Martina Navratilova (2013) said: “Disability is a matter of perception. If you can just do one thing well, you’re needed by someone.
” With an estimated three hundred billion people in the United States, it would be impossible to find two people exactly alike. Differences are what set people apart from one another. This allows employers to select from a vast array of characters.As a company operating within the United States, as oppose to Belgium, it is imperative that Pomodoro’s policies and procedures align with certain U. S laws and regulations in employment. One such law is the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 ,” (Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 1990), which “prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in employment, State and local government, public accommodations, commercial facilities, transportation, and telecommunications,” (Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 1990).
Although the Americans with Disabilities Act was somewhat controversial at the onset, it is the law that is crucial to level the playing field for disabled people, to the prohibition of prejudice against the disabled and to make employers understand the implications for non compliance with the laws within the act. Summary of American with Disabilities Act Americans with Disabilities Act was initiated to give people with disabilities a fighting chance once entering the work field.By giving people a fighting chance, employers level the playing field, which means that employees have an equal chance to succeed and that they follow the same rules (Boyes, 2013). Leveling the playing field can mean employers providing accommodations for employees with disabilities, as small as a stepping stool and as big as the ability to telecommute from home; even at a larger scale, employers can modify the building by providing ramps for handicap employees to providing handicap parking. For instance, if a disabled employee is partially blind, the company could provide a larger computer screen to help the employee see well.The idea is to ensure that disabled employees do not experience any undue hardships while employed at any giving location.
Employers can get the maximum productivity from their disabled work force if they provide the right accommodations. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, an organization that enforces the ADA law, gives state or federal tax credits or deductions to employers to help cover the expenses of providing accommodations, which helps alleviate any economic hardships ("ADA," 2008).Providing these accommodations can be quite extensive, but with the financial support of the EEOC, meeting this requirement, as outlined in sections 4. 6 and 4.
8 of the law, will not be as difficult ("ADA accessibility guidelines," 2002). Conversely, by leveling the playing field, disabled people are not given an advantage over non-disabled people. Moreover, each employee does not have free reign to be prejudice to the other regardless of a disability. Comparison of Americans with Disabilities Act and Employment Equality DirectiveRecently, Pomodoro Inc merged with Thomson Snack Food.
Prior to the subsume of Thomson Snack Food, both companies operated under different laws: Pomodoro operated under the Employment Equality Directive (EED), enforced by the European Commission, and Thomson Snack Food operated under the American with Disabilities Act (ADA), enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The EED protects disabled citizens living in the 11 countries that are part of the European Union, much like the ADA protects disabled citizens in the U. S.Both laws prohibit discrimination in employment against qualified individuals because of their disability and both laws have an agency that enforces the law, as mentioned earlier.
The EED also protects other individuals besides the disabled by “prohibiting discrimination on grounds of religion and belief, age, and sexual orientation,” ("The employment equality directive," 2008). Additionally, both laws required that employers provide reasonable accommodations to disabled employees to ensure that they are able to perform their job without undue hardship, as efficiently as their non-disabled coworkers.While the Equal Employment Opportunity Commissions helps individuals present a claim on possible violation of the law, the European Commission requires their citizens to file a complaint directly through their national court without help from the organization. Now that the companies have merged as one, it will be operating under the ADA, so it is important to create a work culture and environment that aligns with this law.
Work Culture and EnvironmentCreating a work culture and environment that helps deter prejudice is vital to building a successful company. With the recent merger, expansion of organic snacks and the work force is foreseeable. Though “Employers may reject applicants or fire employees who are a direct threat to the health and safety of others. ” the company wants to ensure equal opportunities to all who apply for positions with the company ("U. S Department of Health & Human Services," 2005). The human resource department will pick from a qualified pool of candidates to offer employment.
Because of the Americans with Disabilities Act, qualified employees with disabilities stand an equal chance to be hired against those without a disability. Furthermore, during employment, disabled people should be given the opportunities for advancement just the same. For example, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission outlines best practices for hiring disabled people to work for their respective States ("Final report on best practices for the employment of people with disabilities in State Government," 2005).One best practice is to increase the pool of qualified candidates through public awareness campaigns ("Final report on best practices for the employment of people with disabilities in State Government," 2005). Another best practice is to offer on-the-job-training to disabled individuals who may not perform well on assessments ("Final report on best practices for the employment of people with disabilities in State Government," 2005).
Once disabled individuals are hired, employers should work to ensure their rights are protected.Some best practices that help employers protect their rights are going over career expectations, evaluating their interests and skills to develop personalized goals, encouraging professional and leadership development, and mentoring through training opportunities ("Final report on best practices for the employment of people with disabilities in State Government," 2005). However, the company should not fear discrimination lawsuits when making decisions to discharge an employee when the employee is not meeting expectations of the company.While continuing to adhere to the act, Pomodoro will avoid unnecessary and costly disability discrimination lawsuits right from the beginning of hire. Having a policy in place will assist the company in moving forward in the food distribution field. While growing from a smaller company to a large one will be an adjustment, assisting to educate, rehabilitate, and employ qualified individuals with disabilities without prejudice is a service to the American society.
Compliance Versus Non-ComplianceThe Americans with Disabilities Act has stiff penalties but requires employers to understand the implications for non- compliance with the statues within it. To ensure compliance both employee and employer need to be educated U. S ADA regulations in employment. To do that Pomodoro human resource department will scrutinize the act to offer trainings to all employees.
Options for this training include creating a power presentation to showcase the details of the law, as well as quizzes and/or exams to ensure understanding of the law.On-going training will include written correspondences via monthly newsletters and/or email updates. Lastly, new employees will go through orientation where they will receive the employee handbook that includes information on the act and their responsibilities for following the regulation. Ensuring that employees are following the regulation is vitally important to the company’s well being. Non-compliance can lead to drastic ramifications to include court litigation, high attorney fees, and punitive damages.
Additionally, those employees that violate this law can be penalized with a written warning and even up to termination.Pomodoro has another responsibility to not only ensure that employees are following the regulation, but that any training provided is current with any amendments that have been passed. The U. S.
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is an organization that enforces and monitors employer compliance of the ADA. Furthermore, qualified individuals with disabilities, who feel that they have been discriminated against because of their disability, have the ability to file a complaint directly with the EEOC, at which point, an investigation will take place.If the EEOC finds that the individual’s compliant is accurate, the investigated company faces incredible punitive damages, as mentioned earlier. Therefore, it is important for Pomodoro to keep up with changes to the ADA and provide training on those changes as they happen. The EEOC provides regular updates of changes to the ADA, so employers have easy access to the information and can relay the information to their employees. ("About EEOC," 2013).
ConclusionThe American with Disabilities Act of 1990 provides equal opportunity for qualified individuals with disabilities to be granted employment and protects those individuals from discrimination. It opens the doors for more diverse employees and builds a positive and cooperative cultural environment, which always has an impact affirmative impact any given company’s success. Americans with Disabilities Act is the law that is vital to give the disabled a fighting chance in the work force, allows disabled the rights to not be discriminated against, and to ensure Pomodoro understands the repercussions for not abiding by the laws within the act.Without this act, many qualified individuals with disabilities could remain unemployed, which negatively impacts the U. S.
economy. Pomodoro has a great responsibility to educate not only the international employees, but U. S employees on the ADA regulation. The company wants to teach in a manner that respects everyone’s culture yet still abides by us laws.
Pomodoro wants to continue to thrive as new employees join the Pomodoro family, including international employees.
