Examining Disparate Treatment

Write and submit a 3–4 page analysis of a selected legal case involving disparate treatment in selection and hiring.

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Introduction

Many U.S. laws, ordinances, and guidelines directly impact the hiring and selection process. Legal compliance is important to protect the individual and the organization. It is crucial for the HRM professional to understand issues surrounding discrimination and how to best avoid pitfalls. This includes awareness not only of disparate treatment, but also of disparate (or adverse) impact and how to analyze the issue. In this assessment, you will select and analyze a legal case involving disparate treatment in selection and hiring.

Overview

Workplace discrimination—disparate treatment—is intentional employment discrimination. This assessment provides you with the opportunity to analyze a case involving disparate treatment and demonstrate your understanding of the factors involved.

Planning

The time it takes to complete an assessment can vary greatly. But it often takes longer than we think to explore the scope of a task, research it, write a draft, and then come back and revise it. Consider the following as rough guideposts for setting aside the time you need to do your work. You will want to adjust these as you learn more about your own pace and working style.

• Research and reading: 4 hours.
• Interactive activities: 30 minutes.
• Writing: 6 hours.
• Revising: 2 hours.

Instructions

Use the Capella library or internet to research a legal case involving disparate treatment in the selection or hiring process. Then in a 3–4 page paper, succinctly and clearly analyze the case. Include the following in your analysis:

• Describe the important issues in the case.
  • Provide a description of the case, and describe the important issues.
• Distinguish the theory of disparate treatment from the theory of disparate (or adverse) impact.
  • Distinguish the theory of disparate treatment from the theory of disparate (or adverse) impact using specific examples from your selected legal case and provide additional context if needed to support your work. Be sure to identify the dispute, and what makes this a case about disparate treatment.
• Analyze the outcome of the case.
  • Explain the court’s decision.
  • Note whether you agree with the court.
  • Analyze disparate impact.
• Analyze the evidence of discriminatory effects.
  • Analyze the evidence of discriminatory effects in your selected case, and provide specific examples of connections to the rule, policy, or process.
• Describe how the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures help employers avoid issues related to disparate or adverse impact.
• Communicate in a manner that is scholarly, professional, and consistent with expectations of members of the human resources profession.
  • Be sure you communicate in a scholarly, professional manner that addresses the intended audience and is free of grammatical and mechanical errors.

Submission Requirements

• Written communication: Written communication is thoughtful and free of errors that detract from the overall message.
• APA formatting: References and citations should be formatted according to current APA style and format. See Evidence and APA.
• Length of assessment: 3–4 typed, double-spaced pages.
• Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12 point.
• Communication: Understand the audience and communicate professionally.

Refer to the assessment scoring guide to ensure that you meet all criteria. To earn full points for each criterion, be sure to note the details on what constitutes distinguished performance.