rather than an isolated incident. o Coworker continually makes unwanted romantic or sexual overtures or repeatedly makes inappropriate remarks. b. Based on Gender o Conduct must be due to the sex of the employee. o Female officers as “babes” or “honey”- based on gender and demeaning to the female officers. o If a male makes sexual comments or improperly touches another male. c. Negative to the Reasonable Person o Any pattern of behavior based on gender that causes an employee discomfort might constitute sexual harassment. In cases of quid pro quo harassment of its employees, an organization will always be liable. In hostile environment cases, however, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that an organization can avoid liability by showing that it “exercised reasonable care to prevent and correct promptly any sexually harassing behavior” or that the complainant did not take reasonable advantage of the corrective opportunities provided by the organizaition. A. Preventing Sexual Harassment
• Well-conceived policy regarding sexual harassment.
• Communicated and enforced that policy.
• Must explain the types of harassment.
• List of the names of the company officials to whom an employee should report. B. Correcting Sexually Harassing Behavior
• Organization investigates the complaint quickly and then promptly take any necessary action.
• Physically separating the two parties or limiting the amount of contact between them. Harassment Types of Harassment Can the Employer Prove that the Requirement is Job Related? Organizational Liability for Sexual Harassment

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KRISTOFFER SOTOZA, RPm | 202 5 - 2026

• Accused and the accuser must be given due process.
• Results of the investigation must be communicated in writing to both parties.
• Severity of the punishment must match the severity of the violation. In 1993, Congress passed the Family Medical Leave act , or FMLA, which entitles eligible employees (both male and female) to a minimum of 12 weeks of unpaid leave each year to deal with the following family matters:

1. Births, adoptions, or placement for foster care.
2. To care for a child, parent, or spouse with a serious health condition.
3. For employee’s own serious health condition that makes him or her unable to perform the job.

• In 2008, President George W. Bush signed the National Defense Authorization Act that amended the FMLA to provide 26 weeks of unpaid leave for a spouse, son, daughter, parent, or next of kin to care for a member of the military.
• Organization must (1) continue the employees’ health-care coverage (2) return to same or an equivalent position.
• Employee must provide a doctor’s certification and give 30 days’ notice if the leave is foreseeable. A one of the most misunderstood legal concepts concerning employment, which is a set of procedures designed to; eliminate unlawful discrimination among applicants, remedy the results of such prior discrimination, and prevent such discrimination in the future. I. Reasons for Affirmative Action Plans
• Involuntary: Government Regulation o Presidential Executive Order 11246 ▪ Requires federal contractors and subcontractors with more than 50 employees to submit an annual EEO-1 Report and requires federal contractors and subcontractors with at least one federal contract in excess of $50,000 to have formal affirmative action plans. ▪ Involve analyses of all major job groups. Indicate which job groups have underrepresentations. ▪ And goals and plans for overcoming such underrepresentations.
• Involuntary: Court Order o Court finds a public agency guilty of not hiring or promoting enough members of a protected class. ▪ Order the agency to begin an affirmative action program.
• Voluntary: Consent Decree o Discrimination complaint has been filed with a court, a public agency can “voluntarily” agree to an affirmative action plan.
• Voluntary: Desire to Be a Good Citizen o Develop affirmative action and diversity programs out of a desire to be good citizens. II. Affirmative Action Strategies
• Monitoring Hiring and Promotion Statistics o Monitor their hiring, placement, and promotion rates for men and women and minorities and nonminorities.
• Intentional Recruitment of Minority Applicants o Target underrepresented groups for more extensive recruitment.
• Identification and Removal of Employment Practices Working Against Minority Applicants and Employees o Identify and remove practices that might discourage minority applicants from applying to an organization, being promoted within an organization, or remaining with an organization.
• Preferential Hiring and Promotion of Minorities o Most controversial and misunderstood. o Minority applicants will be given preference over an equally qualified nonminority applicant.
• Fourth Amendment o The amendment to the U.S. Constitution that protects against unreasonable search or seizure. o Has been ruled to cover such privacy issues as drug testing, locker and office searches, psychological testing, and electronic surveillance. Family Medical Leave Act Affirmative Action Privacy Issues