The Legal Environment of Business

The Legal Environment of Business Author’s name Institutional Affiliation The Legal Environment of Business Executive summary Ever since the untimely demise of President Kennedy in 1963, there has been the need to ensure that the citizens of the United States have the necessary human rights required in order for them to be able to go about with their daily lives. It is quite clear that the United States is a nation which is considerably diverse, especially with regards to ethnicity, sexual orientation, as well as religion. Nonetheless, it is also imperative to note that each has the right to go about their respective daily routines without being discriminated against. It is in this regard that the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act was observed. This particular law is comprised of at least XI titles, each of which is inclined to cover a specific area of discrimination. Introduction The United States is a country with diverse individuals who are free thinkers and have a clear opinion of what they desire in life. For this exacting reason, the non-discrimination laws were fashioned in order for each to be placed in the advantageous position of realizing the “American dream.” However, it has not always been smooth sailing, principally with regards to equality and gender orientation perceptions (Gold, 2001). For instance, in Europe, the acknowledgment of discrimination emerged from a considerably different background. Nonetheless, the myriad lessons learned from the US experiences on discrimination highly favored and enriched the current debate that is present in Europe (Mercat-Bruns & Holt, 2016). Since the inception of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, there has been a drastic transformation in the development of anti-discrimination. This was mainly achieved with the “Bakke” landmark decision in 1978, where there was a massive change in the opinions of the American citizenry, with regards to anti-discrimination and discrimination laws as well as the rights of the minority communities (Mercat-Bruns & Holt, 2016). Additionally, it is also imperative to note that during the 1950s, when the civil rights movement was in its climax, which subsequently led to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, there was an impressive white resistance, by those who held sufficiently strong biases and those who believed in white supremacy. This in actuality meant that there existed factions who believed in white supremacy and those who held conservative notions and espoused that equality was a good thing, but not with regards to black-Americans as they were not perceived as being equal to whites, especially with regards to patriotism, loyalty, morals, honesty, or even intelligence (Mercat-Bruns & Holt, 2016). This particular paper will, therefore, endeavor to elucidate on the relevance and importance of anti-discrimination laws, while at the same time attempt to comprehend whether one has a right t public life with regards to access to various services as well as employment without the fear of being discriminated against. The paper will also attempt to address the extent to which classes of individuals ought to be entitled to these rights and how one can place the said rights with regards to a business owner or business. Discussion As mentioned earlier, it is against the law under the United States Federal Law to show favoritism against any given employee, either through a disparate impact or on purpose, on account of their sexual orientation, pregnancy, age, national origin, disability, religion, genetic information, race, or color (Harpur, 2017). Also, it is also against the law for an employer to hassle a member of staff on the grounds of the aforementioned protected characteristics. Suffice to mention that the retaliation against a given employee due to the verity that they complained concerning discrimination, viz a viz, an employee took part in an employment discrimination investigation or the said employee filed a charge of discrimination (Ronalds & Pepper, 2004). It is important to note that, this particular entity of Federal law usually covers some employers who have at least 15 employees, and to a greater extent some employment agencies and labor unions are covered as well. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 saw the ratification of some titles. For instance, Title VII explicitly proscribes against discriminating applicants and employees on account of their religion, sex, national origin, color, and race. This particular title, as well as other Federal discrimination laws, also endeavors to protect workers from employer retribution for assisting in investigations concerning discrimination (Lau, 2018). Discrimination of individuals in public places is also outlawed since public places, albeit others being private are intended to serve the general public. A good example of such discrimination in a public place is the Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, 584 U.S. (2018). In this particular instance, the defendant, Masterpiece Cakeshop, adamantly declined to provide a wedding cake to a gay duo o the grounds that the owner’s religious beliefs did not allow him to acknowledge the act of same-sex marriage (Parks, 2019). This raised a considerable amount of concern as the Colorado anti-discrimination Act, subsequently realized that Masterpiece Cakeshop had indeed singled out David Mullins and Charlie Craig. The same was the case of Obergefell v. Hodges, 135 S. Ct. 