Employment Law - Sex Discrimination

INTERNAL MEMORANDUM To: David Dodds, Principal From: Chris Jenkins, Trainee Re: Sarah Saunton; File No. S234/2005. Date: 24 January 2007 ________________________________________________________________________________ In response to your memorandum, I have researched the issues relating to Sarah Saunton's employment matter. She appears to be able to make a claim to the Employment Tribunal on a number of grounds, as set out below. ) Sex Discrimination / Sexual Harassment Sexual harassment is a form of discrimination.It is unlawful for employers in Great Britain to subject a woman (or man) to sexual harassment. The Sex Discrimination Act 1975 (SDA 1975) was amended with effect from 1 October 2005 to include for the first time an express definition of "harassment" which is prohibited in certain circumstances. The new provisions apply to acts which take place on or after 1st October 2005. Sarah attended the office on 10th November 2006 and told us that she has been "recently dismissed". We need to confirm the exact date of her dismissal, but it shall be presumed that this occurred after 1st October 2005. The SDA 1975 applies regardless of length of service or number of hours worked. The sexual harassment must have occurred during "the course of employment" and this requirement is, of course, satisfied in Sarah's case. Section 4A of the SDA 1975 defines two

  • Word count: 3583
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Law
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Affirmative Action

Affirmative Action "Affirmative action" means positive steps taken to increase the representation of women and minorities in areas of employment, education, and business from which they have been historically excluded. When those steps involve preferential selection -- selection on the basis of race, gender, or ethnicity -- affirmative action generates intense controversy. The development, defense, and contestation of preferential affirmative action has proceeded in two streams. One has been legal and administrative, as courts, legislatures, and executive departments of government have applied laws and rules requiring affirmative action. The other has been public debate, where the practice of preferential treatment has spawned a vast literature, pro and con. Often enough, the two streams have failed to make adequate contact, with the public quarrels not always very securely anchored in any existing legal basis or practice. The ebb and flow of public controversy over affirmative action can be pictured as two spikes on a line, the first spike representing a period of passionate debate that began around 1972 and tapered off after 1980, and the second indicating a resurgence of debate in the 1990s. The first spike encompassed controversy about gender and racial preferences alike. This is because in the beginning, affirmative action was as much about the factory, firehouse, and

  • Word count: 9641
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Law
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Defamation case of Cynthia Hyland v. Raytheon Technical Services Company, et al.

HYLAND V. RAYTHEON TECHICAL SERVICES COMPANY Defamation case of Cynthia Hyland v. Raytheon Technical Services Company, et al. John E. Zoul and Jessica Williams Strayer University LEG 100 Judge/Professor Potter August 21, 2012 ________________ Defamation case of Cynthia Hyland v. Raytheon Technical Services Company, et al. Opening Statement Good evening, Your Honor and ladies and gentlemen of the jury. My name is John Zoul and it is my privilege along with my associate, Jessica Williams, to represent Cynthia Hyland in a defamation lawsuit versus Raytheon Technical Services Company (RTSC), which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Raytheon, Inc. and a Fortune 100 company which has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange for over half a century. Cynthia Hyland was a dedicated, loyal employee and executive of Raytheon for approximately twenty-one years. She was promoted numerous times. She always earned high marks on her annual performance reviews until after a consulting assessment of the President of RTSC, Bryan Even, turned-up some honest, candid and meant to be helpful and confidential remarks, concerning Mr. Even, by Ms. Hyland. This information was transmitted to Mr. Even, through the VP of HR of RTSC, who had been told by the consultants. Subsequently, Mr. Even on February 28, 2003, gave Ms. Hyland a scathingly negative review, containing five, what we

  • Word count: 1519
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Law
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Racial discrimination

INTRODUCTION My aims and objectives for this report are to research the issue of discrimination and other factors that relate to it. My initial research that I conducted allowed me to gain an insight into how much discrimination can affect employees within organisations and also the efforts that are taking place to combat the problems. Therefore I came up with issues that I will look into further and will aid me in answering the topic question. These factors are:- - Discrimination. - Legislation. - Trade Unions. - Company methods. The methods of research I will use for this report will be based on textbooks and the internet as these will help me in obtaining theories on the subject of discrimination but will also give me information on linking discrimination with the workplace. WHAT IS DISCRIMINATION? The Office of Equal Employment Opportunity at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences states that 'Discrimination is defined in civil rights law as unfavourable or unfair treatment of a person or class of persons in comparison to others who are not members of the protected class because of race, sex, colour, religion, national origin, age, physical/mental handicap, sexual harassment, sexual orientation or reprisal for opposition to discriminatory practices or participation

