Legal and Ethical Issues: Discrimination and Harassment Analysis

This report delves into the critical legal and ethical issues surrounding discrimination and harassment in the workplace. It begins by defining discrimination and harassment, highlighting their various forms and the detrimental impact on the work environment, including potential lawsuits and ethical conflicts. The report explores the ethical concerns associated with these issues, such as sexual harassment and favouritism, and emphasizes the importance of prevention programs and creating a safe, respectful workplace culture. The analysis incorporates ethical theories like utilitarianism and deontology to evaluate decision-making processes. Furthermore, the report examines relevant areas of law, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and provides recommendations to mitigate liability and enhance ethical practices. The report emphasizes the need for consistent accountability, committed leadership, comprehensive policies, accessible complaint procedures, and regular training to effectively address and prevent harassment, ultimately aiming to foster a fair and ethical workplace.

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Legal and Ethical Issues
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Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................1
Discrimination and Harassment in the workplace.....................................................................2
Ethical Concerns........................................................................................................................4
Ethical Theories.........................................................................................................................7
Areas of Law..............................................................................................................................9
Recommendations....................................................................................................................10
Conclusion................................................................................................................................11

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Introduction
In today’s competitive business world, various ethical issues are present in companies
which affect their day-to-day operations. There is a need of clear understanding for the
employees in relation to vision of the company overall; it is essential to practice the code of
ethics for assisting employees along with procedures and policies in the workplace. There is a
firm delivery of ethical actions by companies where employees, customers and applicants are
required to be treated fairly. In companies, upholding fairness and responsibility in business
practices is one of a key value in relation to ethics while taking business actions (Nuseir &
Ghandour, 2019). The issue of Harassment and Discrimination consists of various costly
ethical issues such as sexual harassment, racial discrimination and wage inequality that
employees and employers encounter on regular basis in every country across the globe. In
discrimination, numerous types are involved such as equal pay, age, harassment, disability,
race, genetic information, religion, pregnancy, national origin, retaliation, sex and sexual
harassment. Also, the FRD (families responsibilities discrimination) is one of the
discrimination factors increasing nowadays at every level and in every industry within an
organisation (Michigan, 2019). In companies, there is need of laws for employers to provide
equal employment opportunities. In the workplace, discrimination is treating someone
inappropriately due to their personal characteristics that required to be protected by the law.
However, harassment is through which discrimination can be described that is illegal for
creation of threatening work environment that is also mentioned under anti-discrimination
laws to protect individuals (Mayhew, 2020). This paper will focus on analysing legal or
ethical issues based on previous, current or potential work environments in future. The
discussion is based on the issue of “discrimination and harassment” along with ideas related
to corrective actions to address these issues. This paper describes the issue with the help of
ethical theories such as Utilitarian and Deontology for analysing the situation. This issue will

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be further analysed by application of relevant areas of law and recommendation will be made
to reduce liability exposure and improvements in the ethical scenario.
Discrimination and Harassment in the workplace
Discrimination is prohibited within the workplace by numerous municipal, federal
and state laws about which employees and employers are not aware. Also, there are some
incidents where they are aware of discrimination being an unlawful activity that is required to
be controlled. It is essential to eliminate this eventually within the workplace as and when
addressed and recognized by human resources leadership. Such issues of discrimination and
harassment in the workplace often damage the work environment and results in lawsuits
sometimes while addressing ethical and legal conflicts in relation to employees (Roscigno,
2019). Across the globe, business takes regular transactions within the behaviour of business
ethics along with interactions of individual with customers. There can be diversity in moral
code in a business specifically where companies are responsible for ethical criteria
establishment among making compliance structures availability overall with the company
upholding the accurate conduct. In the society, it is vital to be trustworthy for dealing with
stakeholders, governments, employees, and consumers instantly (Smith, 2018).
Discrimination is treating unfairly addressed by various federal laws where “Title VII of the
Civil Rights Act of 1964” is the most inclusive law prohibiting workplace discrimination.
There are number of complaints, mediation and lawsuits pertained to discrimination in the
workplace. Harassment shows exceeding of discriminatory behaviour when individuals
engaged in the employment practices that are unfair and escalates in terms of physically and
verbally abusive. It is the responsibility of employer to provide workplace safe,
discrimination and free from harassment (Liu, Macgill, & Vora, 2016). Thus, it is essential to
provide equal opportunities while workplace promotion and free of discrimination and