2534 (2015). With this regard, the petitioners from four states, namely, Tennessee, Ohio, Kentucky, and Michigan, who were of same-sex orientation collectively filed suit regarding the laws that define marriage in their respective states. These particular states collectively defined marriage as being “the union between one man and one woman” (Thornton & OAPEN Foundation, 2010). It is therefore adequate to mention that discrimination is a traumatizing issue which does not appeal to any human being. Importance and relevance of anti-discrimination laws in the U.S The United States Supreme Court’s ruling regarding gender equality characterizes real progress for both women and men in the lobbying of gender equality. Conversely, in the U.S, it is inclined to strengthen some constitutional protections against sexual and racial discrimination; this inevitably means that the sexist rights stipulations of the Federal Immigration and Nationality Act can no longer currently be applied with this respect (Crouch, 2001). Suffice to mention that, anti-discrimination regulations are inclined to safeguard certain assemblages today and of all humans in the future to come. The significance of these said laws could not be unassuming; this is due to the verity that without them, any individual, at any given time may decide to discriminate a certain group of individuals for any given reason under the sun. It is imperative to note that, by basically having these laws in existence, we are placed at an advantageous point of preventing future discrimination (Thornton & OAPEN Foundation, 2010). Conversely, those who may desire to discriminate in manners that are not yet prevented by legislation may not make it due to the legislation that is presently in place. Notably, the most indispensable laws tend to overt discrimination on the foundation color, race, national origin, sex, as well as religion. Subsequent laws are inclined to prevent discrimination on the foundations of disability and age (Ronalds & Pepper, 2004). These set up laws assist in making certain that discrimination will not likely take place again. The legislation that is put in place is also inclined to protect individuals and also protect individuals as a whole to ensure that we live in a free society. However, unusual as it may seem the promotion of gender equality has the propensity of making good business sense; for instance, a Gender Equity Model, otherwise known as the GEM 2003 model, was developed as well as tested in Mexico by at least 57 firms. These firms additionally had at least 250,000 working staff (Portilla, 2016). This particular model proved to be a success for promoting gender equity in the private sector in that it improved the communication between the management and staff by at least 23%, it enhanced the labor environment within the organization by 31%, there was an increased number of women holding managerial positions, there was also a reduction in the gap in salary, there was an improvement productivity, and additionally, there was a decrease in maternity-related discrimination within the organization (Parks, 2019). Another importance of anti-discrimination laws is that they are imperative in the efforts involved in fighting racism. As before mentioned, during the 1950s Civil Rights Movements, a number of black-Americans in the United States faced a lot of atrocities, viz a viz, assault by the same police, which was put in place to protect and serve all Americans, to the Ku Klax Klan’s inclinations and beliefs that white supremacy was a significant thing, and that black-Americans were supposed to be gotten rid of (Mercat-Bruns & Holt, 2016). Even though it has been a slow and long fight, the myriad anti-discrimination laws which have been put in place have ensured that vices such as racism are not tolerated within the United States. Anti-discrimination legislation is also considered critical as they make certain that equal opportunity is given to each who is residing in the United States. A considerable number of equal opportunity policies have been put in place in order to ensure that no person is discriminated from securing a job, regardless of their race, sexual orientation, religion, age, gender, disability, and national origin (Loenen & RodriМЃguez, 1999). This has in turn made sure that individuals in the U.S are able to get jobs in any given institution and not be discriminated against. Additionally, equal opportunity policies are inclined to assist in minimizing uncertainty as well as confusion among both managers and staff of a given organization. This is due to the verity that the set polices tend to make available a significantly solid foundation in which to build a respectful, productive, and safe working environment. The assurance that individuals can conduct themselves in a free and fair manner is also another importance of anti-discrimination legislation (Lau, 2018). A good example, as earlier mentioned is the case of Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, 584 U.S. (2018) where the owner of a Colorado bakery known simply as Phillips refused to sell same a sex couple a wedding cake because his religious inclination did not permit him to do so. It is in this respect that the couple decided to file a formal charge under the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act, which forbids businesses which engage in any sales to the community from not selling to any person due to their sexual orientation (Harpur, 2017). It is therefore essential to note that the anti-discri...