Sex discrimination at work covered under

1
Sex Discrimination at Work

• Sex discrimination at work covered under
• Equal Pay Act 1963 (amended FLSA 1938)
• Executive Order 11375
• Title VII of Civil Rights Act 1964,
• as amended by Pregnancy Discrimination Act, 1978
  and Civil Rights Act, 1991

2
Sex Discrimination at Work

• Early cases
• Diaz v Pan Am 1971 - gender was not a legitimate
  BFOQ bona fide occupational qualification for
  work of flight attendant
• Dothard v Rawlinson 1977 - gender was a BFOQ in
  prison setting - not hiring women for guards in
  all male prison was reasonable

3
Sex Discrimination at Work

• More recent case
• Johnson Controls v UAW 1991 the employer could
  not ban 'fertile women' from jobs involving
  exposure to lead, while denying male leave of
  absence from such work
• Instead, an informed consent standard holds

4
Sex Discrimination at Work as Sexual Harassment

• EEOC defines sexual harassment as
• unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual
  favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a
  sexual nature when
• (1) submission to such conduct is made either
  explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of
  an individual's employment
• (2) submission to or rejection of such conduct by
  an individual is used as the basis for employment
  decisions affecting such individual or
• (3) such conduct has the purpose or effect of
  unreasonably interfering with an individual's
  work performance or creating an intimidating,
  hostile, or offensive working environment.

5
Sexual Harassment

• Early Case
• Barnes v Costle 1977 first time sexual
  harassment defined as illegal sex discrimination
  quid pro quo form

6
Sex-based Harassment

• Meritor Savings Bank v Vinson 1986
• harassing work environment focused on sex was
  also illegal

7
Sex Harassment

• Harris v. Forklift Systems 1993
• the behavior must be severe or pervasive enough
  to create a hostile environment and be
  objectively offensive (from the perspective of a
  reasonable person)
• and that the work environment does not have to
  rise to the level of seriously affecting an
  employee's psychological well being to comprise a
  hostile work environment

8
Sex Harassment

• Jenson v. Eveleth Taconite (D. Minn. 1991) sex
  harassment could be pursued as class action, and
  defendant queries into plaintiffs backgrounds
  need be limited
• This is the case presented (with partial
  historical accuracy) in the movie, North
  Country

9
Sex Harassment

• Onscale v. Sundowner 1998 same-sex harassment
  was illegal

10
Sexual Harassment

• What employer should do
• Have clear, written, understood policy against
  discrimination on sex (and race, etc.)
• Take complaints seriously
• Investigate carefully
• Take action when needed