Class 6 Legal Environment of Work: Intentional Discrimination, Whistleblowing, and Affirmative Action

Vocabulary terms and legal definitions covering whistleblowing, intentional discrimination, ADA inquiries, BFOQs, affirmative action guidelines, and employment-at-will principles.

Whistleblower Protection Act

A law protecting employees who disclose violations, mismanagement, abuse of authority, or dangers to public safety, provided the employee holds a reasonable good faith belief.

Reasonable Good Faith Belief

The standard of belief an employee must possess regarding a claim to receive whistleblower or anti-retaliation protection, without needing to prove the underlying claim itself.

Causation (in Whistleblower/Retaliation Claims)

The requirement that an employee prove an adverse employment action (e.g., being discharged shortly after complaining about lack of overtime pay) resulted directly from their protected activity.

Job Duties Limitation (Whistleblower Protection)

A legal restriction establishing that disclosures or complaints cannot be protected under whistleblower laws if they are part of the employee's regular job duties.

Stereotype-Based Discrimination

Unlawful discriminatory decision-making based on assumptions not tied to the actual abilities of an employee (such as female care-giving responsibilities or being 'not a good fit'), as opposed to reactions to actual employee behavior.

Ellis v. Century 21 Dept. Stores

A case where a female employee was repeatedly passed over for Director of Stores because her manager assumed her young children meant she could not handle long hours, providing evidence of pretext to discriminate.

Pre-Offer Disability Inquiries

Questions prohibited under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) that are likely to elicit information about an applicant's disability or medical impairment prior to a conditional offer.

Harrison v. Benchmark

A case establishing that an applicant can establish an ADA violation even without having a disability if the employer's supervisor improperly listens to a Medical Review Officer interview or asks questions exceeding verification of a positive drug test.

Bona Fide Occupational Qualification (BFOQ)

An exception permitting employment discrimination when a protected class membership is reasonably necessary to the normal operation of the enterprise, based on authenticity, public safety, or customer interests.

BFOQ Employer Burden of Proof

The legal standard requiring an employer to convince a jury that screening based on protected criteria (e.g., an age $60$ retirement rule) is reasonably necessary because individualized medical testing is impossible or impracticable.

Bauer v. Dept. of Justice

A Title VII sex discrimination case ruling that the FBI's gender-normed physical fitness test ($30$ push-ups for men vs. $14$ for women) was not a BFOQ because performing a specific number of push-ups was not proven necessary for the job.

Affirmative Action (AA) Plan

A plan under which protected class membership is considered alongside other qualifications in hiring or promotion decisions, adopted by federal employers/contractors, under consent decrees, or voluntarily.

AA Placement Goals

Non-quota targets obtainable through good faith effort that must be at least equal to the protected class availability in a job group, created when underrepresentation exists in a job category.

Narrow Tailoring (Reverse Discrimination Defense)

A constitutional requirement to defend an Affirmative Action plan by proving it serves a compelling interest (remedying past discrimination), prioritizes class-neutral factors, avoids completely barring non-protected applicants, and has a limited duration.

OFCCP Veteran Hiring Benchmarks

Guidelines established by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs requiring contractor benchmarks to equal the percentage of veterans in the civilian workforce or an employer-established benchmark based on labor force data.

OFCCP Utilization Goal for Persons with Disabilities

A regulatory benchmark set at $7\%$ by job group, or across the entire workforce for employers with fewer than $101$ employees.

Employment at Will (EAW)

A legal employment doctrine where discharge is permissible at any time, supported when the employee handbook affords broad discretion to supervisors rather than requiring progressive discipline.