Business And Its Legal Environment (Mgmt 246)

1
Business And Its Legal Environment (Mgmt 246)

• Professor Charles H. Smith
• Employment Discrimination and Sexual Harassment
  (Chapter 15)
• Fall 2005

2
Title VII Federal Discrimination Law

• Title VII federal law passed by Congress as
  part of Civil Rights Act of 1964 remedy for
  people traditionally underrepresented or not
  represented in the workplace.
• Prohibits discrimination in employment on the
  basis of race, color, religion, national origin
  and gender.
• Two types of employment discrimination
• Disparate treatment obvious discrimination.
• Disparate impact hidden discrimination.

3
Three-Step Analysis re Employment Discrimination
Under Title VII

• First, plaintiff (person who was fired or not
  hired or promoted) must prove all four elements
  of prima facie case.
• Second, defendant (employer) must present defense
  based on valid legal reason.
• Third, plaintiff must show defense not valid
  legal reason but instead is pretext for
  discrimination.

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Plaintiffs Prima Facie Case

• Plaintiff is member of protected class e.g.,
  woman, person of color or non-European descent.
• Plaintiff applied and qualified for position.
• Plaintiff is fired or application rejected not
  hired or promoted.
• Employer continues to seek applications or hires
  person who is member of unprotected class e.g.,
  WASP man.
• If evidence re all four, employer must defend
  if not all four proved, employer wins.

5
Employers Defense

• Employer must defend by presenting a valid legal
  reason for firing or not hiring/promoting
  plaintiff if valid legal reason shown, plaintiff
  must rebut/respond.
• Defenses include
• Good cause (e.g., incompetence, theft, or
  violation of law or company rule).
• Bona fide occupational qualification (BFOQ).
• Bona fide seniority/merit system.
• Business necessity (e.g., part of layoffs).
• After-acquired evidence.
• Need to be consistent in application!

6
Plaintiffs Rebuttal/Response

• Plaintiff must rebut/respond to employers valid
  legal reason defense by showing that the reason
  is not valid and, in fact, is a pretext for
  discrimination.

7
Introduction to Sexual Harassment

• Sexual harassment in the workplace involves sex
  but is really about the employers power
  trip/abuse of authority can be man harassing
  woman, woman harassing man or same-sex
  harassment.
• Two types of sexual harassment
• Quid pro quo typically shown by request by
  employer/supervisor for sex in exchange for
  employees getting or keeping job, promotion,
  etc. sometimes called tangible employment
  action see Jin v. Metropolitan Life Ins. Co.
  (pp. 345-46).
• Hostile environment usual situation is
  atmosphere of comments, conduct, decorations,
  etc. of sexual nature in the workplace.

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Issues re Sexual Harassment

• Can be difficult to prove since sometimes no
  other witnesses credibility contest.
• Main defense is consent also hard to prove,
  especially when plaintiff does not object and may
  actually participate in or approve of subject
  misconduct in some way.
• Can plaintiff ever truly give consent due to
  superior position of employer? Consent may
  be given just to get or keep job, be a team
  player, etc.

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Benefits, Political Correctness and Affirmative
Action

• What benefits flow from laws re employment
  discrimination and sexual harassment?
• Have laws re employment discrimination and sexual
  harassment made the workplace too politically
  correct?
• Affirmative action compensating for past sins
  or an unfair advantage for people who have been
  traditionally not represented or underrepresented
  in the workplace at the expense of WASP men?