An Examination of the Role of the Human Resources Profession in the Organizational Life of Discrimination Law

Montana State University, Bozeman MT

Investigators

Abstract

Human Resources Personnel (HRPs) play an increasingly significant role in the implementation of equal employment opportunity (EEO) law. These professionals are important intra-organizational, quasi-legal decision makers operating under conditions of uncertainty and risk, conflicting normative orders, and structural constraint and contradiction. This project is one of the first sociolegal studies to address the work of HRPs ethnographically, that is, through extended in situ observation, in-depth interviews, and analysis of organizational archival records of HRPs at matched pairs of firms selected for variation on two key theoretical dimensions (size and regulatory environment). As such, it builds a more nuanced scientific understanding of the processes of decision making in complex and risky legal environments, adds to the constructive implementation of employment law, to the development of effective EEO organizational policy, and to the effective training and subsequent performance of HR personnel. The research will be of substantial interest to lawmakers, judges, practicing attorneys, and the HR profession itself.