StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Griggs v. Duke Power Company - Research Paper Example

Cite this document
Summary
The paper "Griggs v. Duke Power Company" describes that in the Griggs v. Duke Power Company case, the bone of contention was the promotion and transfer policies adopted by the company.  The case concerned these policies at its Dan River Steam Station. …
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER96.5% of users find it useful
Griggs v. Duke Power Company
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Griggs v. Duke Power Company"

Griggs v. Duke Power Company Case Summary In the Griggs v. Duke Power Company case, the bone of contention was the promotion and transfer policies adopted by the company. The case concerned these policies at its Dan River Steam Station. The company allowed incumbent who did not have a high school education to transfer from an outside job opportunity to an inside job opportunity by passing two tests; The Bennett Mechanical Aptitude Test, and Wonderlic Personnel Test that allegedly measures general verbal facility. The African American employees filed a class action suit in which they argued that these practices were a violation of Title VII. This is because neither possessing a high school education nor passing the tests was a necessity for successful performance on the jobs in question. In the suit, they argued that the practices were illegal since a higher proportion of the African Americans did not have high school educations. On its part, the company put forward the argument that the requirements were based on its judgment and that they would generally improve the general quality of the workforce, and that the company had no discriminatory intent in instituting these requirements. Further, the company argued that its lack of discriminatory intent was demonstrated by its efforts to assist uneducated employees by financing two thirds of the tuition cost for high school education, (Rue & Byars, 2008). The Court Ruling However, the Supreme Court made a ruling in favor of the African American employees, (Rue & Byars, 2008). Meaning of the Ruling The ruling meant that the Duke Power Company could not use the two tests as the criteria for transferring incumbent employees from an outside job to an inside job. Based on the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, businesses, including the Duke Power Company, should adhere to the several key provisions stipulated by Section 703. These provisions outline unlawful employment practices for businesses and companies. It is an unlawful practice for any employer to refuse or fail to hire or discharge any person, or otherwise to discriminate against any person with respect to his terms, privileges, compensation, or terms of employment, based on the person’s color, sex, race, religion, or national origin. It is also unlawful to segregate, limit, or classify employees or applicants for employment in any manner that would tend to deprive or deprive any person of employment opportunities, or affect his position as an employee adversely, due to the person’s color, sex, religion, race, or national origin, (Rue & Byars, 2008). According to Rue & Byars (2008), it is also unlawful for an employment agency to refuse or fail to refer for employment, or otherwise discriminate against any person based on his or her color or race, or to refer or classify for employment any person based on his color, race, sex, or religion. Also, a labor organization can not expel or exclude from its membership, or otherwise discriminate against any person on the basis of his color, race, sex, or religion. The organization can also not cause an employer to discriminate against any person. The labor organization can also not classify its membership or applicants in a way that is deemed discriminatory. Therefore, the provisions stipulate that an employer, a labor, organization, and a joint labor-management committee that controls apprenticeship or training, to discriminate against another person. This ruling, as well as the provisions listed above, has major implications on the Duke Power Company and other businesses in general. First, a violation of any of the provisions results in an unlawful employment practice. Such unlawful employment practices are quick to attract lawsuits. According to Hersh (1991), lawsuits are costly and time consuming, and many companies try to avoid them. Lawsuits also might be a stain to the company’s image and reputation. Therefore, the ruling would go a long way in ensuring that companies and businesses strictly adhere to the equal employment guidelines that are provided by the various Acts and laws in order to avoid lawsuits that could cost the company’s reputation and image. At the same time, the ruling means that companies and businesses would be able to practice equal employment opportunity measures in the workplace. This is in regard to recruitment, promotion, transfers, laying off, and termination of employment. This would mean that not one person would be discriminated against during any of these processes on the basis of his color, religion, race, religion, or national origin. This therefore presents a challenge to businesses to ensure that their human resource departments adhere to all the stipulations provided by law in order to create a diverse but healthy and cohesive workforce. Legal Precedent the Ruling Sets for Businesses This ruling established several key points that concern equal employment. First, the implications of employment practices, not merely the motivation or the intent of the employer, are thrust of Title VII in the sense that practices that discriminate against one group more than another or continue past patterns of discrimination are illegal regardless of the nondiscriminatory intent of the employer. Second, the disparate impact doctrine provides that when the plaintiff shows that an employment practice disproportionately excludes groups protected by Title VII, the burden of proof shifts to the defendant to prove that the standard reasonably relates to job performance. Third, the EEOC’s guidelines that allowed the use of only job-related tests are appropriate. Therefore, businesses have to address the two main areas of discrimination which are disparate treatment and disparate impact. Disparate treatment is concerned with the intentional discrimination, and entails treating one class or employees differently than other employees. Disparate impact has to do with the unintentional discrimination and entails employment practices that are deemed to be neutral but adversely affect a protected class of people. This is what was used in the Griggs v. Duke Power Company case. The three key points derived from the case, as well as the two main areas of discrimination, set the legal precedent for businesses in such cases. Role of Federal Enforcement Agency Federal enforcement agencies ensure that organizations comply with regulation standards. While self-regulation is played a key role in corporate governance, government regulators enact rules and enforce them in order to provide a reference point for organizations. For example, the Acts discussed above are passed by the federal government, and enacted through the various government agencies. According to Michael et al (2004), enforcement is used to ensure that those businesses that violate the regulations do adhere to the regulatory standards. This can be in form of criminal sanctions, suspension, or prosecutions. Therefore, the role of federal enforcement agencies in compliance with regulation standards is extremely significant. References Michael, L. M., Healey, J. T. & Keating, E. K. (2004) The Role of Government in Corporate Governance. Regulatory Policy Program Report RPP-08 (2004). Cambridge, MA: Center for Business and Government, Harvard University. Rue, L. W. & Byars, L. L. (2008) Chapter Two: Equal Employment Opportunity: The Legal Environment. Human Resource Management, 9th Ed. New York: McGraw-Hill. Hersch, J. (1991) Equal Employment Opportunity Law and Firm Profitability. The Journal of Human Resources, Vol. 26, No. 1, Winter 1991, pp. 139-153. Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Griggs v. Duke Power Company Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words”, n.d.)
Griggs v. Duke Power Company Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/law/1609412-case-study-analysis
(Griggs V. Duke Power Company Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 Words)
Griggs V. Duke Power Company Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 Words. https://studentshare.org/law/1609412-case-study-analysis.
“Griggs V. Duke Power Company Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/law/1609412-case-study-analysis.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Griggs v. Duke Power Company