  • Word count: 2395
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Law
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Equal Opportunities

Equal Opportunities " It is unlawful to treat anyone, on the grounds of sex, less favourably than another person is or would be treated in the same circumstances." That is the argument put forward by the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC), perhaps the most significant of European Community interventions in the personnel field, created to ensure effective enforcement of the Sex Discrimination Act (SDA) and the Equal Pay Act (EPA), and to promote equal opportunities (Donnellan 1994: 1). We discriminate between people in many aspects of our life and work. The selection process in particular directly discriminates between people in order to offer the reward of a job to one but not the other. Certain forms of discrimination are acceptable, others are not, and there are certain groups in our society that are discriminated against unfavourably due to the prejudices and preconceptions of the people with whom they have to deal (Torrington and Hall 1991: 353). Verbalised or not, these preconceived ideas influence the actions of those around them and the effects in employment are very clear. These disadvantaged groups consist of racial minorities, people of different religion, the disabled and more commonly, women. Intentional discrimination is based on a set of clearly expressed beliefs about the differences between people. Ideas that women should not work because their place

  • Word count: 2922
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Law
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employment law

Written Statement of Terms Section 1 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 requires the employer to give the employee a written statement of employment. The employment contracts depend on a mixture of verbal and written evidence and failing that the court or tribunal may be willing to infer agreement on certain points. An employee must be given, within two months of starting work, a written statement which contains: * the names of the employer and the employee; * the date when the employment began; * the date on which continuous employment began (taking into account any employment with a previous employer which counts towards that period). Section 1 (4) requires that certain particulars of the terms of employment must be stated. These particulars are the rate of pay; the intervals at which it is paid; terms and conditions relating to holidays including public holiday with sufficient information to enable the entitlement to be paid precisely; the title of the job which the employee is employed to do; the place of work; the length of notice which the employee is obliged to give and entitled to receive to determine the contract. If there is a change in the terms of the contract which ought to be included in the statement then a revised written contract must be provided by the employer within one month. Although it does not mean that the employer can not change the terms of

  • Word count: 4948
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Law
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Employment Law

Employment Law 2008/9 Q.2 An economic downturn has far reaching consequences for employers and employees alike, in particular the motor trade is feeling the pinch of our current crisis. In this essay we will advise Barry, the newly appointed Managing Director for Zephyr Autos (ZA), of any legal issues the Company faces as he decides to introduce changes affecting the workforce, the forced redundancy of a sales representative (Albert), and the legality of his dismissal of a Senior Sales Director (Denise) for gross misconduct. The first problem we shall look at is that under pressure from Head Office Barry decides to implement changes to the terms of the contract of employment, including a pay cut without the approval of the UCW, this would mean an abandonment of any collective agreements with the union and a variation to the employment contract of the individual employee's. It is common place in the auto industry where a section of the workforce belong to a union, that the union negotiate provisions such as pay, hours and holiday, intended to be included in the contracts of the employees who are covered1. The first issue we will examine are the rules of collective agreements, the legality of which is defined by s.179(1) TULRCA 19922states: A collective Agreement shall be conclusively not to have been intended by the parties to be a legally enforceable contract unless the

  • Word count: 2887
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Law
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Sexual Harassment

Leslie Starosta Research paper #2 In our patriarchal society men have been seen as the ones with an ascribed status of power. This power was first used to define roles within the family setting. Now this same power is being used to discriminate against women in the workplace. Once women were allowed to work along side of men, their power was threatened with the competition between the sexes for better opportunities. This struggle between the groups has caused a new issue to arise. Sexual harassment has been defined as "unwanted and offensive sexual advances or of sexually offensive remarks or acts" which is used to degrade another person in order to feel superior. (Dictionary.com). The purpose of this essay is to examine the history and the future of this modern social problem. If this melodrama were to be mapped out years ago it would have declared that men are the villains, women the victims and that the hero was the government trying to pass laws against discrimination. In some cases the employer could also be seen as either the villain if it was a quid pro quo situation or if they are the ones trying to ease the tensions in the workplace they could also be seen as a hero. The claims makers were women who initially felt belittled in the work environment due to unwanted advancements from their colleagues. However, things have changed over the last few years

  • Word count: 2100
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Law
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