Running head: FAIR HIRING PRACTICE

Fair Hiring Practice

Deric Batt
Ball State University

FAIR HIRING PRACTICE

Fair Hiring Practice

Biases and prejudice are indisputably a part of our culture. Although
much effort has been made and ground gained in the battle against
discrimination, it is still abundantly clear that prejudice exist within most, if
not all, aspects of our society. One notorious manner in which this ugly
aspect of society presents itself is in functions of filling vacancies, be they
housing or employment. One solution to these forms of discrimination in
employment is fair hiring regulations.
Fair hiring, also called fair employment, is based on the hiring of
individuals by their ability and skill, working towards equality and against
discrimination by race, creed, sexual orientation, etc. (Merriam-Webster,
n.d.). In the United States, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission is responsible for enforcing federal laws related to fair hiring
practices (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, n.d. A). This
organization enforces many federal laws, such as:
1. The Equal Pay Act of 1963 This bill makes it illegal to pay men and
women different wages for the same work. (U.S. Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission, n.d.D)
2. Title I of the American with Disabilities Act of 1990 This bill makes it
illegal to discriminate against a person with a disability in all
employment opportunities, both public and private, given they fit the
criteria for the position otherwise. (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission, n.d.C)

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3. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 This law makes it

illegal to discriminate against individuals over the age of 40 in any
employment opportunity due to their age (barring the presence of
relevant deficiencies) (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission, n.d.B)
These issues have a clear relationship to social work when viewed
through the lens of social and economic justice. Populations, such as
those listed above, which are often underrepresented politically, can tend
to be overlooked. When we refuse to hire, say, an individual with a
disability merely for the fact that they are disabled, with no relationship to
their ability to do the actual job, we create an environment in which these
people are now unequal. These pieces of legislation attempt to restore the
social standing of these groups. While it is easy to think these bills do this
by making it illegal to not hire these individuals due to their status, it is
also worth noting that these legislations also allow individuals from these
groups to prove themselves as effective at their work as anyone else.
Ultimately, this all comes back to economic justice. The ability to work,
it could be argued, is the ability to control ones own economic future. At
the base level, outlawing discrimination based on these factors allows
individuals to earn their keep and position themselves, as everyone else
tries to do, to move up on the socioeconomic ladder. This is also achieved

FAIR HIRING PRACTICE

through things like the Fair Pay Act, which mandates women are paid
equal to the work they do, not the gender they are.
In the end, these pieces of legislation ensure that biases and
prejudices do not dictate the socioeconomic fate of an individual. By
allowing individuals to directly combat injustices of prejudice in court, we
allow them an avenue to fight discrimination and enforce the kind of
equality that ensures those with skill, regardless of unrelated matters, can
achieve as much as their ability allows. This is perhaps the epitome of
social justice.

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Reference
Merriam-Webster. (n.d.) Fair employment. Retrieved from
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fair%20employment
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (n.d.A) About the EEOC:
Overview. Retrieved from http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (n.d.B) The age
discrimination in employment act of 1967. Retrieved from
http://www.eeoc.gov/laws/statutes/adea.cfm
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (n.d.C) Title I and V of the
Americans with disabilities act of 1990. Retrieved from
http://www.eeoc.gov/laws/statutes/ada.cfm
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (n.d.D) The Equal pay act
of 1963. Retrieved from http://www.eeoc.gov/laws/statutes/epa.cfm