Discrimination Law Issues for the Safety Professional

Written for safety professionals, this book provides general knowledge of the various laws and regulations that offer protection to employees and individuals against discrimination in the workplace. It takes a proactive approach to identifying situations where potential discrimination against an employee or individual may occur, and provides guidance on how to take immediate action to address the potential discriminatory situation. The book discusses new laws and amendments to existing laws, and illustrates the filing process for claims. Chapters cover the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Equal Pay Act of 1963, and the Pregnancy Discrimination Act.

Safety professionals communicate, directly and indirectly with a large number of employees and others on a daily basis. While not lawyers, they regularly deal with legal issues. A subset of their responsibilities includes how to discuss safety without crossing the discriminatory line. To do this, they need an understanding of discrimination laws. Discrimination Law Issues for the Safety Professional gives them exactly that. It provides general knowledge of the laws and regulations that offer protection to employees and individuals against discrimination in the workplace.

Created by safety expert Thomas Schneid, specifically for safety professionals, the book takes a proactive approach to identifying situations where potential discrimination against an employee or individual may occur, and supplies guidance on how to take immediate action to address the potential discriminatory situation. Schneid also identifies "red flag" situations where potential discrimination against an employee or individual may surface and safety professionals should proceed with caution. Once they can recognize these red flags, they can take immediate action to address the potential discriminatory situation.

Although many texts address discrimination in the workplace, very few, if any, educate individuals and employers on how to prevent acts and omissions in the workplace that can result in discrimination from a safety perspective. With the multitude of laws and regulations addressing the prohibition of discrimination in the workplace, often legal actions result from individuals and employers simply not being knowledgeable in the requirements of the law. Written in clear, plain language, not legalese or business speak, this book delineates the procedures that safety professionals need to know in the area of labor, employment, and other laws impacting the safety function.