26
3.Anti-discrimination laws also prohibit harassment against individuals in retaliation for ……………………….
4.The harasser can be …………………………….
5.The employer can avoid liability only if it can prove that
…………………………
Exercise 4 Match these terms and their definitions.
1. allegation |
a) language or behaviour intended to humiliate or mock; derision |
2. retaliation |
b) to humiliate |
3.to put-down |
c) a disparaging remark; |
4. slur |
d) action that a person takes against sb who has harmed them in |
|
some way |
5. ridicule |
e) a claim of a fact by a party in a pleading, charge, or defense.. |
Exercise 5. Answer these questions
1.Is harassment is a form of employment discrimination?
2.What is harassment based on?
3.What is necessary for the conduct to be unlawful?
4.May unlawful harassment occur without economic injury to the victim?
5.What is the best tool to eliminate harassment in the workplace.?
6.Why should employees report harassment to management at an early stage?
7.When is the employer is automatically liable for harassment by a supervisor ?
8.What does the EEOC look at when investigating allegations of harassment?
TEXT 6.
Age Discrimination
Age discrimination involves treating someone (an applicant or employee) less favorably because of his age. The Age Discrimination in Employment
27
Act (ADEA) only forbids age discrimination against people who are age 40 or older. It does not protect workers under the age of 40, although some states do have laws that protect younger workers from age discrimination.
It is not illegal for an employer or other entity to favor an older worker over a younger one, even if both workers are age 40 or older. Discrimination can occur when the victim and the person who inflicted the discrimination are both over 40.
The law forbids discrimination when it comes to any aspect of employment, including hiring, firing, pay, job assignments, promotions, layoff, training, fringe benefits, and any other term or condition of employment.
It is unlawful to harass a person because of his or her age. Harassment can include, for example, offensive remarks about a person's age. Although the law doesn't prohibit simple teasing, offhand comments, or isolated incidents that aren't very serious, harassment is illegal when it is so frequent or severe that it creates a hostile or offensive work environment or when it results in an adverse employment decision (such as the victim being fired or demoted).
The harasser can be the victim's supervisor, a supervisor in another area, a co-worker, or someone who is not an employee of the employer, such as a client or customer.
An employment policy or practice that applies to everyone, regardless of age, can be illegal if it has a negative impact on applicants or employees age 40 or older and is not based on a reasonable factor other than age.
Disability Discrimination
Disability discrimination occurs when an employer or other entity covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act, as amended, or the Rehabilitation Act, as amended, treats a qualified individual with a disability who is an employee or applicant unfavorably because she has a disability.
Disability discrimination also occurs when an employer or other entity treats an applicant or employee less favorably because she has a history of a disability (such as cancer that is controlled or in remission) or because she is believed to have a physical or mental impairment that is not
28
transitory (lasting or expected to last six months or less) and minor (even if she does not have such an impairment).
The law also protects people from discrimination based on their relationship with a person with a disability (even if they do not themselves have a disability). For example, it is illegal to discriminate against an employee because her husband has a disability.
The law requires an employer to provide reasonable accommodation to an employee or job applicant with a disability, unless doing so would cause significant difficulty or expense for the employer ("undue hardship").
A reasonable accommodation is any change in the work environment (or in the way things are usually done) to help a person with a disability apply for a job, perform the duties of a job, or enjoy the benefits and privileges of employment.
Reasonable accommodation might include, for example, making the workplace accessible for wheelchair users or providing a reader or interpreter for someone who is blind or hearing impaired.
An employer doesn't have to provide an accommodation if doing so would cause undue hardship to the employer.
Undue hardship means that the accommodation would be too difficult or too expensive to provide, in light of the employer's size, financial resources, and the needs of the business. An employer may not refuse to provide an accommodation just because it involves some cost. An employer does not have to provide the exact accommodation the employee or job applicant wants. If more than one accommodation works, the employer may choose which one to provide.
Not everyone with a medical condition is protected by the law. In order to be protected, a person must be qualified for the job and have a disability as defined by the law.
A person can show that he or she has a disability in one of three ways:
A person may be disabled if he or she has a physical or mental condition that substantially limits a major life activity (such as walking, talking, seeing, hearing, or learning).
29
A person may be disabled if he or she has a history of a disability (such as cancer that is in remission).
A person may be disabled if he is believed to have a physical or mental impairment that is not transitory (lasting or expected to last six months or less) and minor (even if he does not have such an impairment).
The law places strict limits on employers when it comes to asking job applicants to answer medical questions, take a medical exam, or identify a disability.
For example, an employer may not ask a job applicant to answer medical questions or take a medical exam before extending a job offer. An employer also may not ask job applicants if they have a disability (or about the nature of an obvious disability). An employer may ask job applicants whether they can perform the job and how they would perform the job, with or without a reasonable accommodation.
After a job is offered to an applicant, the law allows an employer to condition the job offer on the applicant answering certain medical questions or successfully passing a medical exam, but only if all new employees in the same type of job have to answer the questions or take the exam.
The law also requires that employers keep all medical records and information confidential and in separate medical files.
Exercise 1 Find these words and word combinations in the text.
a)соискатель
b)вне зависимости от
c)оскорбительные замечания
d)соцпакет
e)бесцеремонные комментарии
f)враждебное окружение
g)инвалидное кресло
30
h)инвалидность, утрата трудоспособности, увечье
Exercise 2 Say if the sentences are true or false. Correct the wrong ones.
1.The Age Discrimination in Employment Act protects workers under the age of
2.It is illegal for an employer to favor an older worker over a younger one, even if both workers are age 40 or older.
3.Harassment is illegal when it is so frequent or severe that it creates a hostile or offensive work environment or when it results in an adverse employment
4. It is illegal to harass an applicant or employee because he has a disability, had a disability in the past, or is believed to have a physical or mental impairment that is not transitory.
5.The law requires an employer to provide reasonable accommodation to an employee or job applicant with a disability
6.An employer may refuse to provide an accommodation just because it involves some cost.
7.An employer may ask a job applicant to answer medical questions or take a medical exam before making a job offer.
Exercise 3 Complete these sentences.
1.Age discrimination is………………..
2.The law forbids any employment discrimination including ……………………
3.Age discrimination can occur when ……………………….
4.The law doesn't prohibit …………………………….
5.The harasser can be…………………………
6.Disability discrimination occurs when ……………………………………..
Exercise 4 Match these terms and their definitions.
1. |
entity |
a) A medical condition that leads to disability |
2. |
to harass |
b) unfavorable or antagonistic: . opposing one's interests or |
wishes: |
|
|