DISCUSSION 1

Protected Classes and Employment Laws [WLO: 1] [CLOs: 1, 5]

There are various federal and state employment and labor laws protecting both employees and employers. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is the federal agency responsible for interpreting, investigating, and enforcing federal employment laws against workplace discrimination. In Week 2, you considered the legal components in a job description. In Week 4, you analyzed forms of discrimination when conducting a performance appraisal. For this discussion, you will look at protected classes identified by the EEOC. Protected classes are groups of people with common characteristics that are legally protected from employment discrimination.

In your initial post,

• Describe three protected classes and the laws that exist to protect them.
• Explain how the EEOC investigates complaints of discrimination against a protected individual.
• Discuss how employers can prevent and respond to allegations of employment discrimination.

Your initial post should be a minimum of 300 words and cite at least one scholarly source to support your response.

DISCUSSION 2

The Future of HRM [WLO: 2] [CLOs: 1, 2, 3]

Prior to beginning work on this discussion, read Chapter 10 from the course text and the report Future Insights: Top Trends Affecting the Workplace and the HR Profession According to SHRM Special Expertise Panels (Links to an external site.) and the articles The 2018 Human Resources Trends to Keep on Your Radar (Links to an external site.) and Protected Classes in Employment Discrimination (Links to an external site.). Emerging trends have defined and affected the future of HRM in terms of competencies, demographics, and practices. Some of the emerging trends in HRM include globalization, generational diversity, skills gap, sustainability, technology, social media, big data, and legislation.

Select one of the emerging trends above and discuss the effect on

• managers and HR professionals (functions and practices),
• talent acquisition (recruiting, developing, and retaining employees), and
• performance management (training and development).

Your initial post must be a minimum of 300 words. Cite at least one scholarly source to support your response.