Running Head: DISCRIMINATION LAWS 1
Discrimination Laws: Advantages and Disadvantages for Employees and Business
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According to Lambin (2014), market systems are geared towards ensuring that there
exists a viable economic activity driven by the crucial relevant market players, which helps drive
the country's economic activities. In the United States (US), majorities of critical participants
control the country’s market system and in turn influence the country’s economy. These players
have become accustomed to privileges and freedoms over time in the ways they do business
especially concerning the hiring of employees. The case of Abercrombie & Fitch highlights some
of the hidden opportunities held by companies regarding the hiring of employees and
susceptibility to discrimination that such companies may get away with. The failure to
accommodate employees based on their attire or practices are some of the privileges that
companies are afforded in the US and often used to discriminate persons looking to be hired.
The Economist (2015) notes that Justice Scalia explained that the Title VII of the Civil
Rights Act forbids discrimination based on religion when making employment decisions. This
law implies that employment decisions should not be bias or discriminatory to religion or any
other accommodations but provide free and fair opportunities to all the persons who are qualified
to perform the tasks and roles that meet the vacant position’s demands. Employment
discrimination is prevalent in America since the legalities of the accommodations allowed by
several companies are often within the confines of the law and difficult to argue against.
The present laws in the country allow for screening of employees during the hiring
process to provide the employer with prior information and background for the persons they
intend to hire. However, screening exposes the job seeker to discrimination based on several
factors including but not limited to; prior convictions, their social media life, wage demands,
religious beliefs, attire, and appearances. Since the employers are allowed to scrutinize their
information on various platforms and the prospective employee being obliged to disclose most of
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their information, employers may or may not be biased with their selections, or discriminate
based on an attribute they do not like.
Despite the concerns of discrimination in the US concerning the hiring of employees, the
most significant interest lies in the allowed regulations involved in the hiring process of
employees in the free market system in the country. In such a competitive environment, there is a
constant need to do whatever possible to gain profit, which leads to some companies violating
some ethical principles and morals in doing business. Unethical practices include the
discrimination of individual persons and denying them employment due to specific factors the
employer dislikes despite falling within the moral confines of the society. Cavico, Muffler, and
Mujtaba (2012) argue that discrimination in hiring personnel is a moral wrong since it violates a
person’s dignity and respect. According to Kant’s Deontology, moral good is achieved by
treating people with respect without denying them dignity or independence that allows them to
exist within a social context (Slote, 2014).
The economic system in the US has created an environment whereby the hiring of
employees is a crucial procedure and companies often approach the process with the need to
have an extra advantage with the ultimate goal being making of profit. On one hand, the process
of hiring employees has become more detailed with additional checks and background checks
being run on applicants to determine the best fit for the employer. On the other hand, these
checks have been used to discriminate against applicants based on religion, gender, race,
appearances and many other factors (). The violation of rights and privileges of persons has
become prevalent since the law allows the screening of employees and background checks to be
performed for any applicant. As much as such some corporations are to blame for the increased
discrimination in hiring of employees, the legal system and the legislation of the country are
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equally to blame. Discrimination is unethical and immoral since it violates the rights and
privileges of a person to live in a free and fair society.
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References
Cavico, F. J., Muffler, S. C., & Mujtaba, B. G. (2012). Sexual orientation and gender identity
discrimination in the American workplace: Legal and ethical considerations.
International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 2(1), 1-20.
Lambin, J. J. (2014). Rethinking the Market Economy. Symphonya. Emerging Issues in
Management (symphonya. unimib. it), 2, 4-15.
Slote, M. (2014). Virtue ethics and moral sentimentalism. In The Handbook of Virtue Ethics (pp.
61-71). Routledge.
The Economist. (2015). Bias unveiled. [online] Available at:
[Link]
[Accessed 24 Apr. 2018].