Page 362 - Discrimination at Work The Psychological and Organizational Bases

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Using Law and Psychology
to Inform Our Knowledge

of Discrimination

Ramona L. Paetzold
Texas ABM University

When is discrimination illegal? This is a question with an evolving an­
swer, changing not only as new protected classes are added, but also as
time progresses. Both judicial and Congressional pronouncements have
changed the face of employment discrimination law over the last 40 years,
with changes occurring in the disparate treatment and disparate impact
models of discrimination and the addition of the reasonable accommoda­
tion and hostile environment models of discrimination. Refinements in the
law of discrimination do not necessarily reflect the current knowledge of
the psychological processes underlying discrimination. Moreover, the re­
search in I/O, HR, and other behavioral sciences is out of touch in several
respects with the law. I demonstrate in this chapter that research in HR/OB
and psychology has important implications for discrimination law, yield­
ing opportunities for experts in these areas to inform the legal system on
this important topic. I also note that researchers in these areas should be
more mindful of legal reasoning—even statistical issues reflecting legal
reasoning—so that some of their research can directly address questions of
importance to the interpretation and enforcement of discrimination law.
In essence, the key issues embodied in the models of discrimination
have been framed by a few essential cases upon which I will rely in my
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