Notes

Interpreting Complex concepts as a Human Resource manager is one of the duties and responsibilities that should be effectively grasped. And as a Human Resource manager, you are looked up to by other managers as a resource person for clarification and interpretation of complex employment laws like employment discrimination and workplace harassment.
In California, for example, under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), workplace harassment is a situation wherein someone at the workplace is mistreated by a coworker because of their race, gender, origin, sexuality or otherwise in ways that are outside of the job description (Acevedo, C., n.d.). Employment discrimination under California law takes place wherein an employment organization treats some staff differently based on certain forbidden categories “while performing acts that ARE part of the job description of the person committing discrimination” (Acevedo, C., n.d.).
As a manager, the most challenging concepts that will be tough to grasp in a training development session will be to differentiate between workplace harassment and employment discrimination. As indicated above, both concepts mentioned earlier look similar because they are aspects of workplace harassment and involve behaviors that are outside the normal norms of the job description of the individual committing the outlawed behavior. Harassment can be viewed as another type of workplace bullying that takes place through interpersonal contact which is not sanctioned by the employer (Acevedo, C., n.d.).
How workplace harassment and employment discrimination differ?
Under FEHA, discrimination and harassment differ. Harassment is a bias related to sex, race, religion, et al, which is expressed through interpersonal contact at the workplace and discrimination on the other hand, is a bias conveyed through actions while officially employed (Acevedo, C., n.d.).
If, for example, a corporate law firm has no options, but to sack half of its paralegals in the midst of an economic recession and those making the sacking decision are all white while those laid off are people of color, but leave a white paralegal on the job, such actions could be interpreted as racially-biased and tantamount to employment discrimination (Acevedo, C., n.d.).
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Strategies on how to prevent workplace harassment and discrimination
It often becomes difficult for a Human Resource professional to explain complex employment laws to other managers. This is so because the employment laws are legal issues that sometimes have not only legal implications, but legal jargons which should be broken down for the layman to understand. This is a challenge that HR professionals face in training other managers.
Heathfield, S. M. (2019, September 7), postulates that in employment discrimination lawsuits, the looser is always the organization because public reputation is reduced. However, the greatest strategy to avoid such lawsuits is to create a work culture and setting for employees that is diverse and frowns at any form of employment discrimination because it is very important for the organization’s success (Heathfield, S. M., 2019, September 7).
References:
Acevedo, C. (n.d.). Shouse Law Group. Retrieved October 3, 2019, from https://www.shouselaw.com/employment/harassment-vs-discrimination.html.
Heathfield, S. M. (2019, September 7). Here Are Tips On How Employers Can Prevent Discrimination Lawsuits. Retrieved October 3, 2019, from https://www.thebalancecareers.com/prevent-employment-discrimination-and-lawsuits-1917923.