Contract Law - Regulation of Employment Agreements Based on the Federal Law - Case Study Example

Outline of Final Paper of the Business situation Discrimination is an ongoing issue in the United s’ employment sector. The issue of discrimination emanates from the historical set up of the society and affects major economic sectors such as employment. Discrimination refers to unequal or unfair treatment of individuals based on the racial, age, religion, sex and origin. Discrimination based on age results from the capitalism nature of employers. Most of the organizations in the United States aim at maximizing profits by increasing productivity and reducing expenses (Befort, 2001). Aged individuals in the organization tend to slow down productivity and require close attention, which results to high production costs. The United States society comprises of various types of ethical groups such as the whites, the African-Americans, the Latinos and the Indian-Americans. The employers discriminate highly on individuals from certain ethical and racial group. For instance, the whites form the majority of employees in the corporate sector while other groups form the minority. This is a clear indication of the levels of discrimination in the country (Coulter, 2012). The African-Americans have limited access to formal education due to lack of adequate funds to cater for college or University education. In addition, the American history indicates a continuous discrimination trend in the employment sector. The management of most of the corporations has little or no faith in the performance of an individual from certain racial background. Other forms of employment discrimination in the society include gender, nation of origin and religion. National of Origin Discrimination against an individual’s nation of origin results from the increased number of immigrants in the United States. The employers are keen on absorbing workers from certain regions based on their understanding of the business concepts. In addition, the employers favor white Americans when offering jobs regardless of the qualifications of the other individuals. The current economic situation requires businesses to have a good public relation to increase sales and profits. The organization employ individual from the United States to facilitate public relations. The other factor that facilitates discrimination based on country of origin is the variation in the education systems. Employers believe that individuals from certain regions in the world undergo a poor education system, which prevents them from performing effectively in the organization. Discrimination based on the nationality of the employees is high in the United States due to the increase in number of unemployed Americans. The corporations opt to employ Americans in order to reduce unemployment rates in the country. In addition, business employs Americans to enhance their public image. Religious Discrimination People believe in different things based on their religion. Employees absorb individuals to work in their companies based on their religious believes. There are various biases on specific religions that trigger religious discrimination in the United States. For example, non-Muslim employers relate the Muslim religion with terrorism and disobedience. Most of the employers therefore dismiss individuals seeking employment based on their religious background. Moreover, some religious believes do not allow individuals from other religions to perform certain tasks, which leads to discrimination. Gender Discrimination Gender discrimination is common in the United States. Some employers restrict female employees from performing certain tasks, which facilitates discrimination. During the era of industrialization, job advertisements specified on gender requirements for a given position. The organizations restricted women from performing heavy tasks in the industries. The employment opportunities for women were mainly receptionist and secretariat. Gender discrimination contributes to approximately 10% of discrimination cases in the American employment sector. Discrimination results from the social needs and composition of the society with respect to race, nationalities, religions and gender (Bergmann, 1996). Ethical Theories for Analyzing the Business Situation Categorical Imperative The categorical imperative theory argues that individuals should make a decision, which they deem is universally right. The person’s conscious enables them to implement decisions that they think are correct with respect to the universal perspective. The individual behaves in rational manner that would be appropriate for anyone else in the society. The theory emphasizes on making decisions based on the person’s view of the societal perspective. Kant’s categorical imperative theory is applicable when making decisions that affects the society. In addition, the theory is useful in decision-making processes that entail a sensitive issue in the society. The categorical imperative theory is a technique of evaluating whether a deed is permissible. The process of justifying an action using the categorical imperative ethical argument involves four main steps. First, the individual establishes the motivation factor behind their cause of action. The employer determines the factor that motivates them to discriminate against certain individuals in the organizations. The various motivation factors include desire to enhance public relations, desire to achieve productivity goals, the desire to meet the needs of the local community and the desire to achieve quality in the production process (Copp, 2011). An organization operating in certain regions in the country results to discrimination based on race and nationality to uphold their public relations levels. The community in such regions discriminates against a particular race and an organization avoids such individuals to keep their