Evaluate the overall importance of OSHA. Does OSHA offer enough protection or does it overregulate the safety of workers? Support your response with specific details from the selected news story.
How should HR be involved in the administration of OSHA at work and the safety of employees?
- Review Eliminating Bias From Performance AppraisalsLinks to an external site.. Then please respond to the following:
Explore the articleâs examples of bias and select two you feel might be especially problematic during the performance evaluation process in organizations.
Explain your choice, and be specific.
3.In this discussion, you will look at how compliance with employment laws about termination can create challenges for organizations. To begin, select two of the following acts:
National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).
Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act.
Reduction in Force (Age).
Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA).
Older Workers Benefit Protection Act (OWBPA).
Then, please respond to the following:
What major challenges could each of your selected acts cause within an organization? Focus on two challenges from each selected act.
Outline a plan to prevent those challenges from adversely affecting the organization or employees. Justify your response.
Sample Answer
Let’s break down these HR-related topics: OSHA, performance appraisal bias, and employment law compliance.
1. OSHA’s Importance and HR’s Role
- OSHA’s Overall Importance:
- OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) plays a vital role in ensuring safe and healthy working conditions for employees.
- Its importance lies in:
- Setting and enforcing safety standards.
- Providing training and education.
- Conducting inspections to identify and address hazards.
- Reducing workplace injuries, illnesses, and fatalities.
Full Answer Section
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- Whether OSHA offers enough protection or overregulates is a subject of debate.
- Proponents argue that OSHA standards are necessary to protect workers from potentially life-threatening hazards.
- Critics argue that some regulations are overly burdensome and stifle business growth.
- The correct amount of regulation is always a balancing act.
- To support an opinion regarding OSHA effectiveness, one would need to look at specific news stories detailing OSHA actions, and the results of those actions. Statistics regarding workplace injuries before, and after OSHA regulations were put into place, are also very helpful.
- HR’s Role in OSHA Administration:
- HR should be actively involved in:
- Developing and implementing safety policies and procedures.
- Providing safety training to employees.
- Maintaining accurate records of workplace injuries and illnesses.
- Conducting internal safety audits.
- Serving as a liaison between the organization and OSHA.
- Investigating workplace accidents and incidents.
- Ensuring that the company is always in compliance with all OSHA regulations.
- Promoting a culture of safety throughout the organization.
2. Eliminating Bias From Performance Appraisals
- Problematic Biases:
- Halo Effect:
- This occurs when a manager’s overall impression of an employee influences their evaluation of specific performance areas.
- For example, if an employee is generally likeable, a manager might rate them highly in all areas, even if their performance is inconsistent.
- This is especially problematic because it obscures the true performance of the employee. It makes it impossible to see areas that need improvement.
- Recency Bias:
- This bias leads managers to focus on an employee’s most recent performance, rather than their performance over the entire evaluation period.
- For example, an employee who had a strong performance at the end of the year might receive a higher rating than an employee who had consistently good performance throughout the year.
- This is problematic because it does not provide an accurate representation of the employees work. It also can create a situation where employees only focus on short term goals.
3. Employment Law Compliance and Termination Challenges
- National Labor Relations Act (NLRA):
- Challenges:
- Retaliatory Termination: Terminating an employee for engaging in protected concerted activity (e.g., discussing working conditions) can lead to NLRA violations.
- Union Organizing: Terminating an employee during a union organizing campaign can be seen as interference with employees’ rights.
- Prevention Plan:
- Implement clear policies that protect employees’ rights to engage in protected concerted activity.
- Train managers on NLRA compliance.
- Document all performance-related issues thoroughly.
- When dealing with union activity, insure all actions are reviewed by legal council.
- Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA):
- Challenges:
- Disparate Impact: Termination policies that disproportionately affect older workers can be considered discriminatory.
- Forced Retirement: Requiring older employees to retire can violate the ADEA.
- Prevention Plan:
- Conduct regular reviews of termination policies to ensure they are age-neutral.
- Provide training to managers on age discrimination awareness.
- Offer voluntary retirement packages instead of forced retirement.
- Document all performance related issues.
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