Disparate Impact

duke power Co.... The Supreme Court first described the disparate impact theory in 1971, in griggs v.... This paper "Disparate Impact" discusses the term “disparate impact”, a regulation necessitating all janitors to possess high school diplomas doesn't seem to be discriminatory from above but it may have a “disparate impact” on certain sections of society with a high rate of dropouts....
7 Pages (1750 words) Case Study

Corporate Finance Company Profile of PepsiCo

The paper contains the description of Pepsi Co, Inc and the finance summary from which the author concludes that the company portrays a very strong and positive position in the markets place and this company has an ability to challenge its rivals to have a girds to become the market leader… The author states that there are certain areas where Pepsi should pay attention to like in the area of working capital, net profit margin, reduction in revenue expenditures on a consistent basis and assist in increasing its investor's confidence towards the organization....
8 Pages (2000 words) Essay

A Statutory Contractual Relationship in a Company

hellip; In the United Kingdom, the company Act contains all these rules and regulations for companies established in the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland.... However, two versions of the company Act, namely company Act 1985 and company Act 2006 offer varied rights and obligations for shareholders as explained below.... In the UK, the company Act contains all these rules and regulations for companies established in the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland....
10 Pages (2500 words) Research Paper

Leadership Power in Organizational Setting

An interview with a CEO of a company has been described.... In general, power means the authority to achieve desired objectives by making others comply with one's commands and instructions.... ?? power and position differences also give rise to a myriad of issues in leader-member relationship.... This paper sheds light on the impact of power within the Different forms of power have been described along with personal experiences....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

Advantages and Disadvantages of Topshop Company

The paper "Advantages and Disadvantages of Topshop company" consider worth a variety of brand's products available in a wide price range, a wide network of stores, and online store, etc, and recalls such weaknesses as excessive availability and poor quality of service compared to other brands.... The influence of environmental factor and its effect on any company can be better analyzed by PEST analysis which is covering 4 important environmental factors namely political, social, economic and technological....
5 Pages (1250 words) Research Paper

Lenovo

Describe what effects they have on the business' strategy and pricing. Lenovo company is a global company whose cost structure, business strategies and pricing helps the company makes a high Shipping is one of the mechanisms that reduce the costs of the business in distribution, labor and administration.... This company falls under an oligopoly type of a market structure.... Just like any other global company, the company faces competition but its high quality products and services has built a good name for the company....
5 Pages (1250 words) Research Paper

PC World Competitive Intelligence

Later In 1993, the company merged with Currys PC World.... The company is headquartered at Hemel Hempstead in United Kingdom.... The company has a slogan that brings individuals together in the term of technology “we start with you”.... Currently, the company operates in United Kingdom and Ireland.... Later in Italy they were closed making the company to operate in United Kingdom and Ireland only.... The company has different stores that are approximated to be 530 in UK and Ireland....
7 Pages (1750 words) Essay

Group project / sandal

There are many aspects that were considered before settling on a strategic date like 31st December 2015 as the fiscal year end like: the taxation payment period, audit or accounting activities in the… Numerous advantages accrue to Sandal company due to the 31st December 2015 fiscal year end date.... The tax authorities under which Sandal company operates This counts as an advantage to the financial position of the company as at that fiscal year end date....
3 Pages (750 words) Essay
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us