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harassment for individuals where it is crucial for employers to educate employees by
avoiding indulging in such activities (Boudreau, Rao, & Adhikari, 2019).
Based on studies, four in ten working women approximately which is 42% in the
United States (US) experiences gender discrimination in the workplace.
Source: (Parker & Funk, 2017).
Also, there are 75 per cent of the harassment victims experiencing retaliation as per
the estimation of study. In America, cases related to sexual harassment consisting fear,
shame, and cultural norms are increasing that is costing millions to companies. Such cases go
unreported which makes it worse in different workplaces mainly an issue for women
(Golshan, 2017). Individuals face the issue of sex discrimination where they are treated
unfairly and unethically based on sex. However, sexual harassment in the workplace is
unwelcoming sexual advances, sexual nature’s physical or verbal conduct, and requests for
sexual favours affecting employment implicitly or explicitly, work performance,
unreasonable interferes, or creation of hostile, intimidate, or offensive work environment. In

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the workplace, this costs employers of employees increased use of job turnover and sick
leave of victims and leading to create an atmosphere of decreasing group and individual’s
work productivity (Catalyst, 2019).
Ethical Concerns
There is concern is such ethical issues that can be acceptable and unacceptable in the
workplace within the perspective of both men and women. Sexual harassment creates a form
of discrimination in the workplace where the issue generates for employees by employers
who refuses to offers promotions to them due to decline in sexual advances. The continuous
behaviour of any individual informing acts to perpetrator that is unacceptable. Sexual
harassment creates a sexually hostile environment where employees might lose their jobs and
pursue an indirect pressure of leaving the job. Discrimination and sexual favouritism shows
adverse sexual harassment demoralizing hardworking employees due to other individuals
(Wicks, 2020). In the workplace, there are numerous of individuals experiencing sexual
harassment, for instance, start of #MeToo movement where it empowers people to raise their
voice as it gets important for employers to protect people and reputation of the company.
There is a need of executing prevention program related to designing workplace harassment
as well just to make employees feel respected and safe and to create a workplace culture for
adapting such emerging issues in the workplace (Navex, 2020). The legal and ethical issues
include unlawful harassment such as quid pro quo sexual harassment and hostile environment
harassment based on the status of any protected-class. In ethical concern, elements of
unlawful harassment claims the unwelcoming conduct where class protection is done based
on complainants’ membership. Also, it results in an action of tangible employment, or else
pervasively or severely altering of complainant’s conditions is done in employment which
creates an abusive environment in the workplace as well (GLS Team, 2015).

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So, here are segment of some ethical issues where firstly, unwelcoming conduct in
terms of physicality is discussed consisting patting, fondling, pinching, stroking, and
grabbing, kissing, hugging, and “private” parts revealing of body, shoulders or neck
massaging, any kind of coercing sexual activity physically, lastly, touching of body, hair, or
clothing unnecessarily. Another issue consist of non-verbal unwelcoming conducts such as
pranks, blocking a path of any individual, derogatory pictures, calendars, or articles display,
making facial expressions, isolating another individual, and following a person (Mintz,
2016). Here, discussing about general verbal unwelcoming conduct includes put downs,
threats, slurs, ridicule, gossip, and offensive names or jokes. At last, verbal sexual harassment
among this behaviour consider repeated requests for dates, requests for sexual favours, sexual
comments, stories or jokes, and about another’s clothing or body, sexual fantasies discussion,
exploiting sexual recount, sexual fantasies discussion, catcalling or whistling, and smacking
lips or howling. Under EEOC’s (the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) anti-
harassment policy, it is essential to understand such conduct for taking immediate corrective
action and protection against retaliation (Ross, Naumann, Hinds-Jackson, & Stokes, 2019).
In the workplace, ethics are established within the law and under firm compliance
regarding every business relevant considering regulations and legal frameworks. It is
essential to understand fundamentally of knowing the right and wrong before making a
commitment of taking right decisions within the workplace. Ethics is all about morals system
and ethics in the workplace applying morality while working which requires better
understanding for employees about ethical issues. If not understanding such issues might lead
to businesses failure and teams get apart which can be prevented through “workplace ethics
training program” addressing morality relating to practices and law of employment for
protecting the workplace (Tenbrunsel, Rees, & Diekmann, 2019). It is important to make a
strict prohibition for the subjects like harassment at workplace in relation to any conduct that