public relations on track. The business discriminates certain genders and age groups to facilitate productivity. An employer whose goal is to increase the organization’s productivity levels discriminates against aged employees. The employer absorbs young employees regardless of the qualification and experience of the aged job candidates. The employer discriminates against such individuals to increase production since they associate age with slowness. On the other hand, employers in particular sectors discriminate against individuals of a particular gender. The technical field requires a lot of energy apart from expertise. The employers in the technical field discriminate against women based on the physicality of the job. Majority of the employers view women as the weaker gender in the society and they perform effectively ion non-physical jobs. Gender discrimination is also inherent in the fashion industry where employers prefer female to male gender. The employer views men as sluggish and untidy, which is unsuitable for the industry (Copp, 2011). The second step in categorical imperative entails transformation of the action into a nature’s universal law. The individual evaluates whether other people in the society would act in a similar manner under such circumstances. In this case, the employer examines the actions other employers would take under such situation. The recruiting personnel further justify their action by assuming that their actions are universal in nature. For example when dismissing an aged employee, they employer assumes that other employers or managers would take the same initiative to enhance the operations of the organization. The process of justifying their actions transforms it into a universal initiative. The third stage entails establishment of reason that would prevent implementation of the action. The individual examines the universal argument and justifies the disadvantages of performing the act. The employer examines the benefits of discriminating certain workers in the organization based on personal argument. The recruiting officer decides whether to proceed with the act or not. It is mainly the decision making stage in the comparative imperative ethical theory. The final stage depends on the third stage’s judgment. The employer determines the type of action to undertake based on the arguments of the third step. The individual compares their course of actions with the universal view before implementing the action (Copp, 2011). The theory dictates that, human beings have a duty to avoid violating the decision of the third stage due to lack of exceptional. In addition, when the action does not pass the fourth stage, it implies that the duty is imperfect and it is essential to refrain from doing it. Utilitarianism Utilitarianism ethic law argues that human beings have the ability to decide what is right and wrong. The actions taken by an individual is a representation of their judgement of right and wrong. The person considers all the effects of an action before proceeding to implement it. Utilitarian have varied opinions regarding a right and wrong action. They argue that, the satisfactory consequences of actions determine its level of goodness. An action is good when its consequences are good relative to the alternative actions. On the other hand, an action is bad if its consequences are not as good as that of the alternative action. The theory argues that, the decisions of an individual depend on their measure of goodness and badness (Copp, 2011). The outcome of an action taken by a person can be disastrous in case the individual’s view of good or bad is biased. The argument is applicable in the discrimination situation where an employer evaluates the goodness or badness in dismissing a worker based on personal characteristics. The employer examines the consequences of their actions through the following steps. The employer first establishes the problem. The problem in this case is reduced production, laxity, lack of adequate training or cultural conflicts. The recruiting officer then evaluates the various solutions to the problem such understanding, further training, motivation, warning and dismissal. The employer then selects the best action to take after examining the goodness and badness of the action’s consequences. The theory provides individuals with adequate freedom to choose between the right action and it alternatives. A person reviews the results of the actions and determines the best approach. In addition, the action taken depends on the conscience of the individual undertaking it. This is because, the level of goodness and badness varies across humanity and the person justifies their actions depending on their judgement (Copp, 2011). Analyzing the Employment Dilemma under the Law Employment Law The employment discrimination law prevents discrimination based on sex, race, national origin, physical disability, age and religion by the employer. The law also prevents employers from discriminating their employees based on their social background. In addition, the laws establish ways through which employers can recruit effectively without bias (Feinman, 2006). It provides the employers with procedures for advertising for a job position. The law denies discrimination regarding hiring bias, termination of employment, compensation, job assignment, promotion, harassment and retaliation (Holland & Burnett, 2007). The employment law main bodies comprise of the State and Federal statues. The State Statues comprises of the laws enacted in various states of the United States that govern employment in different organization. The State statues depend on the judgments of the Federal law. The different states across America ensure minimal discrimination of employees by the employers based on the religion, race, sex orientation, nationality and age (Lockton, 2003). The laws also protect employees from all forms of infringements