Legal Issues

To avoid claims of discrimination, a company should put in place measures that accommodate employees with disabilities. In the simulation, hiring Oscar would have required innovative solutions to increase his mobility. Building ramps alongside staircases and refitting one of the company vehicles to carry a wheelchair will ensure that Oscars mobility improves. This is necessary as the job description entails lots of travelling to meet potential clients.

Under Title VII, administering drug abuse tests is discriminatory as it creates a bias against those who may have had a substance abuse problem. Companies should warn those employees with drug challenges to reform or risk termination of services. Having a counselor on the payroll will assist troubled employees to get their lives organized thus reducing time lost due to absent or sick employees.  The management should develop a drug policy that clearly spells out what the company expects from its employees with regard to drug use. Any employees found violating this policy would be liable to instant dismissal. This measure will deter employees from taking drugs at the workplace.

Interviewing employees on their personal life and non- skill related issues amounts to discrimination. Revealing personal details to an interview panel increases the chances of some members developing biases against the potential candidate. Some panel members may be anti gay or anti abortionist while the candidate supports such movements. This scenario is likely to prejudice the candidates chances for employment. The legal advice from the HR manager is that pre employment interviews should be discouraged as the company risks facing lawsuits over discrimination claims.

Title VII can override employment contracts where a clear case of discrimination exists. Section 703 of the Act provides that an employee can sue for discrimination provided they can prove that the management employed tactics that disadvantaged certain sections of the workforce based on a particular criterion. Jessica felt sexually harassed by other members of the creative team and officially complained to her superiors. Marc was displeased with her conduct and gave her a poor grade in the annual performance appraisal. To avoid claims of discrimination, Keith suggested that a third party conduct an independent performance appraisal and ascertain whether Jessicas performance was below par. This option will preempt any legal action that Jessica may consider taking to justify her claims of sexual harassment and discrimination.

In conclusion, companies must be careful about handling employees lest their decisions are misconstrued to be discriminatory practices.  The HR department should conduct due diligence when drafting advertisements and termination of employees must follow the laid down procedures.