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makes people feel unsafe and uncomfortable and gets stressed out for the same. Other than
this, workplace discrimination considered to be larger systemic issues next to potentially
uncomfortable subjects discussed where is requires to get tackled and acknowledged
emphasizing on unsavoury behaviour that cannot be tolerated. However, every issue is
important to address especially these which are larger workplace regulatory issues with the
help of good ethics training program under and beyond the law. In recent times, there are
more than usual ethical pitfalls in the workplace compared to past decades. This can get
resolved by presenting powerful technologies making employees understand firmly in the
workplace about importance of technological etiquette (Miller, 2020). Even in technology,
there can be inappropriate use of the internet and email services employees can try for which
generates the issue of dangerous malware and other potentials required to avoid. Employees
need to be aware about such issues through ethical training focusing on any harmless and
small misuse of the Internet effecting an organisation. So, it is essential to do the right thing
every time even at the time of technology temptations overwhelming better judgements of
employees. Furthermore, through focusing on such technologies, it is also important to train
employees for keeping the information of business confidential and secured along with
getting aware about the security information systems in the workplace where employees
required being careful (Katz, Lopez, & LaVan, 2017).
Further, there is a vital need of harassment prevention through promising practices
where employers adopt and recognize measures proactively along with broad variety
execution of innovative and creative approaches to correct and prevent harassment (Dobbin
& Kalev, 2019). The core principles for addressing and preventing harassment effectively are
identified as consistent and demonstrated accountability, engaging and committed leadership,
comprehensive and strong harassment policies, accessible and trusted complaint procedures,
and interactive and regular training tailoring to the company and the audience that requires

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responding at the time of workplace harassment with legal requirements under laws of federal
employment discrimination enhancing compliance efforts of employers (Wilgus & Lowery,
2018). Thus, such ethical issues are under the legislation where there is a presence of some
legal issues as well such as physical work settings affecting employees performance severally
consisting noise levels, temperature, work area size, lighting and materials kinds used for
making effect on working of employees through these factors by the government along with
necessity of understanding health and safety issues of employee as well within the workplace
environment.
Ethical Theories
In the economy, modern business companies face numerous ethical issues at the time
of operating in complex market. Though, there are system issues, corporate issues and
individual issues and here the discussion is about the issue of discrimination and harassment
in the workplace within employee experiences. This issue is analysed through applying
ethical theories such as utilitarian and deontology for creating better outcomes by employers
while taking decision. Utilitarianism theories focus on ethics determination after taking action
towards the probable outcomes of the decision (Okechukwu, Souza, Davis, & de Castro,
2013). However, deontological theories examine the ethics with looking towards the actions
processing while decision. Utilitarianism is termed as an important ethical principle weighing
social benefits and costs that is advocating maximum utility. There is an assumption of this
theory about quantities of benefits producing through an action causing harm that can be
overtaken by actions that are the most beneficial resulting ultimately in the minimum costs or
maximum benefits. Furthermore, the concern of this principle is to upholds the distributing
justice burdens and benefits among individuals fairly and their rights to well-being and
choice freedom. There is a consideration of being this as a powerful and strong principle for
being liberal and its general applicability of making this attractive (Playford, Roberts, &

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Playford, 2015). At the time of measuring utility, utilitarian principle fall short involving
costs and benefits in decisions as well. In case of ethical issues, this theory defines the justice
and rights applicable in every situation lacking while the prevention of such an issue due to
the reason of moral rights acquired by every individual allowing to take an elevated decision
adding pleasure that is not measurable in terms of quantity.
The challenges associated with discrimination and harassment in the workplace can
be analysed by application of the principles of the Utilitarianism Theory. Since this theory
focuses on achieving positive outcome for a greater number of people, it also focuses on
protecting the rights of employees to make sure that there fundamental rights are not violated
in the workplace. As per Utilitarianism Theory, consequences are analysed in order to
determine whether particular actions are ethical or not (Gokce, 2017). When it comes to
discrimination or harassment in the workplace, there are many individuals who face negative
consequences as the result of these illegal practices. Victims of discrimination or harassment
could suffer from mental disorders which affects their ability to perform day-to-day tasks or
live a healthy lifestyle. It also negatively affects their family members and friends since they
find it difficult to maintain a healthy social life in both workplace and home. It shows that
these illegal actions did not achieve “greater happiness for a large number of people” and
they have negative outcomes based on which these actions are considered as unethical as per
the guidelines given under the Utilitarianism Theory (Itai, Inoue, & Kodama, 2016).
On the other hand, Deontology Theory focuses on duties rather than consequences
while determining whether certain actions are ethical or not. The theory argues that an
individual should avoid violating their duties in order to engage in ethical practices. People
who engage in discrimination or harassment in the workplace breaches their moral as well as
professional duties while also engaging in illegal; practices. Any type of discrimination
between employees in the workplace is also strictly prohibited under the law (Schauster,