such as overworking, hazardous working conditions and low remunerations. The state law provides employees with an opportunity to launch a lawsuit against an organization that discriminates on personal characteristics (Hall & Clark, 2002). The law also ensures that remuneration of the employees effective and in accordance with the law. The state laws protects employees residing and working in a given states. The penalties set by these laws varies with the state and in case of a contradiction, they usually refer to the Federal laws on employment (Coulter, 2012). Employment laws provide employers with the appropriate hiring and retiring age. This helps in preventing discrimination based on an individual’s age. In addition, the law also provides the employers with appropriate guidelines regarding hiring of the foreigners. It establishes the appropriate documents needed when hiring a foreigner. The employment law also insists on appropriate an accurate cross-examination of the employee to prevents future conflicts regarding religious holidays and beliefs. The law also requires the employers to familiarize themselves with the practices of their employee’s cultural practices to avoid conflicts when assigning jobs (Hogler, 2004). The employment law is essential is the present situation since it facilitates understanding of the various discrimination restrictions. The law also describes various acts of discrimination in an organization, which enhances a critical understanding of the situation (Coulter, 2012). In addition, the employment law states various forms of discrimination, which enables an individual to establish discrimination in an organization or company. The law is essential in evaluating the current situation since it provides a appropriate guideline on the legal requirement that employees should meet before seeking for a job. The law also identifies the requirements for a foreigner to work in the United States. Various States across the country have enacted the employment law, which is crucial for eliminating the vice in the employment sector (Lockton, 2003). The Constitution Law The constitutional law provides guidelines on various approaches to discrimination at the work place. It is essential in this situation since it provides an overview of the relationship of the various statues governing discrimination and employment. The constitutional law facilitates an in –depth understanding of the international laws, state laws and norms regarding discrimination at work place. The American constitution provides the employers and the employees with appropriate guidelines regarding employment (Hogler, 2004). The constitution enables employers to understand the appropriate approaches towards recruitments and employee requirements. The law also facilitates a mutual understanding between the employee and the employer on human rights (Coulter, 2012). The constitution law enhances good and production-oriented relationships between the two parties. It provides employers with appropriate guidelines on human rights and respects to the religion and beliefs of other citizens. It further indicates the various steps and requirements involved when hiring a foreigner. The constitutional law is relevant in the present case since it enhances an in –depth understanding of the anti-discriminatory laws in the employment sectors. It also facilitates appropriate understanding of the relationship between various laws governing discrimination in the country. The Fourteenth and Fifth Amendments of the U.S constitutions limit the State and federal government from discriminating on the citizens. It indicates that each person has a right to protect life and property. The law further limits the federal government from depriving the citizens off their life or property. The amendments protect the rights of the American citizens from any form of violations (Coulter, 2012). Contractual law The contract law regulates employments agreements based on the federal law. The law of contracts is essential in employment since it provides the employer and employee a platform to share the employment terms. It enables the employee to commit in performing their duties effectively and define the situations, which would result to dismissal. In additional the law of contracts bids both the employers and employee into their duties. The contract law is important in this case since it facilitates a critical understanding of the terms of employments contracts. The law also enables individuals to adhere to the requirements of the federal law with respect to employment agreements. The employer agrees to respects the privacy, religion, culture, sex, race and nationality of the employee (Ben-Shahar & Porat, 2010). References Befort, S. (2001). Labor and Employment Law at the Millennium: A Historical Review and Critical Assessment. BCL Rev., 43, 351. Ben-Shahar, O., & Porat, A. (2010). Fault in American contract law (1st ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Bergmann, B. (1996). In defense of affirmative action (1st ed.). New York: BasicBooks. Copp, D. (2011). The Oxford handbook of ethical theory (1st ed.). Oxford [u.a.]: Oxford Univ. Pr. Coulter, S. (2012). Business Law For Managers (1st ed.). SAn Diego: Bridgepoint Education Inc. Feinman, J. (2006). Law 101 (1st ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. Hall, K., & Clark, D. (2002). The Oxford companion to American law (1st ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. Hogler, R. (2004). Employment relations in the United States (1st ed.). Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage Publications. Holland, J., & Burnett, S. (2007). Employment law (1st ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. Lockton, D. (2003). Employment law (1st ed.). Basingstoke: Palgrave. Lundmark, T. (2008). Power & rights in US constitutional law (1st ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. Read More