MGMT 445: Exam 2

____ was the seminal piece of legislation that shaped and defined employment law rights in the U.S.

____ was the seminal piece of legislation that shaped and defined employment law rights in the U.S.

• Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

What was the main motivation of Title VII?

• Eliminate long-standing racial discrimination in the workplace against African-Americans

Title VII and other discrimination laws are meant to:

• Remove matters such as race, etc. from the employment decision-making equation

True or False: Title VII and related laws are meant to provide “extra” rights or give anyone an advantage in getting/keeping a job, getting promoted/demoted

False

Employers are permitted to seek and promote ____ in the workplace

• Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)

What elements does Title VII covers (5):

• Race - ethnicity (not necessarily country of origin)

• Color - skin

• Gender

• National origin - country of origin, not citizenship

  • Religion - beliefs or practices

What is covered under Title VII’s, gender (3)?

• sexual harassment

• sexual orientation

• gender identity

True or False: can there be “overlap” between types of discrimination

• True

  • (there can be overlap between race & color, race & national origin, etc.)

True or False: Title VII only covers employees in corporate + management positions

• False

  • Covers all levels and types of employees)

True or False: Title VII does not apply to United States workers when they leave the U.S. for work.

• False

  • U.S. citizens employed anywhere in the world by American employers are protected by Title VII

True or False: Non United States citizens employed by American employers are covered by Title VII only in the U.S.

True

What are the 2 ways employers can violate Title VII:

• Disparate treatment

  • Disparate impact

____ happens when the plantiff is intentionally treated differently based on a reason thar is illegal, under Title VII

• Disparate treatment

____ occurs when the plantiff is victim of unintentional discriminationillegal under Title VII

• Disparate Impact

What did the McDonell Douglas Corp v. Green case show?

• About Disparate Treatment

  • Plantiff presents their prima facie (first) case:

    • 1. plantiff belongs to racial minority

    • 2. plantiff applied and was qualified

    • 3. despite qualifications, plaintiff rejected

    • 4. after plaintiff’s rejection, position remained open & employer continued to seek applicants from persons of plantiff’s qualifications

What does defense of “valid legal reason” mean?

• Defendant must show:

  • legitimate, non-discriminatory reason for adverse employment action (ex. termination, not being hired) against plaintiff

    • ** After: plaintiff should present evidence showing defendant’s reason was pretext (an excuse) for discrimination

In McDonnell Douglas Corp v. Green (1973) what was the 3 step analysis?

• Step 1: person/employee must show treated unfairly based on protected characteristic

• Step 2: employer must provide legitimate reason

• Step 3: must show employers’ reasoning was pretext (an excuse) for discrimination

(plaintiff > defendant > plaintiff)

What are some ways the defendant can prove the adverse employment action was base on a legiitmate, nondiscriminatory reason (2):

1. Good Cause

2. Bona-fide Occupational Qualifications (BFOQ)

What is a BFOQ?

• A potential discriminatory policy or qualification, but is necessary for the job/business

  • A narrow exception to what would otherwise be illegal discrimination

What is an example of a BFOQ?

• Not hiring a man to clean/manage a woman’s locker room

• Lifting a certain amount of weight to the job safely (FedEx, firefighters, etc.)

How is Disparate impact initiated?

• Employee/ applicant alleges that the employer’s (on the face) neutral policy/qualfiication has an adverse impact on a protected Title VII group

What must the employer do to examine potential disparate impact?

• Look at the real-life effect of a job qualification, company policy, etc

  • (Since no intent is needed for a disparate impact case)

True or False: A white man can be protected in a race or sex discrimination case

• True

  • A “protected” group can be any group adversely impacted

How do you show disparate impact?

• 4/5ths rule (statistical study)

What is the 4/5ths rule?

• Minority group must do at least 80% as well as majority group on job screening device

  • If not: there is a presumption that a disparate impact case can arise

    • BUT can be rebutted by employer’s legitimate business necessity

What does theGriggs v. Duke Power co. case show?

• About disparate impact:

  • For years, company able to get away with race discrimination

  • African Americans were only eligible to work in 1 department out of 5 (also lowest paying)

  • Once Title VII was enacted: opened up job to African Americans (in all 5 departments) but required applicants to be a High School graduate

    • This was a problem because: there were white people in other departments and did not have a diploma

      • Expert for plaintiff did a survey - noted: that local population had more black high school drop outs

        • Expert wanted to figure out why: because black students weren’t given adequate resources to be successful in schools

          • Yes, disparate impact was valid

What must the plantiff prove when the employer tries to retaliate under Title VII (3)?

Plantiff must prove:

1. Was engaged in activity protected by Title VII

2. Suffered adverse employment action

3. Engaging in protected activity caused the adverse employment action

What counts as an employer retaliating against Title VII? (2)

1. Opposing anything that violates Title VII (opposition clause)

2. Taking part in/ assisting any Title VII investigation, proceedings, or hearings (participation clause)

What did Clark v. Claremont University Center show about racial discrimnation?

• Racial discrimination violated Title VII

• Even actions that seem neutral can be discriminatory if they have a disproportionate impact on a certain race

• Employers have an obligation to prevent racial discrimination, can be held liable if fail to take measures to prevent

• Racial harassment can be a form of discrimination & employers must prevent + address harassment in the workplace

According to Ricci v. DeStefano, what must employers do (4):

1. Employers cannot make employment decisions based on race (even if they think they are doing it for non-discriminatory reasons)

2. Must have strong basis to justify employment decisions based on race

3. NOT rely on racial quotas/race-based decisions to achieve a more diverse workforce

4. NOT act against employees solely based on their race/ethnicity

What does race discrimination involve according to the EEOC?

(entire “race/color discrimination” section)

True or False: Discrimination can occur even if the plantiff is the same race as the defendant?

True