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Walker, & Duffy, 2018). For example, the US government has introduced a number of anti-
discrimination laws which protect employees from discriminatory practices while also
imposing obligations on their employer to make sure that they provide them reasonable
accommodation. These laws are enforced by the EEOC in order to make sure that proper
investigations are conducted in these matters and employees receive proper compensation for
their loss. The commission prohibited employers or other individuals from discriminating
employees in terms of race, colour, religion, sex, gender, national origin and others. Since an
individual violates these duties and laws, these actions are considered as unethical and they
have negative outcomes based on Deontology Theory (Turner, Wagner, & Cabana, 2018).
Areas of Law
There are different relevant areas of law which provides different guidelines regarding
elimination of discrimination and harassment in the workplace. A good example is
employment laws which are implemented in the United States in order to protect employees
from similar practices. Employers cannot discriminate between their employees and
employees also have the right to take legal action against their employers if they face
discrimination and harassment in the workplace. These rights are also recognised under their
employment contracts (Vann & Logan, 2018). Contract law is another relevant area of law
which also protect employees from discrimination and harassment. In order to form a valid
contract, certain elements are required which includes offer acceptance, consideration,
intention, and abilities of parties to form legal contracts. In the case of employment contracts,
these elements are present which provides a right to employees to make sure that they are
able to receive proper compensation if the provisions of their employment contract are
breached as a result of discrimination or harassment (Bac, 2018). Tort law also provides
provisions which protect employees from sexual harassment and also provides provisions for
possible means through which victims can receive proper compensation. Although, damages

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are largely unavailable for employees in similar cases, especially when they have intangible
injuries; however, still the court acknowledges the need for relief from the emotional distress
which is a direct result of sexual harassment (Morris, 2016). These three areas of law
highlights different rights available for employees in case of discrimination and harassment
and how they can use those rights to protect themselves or receive compensation for their
injuries.
Recommendations
In order to address the challenges of discrimination and harassment, there are various
recommendations which companies and employers can comply with that will lead to creating
a positive workplace environment. There are both legal and ethical recommendations which
can assist top level executive in properly managing and eliminating the challenges of
discrimination and harassment in the workplace. Organisations should assist key legal
guidelines which are introduced by the government to make sure that they did not violate
them and also comply with them to avoid legal consequences. Both local as well as federal
laws should be analysed by companies while preparing employee contracts to ensure that
their provision are properly followed when workers are discharging their duties. Employment
contract should be prepared accordingly and the management should spread awareness
regarding the rights of each individual again discrimination and harassment to make sure that
they are able to protect themselves in these circumstances. The Human Resource Department
should also implement business strategies through which these incidences can be avoided and
they should also empower employees to raise their voice against these practices so that they
can be eliminated from the workplace (Maher & Youssef, 2016). Along with legal
recommendations, there are various ethical approaches which should be implemented by
companies to make sure that they eliminate discrimination and harassment from the
workplace. For example, they should comply with Utilitarian and Deontology theory and

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their principles to ensure that their business practices are ethical and they are in the interest of
their employees. The top level management should assist the consequences of their actions to
make sure that they achieve greater happiness for a large number of individuals and they
should also ensure that they comply with their duties to avoid engagement in unethical
practices (Luzon, 2017). Compliance with these recommendations will reduce liability
exposure of companies and they will be able to create an ethical climate in the workplace
which is crucial to avoid discrimination and harassment while also ensuring the protection of
employees’ rights.
Conclusion
Based on the above observations, it can be concluded that discrimination and
harassment is a serious issue that is affecting organisations and individuals on a global scale.
There are many ethical concerns which are raised due to discrimination and harassment in the
workplace which are necessary to be considered by the top level management in order to
protect the interest of employees. Employees face mental challenges, issues in the workplace,
unhealthy social life, professional barriers and other issues as a direct result of discrimination
and harassment. Based on the principles of Utilitarian and Deontology Theory, these actions
are considered unethical since they have negative consequences and they also lead to the
violation of duties respectively. Employment law, contract law and tort law provides different
provisions through which discrimination and harassment cases are handled and victims
receives proper relief. Various recommendations are given to address these issues such as
compliance with local and federal laws, spreading awareness in the workplace, analysis of
business decisions based on the principles of ethical theories and others.

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