©2001 west legal studies in business. all rights reserved. 1 chapter 42: employment discrimination

©2001 West Legal Studies in Business. All Rights Reserved.1

Chapter 42:Chapter 42:Employment DiscriminationEmployment Discrimination


IntroductionIntroduction

• The most important federal anti-discrimination laws are:– Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.– The Age Discrimination in Employment Act.– The Equal Pay Act.– The Americans with Disabilities Act.


§1: §1: Title VII Of Title VII Of The Civil Rights Act of 1964The Civil Rights Act of 1964

• Title VII prohibits discrimination in employment on the basis of race, sex, color, religion, and national origin. “Sex” now includes pregnancy.

• In addition to prohibiting religious discrimination, employers must reasonably accommodate an employee’s religious practices.

• Enforcement of Title VII by EEOC.

http://www.eeoc.gov/


Intentional vs. Unintentional Intentional vs. Unintentional DiscriminationDiscrimination

• Intentional: “Disparate-Treatment” Discrimination. Applicant must prove:– She is member of a protected class;– Applied, qualified and rejected for job; and– Employer continued to seek applicants.

• Negligent: “Disparate Impact” Discrimination.– No-protected applicant sues Employer who

tries to integrate members of protected classes into workplace.


Race, Color and Race, Color and National OriginNational Origin

• Title VII prohibits employment policies or intentional/ negligent discrimination on basis of race, color or national origin.

• Company policies that discriminate are illegal, unless (except for race) they have a substantial demonstrable relationship to realistic qualifications for job.

• Case 42.1: McCullough v. Real Foods (1998).

http://caselaw.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=8th&navby=case&no=963343P


ReligionReligion

• Employers must “reasonably accommodate” the “sincerely held’ religious practices of its employees, unless to do so would cause undue hardship to employer’s business.– See Frazee v. Illinois Dept. of Employment

Security (1989).

http://caselaw.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=us&vol=489&invol=829

http://caselaw.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=us&vol=489&invol=829


Gender “Sex” DiscriminationGender “Sex” Discrimination

• Title VII prohibits sex discrimination in the work place.

• Employers are prohibited from classifying jobs as male or female or from advertising such, unless employer can prove gender is essential to the job.

• Plaintiff must show gender was determining factor in hiring, firing or lack of promotion.


Gender DiscriminationGender Discrimination

• Two types of sex discrimination:– Differential treatment.– Sexual harassment, which itself, exists in

two varieties:» Hostile Work Environment.» Quid Pro Quo.

Case 42.2: Carey v. Mount Desert Island (1998).

http://www.law.emory.edu/1circuit/aug98/97-1661.01a.html


Sexual HarassmentSexual Harassment

• Although Title VII does not specifically mention sexual harassment as a form of sex discrimination, the U.S. Supreme Court has interpreted Title VII’s prohibition against sex discrimination to include a prohibition against sexual harassment.

• There are currently two forms of recognized sexual harassment:– Hostile Work Environment.– Quid Pro Quo.


Hostile Work EnvironmentHostile Work Environment• Hostile environment occurs when workplace is

“permeated” with discriminatory intimidation, ridicule, insult so severe to alter the conditions of the victim’s employment. Harris v. Forklift Systems (1993).

• The conduct in the workplace must be offensive to a reasonable person as well as to the victim, and it must be severe and pervasive.

http://caselaw.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=us&vol=000&invol=U10433

http://caselaw.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=us&vol=000&invol=U10433


Quid Pro Quo Quid Pro Quo (Economic Harassment)(Economic Harassment)

• Quid Pro Quo harassment involves the demands for sexual favors by a superior from a subordinate, in exchange for some workplace benefit.– See Faragher v. City of Boca Raton (1998) and

Burlington Industries v. Ellerth (1998).• Under certain conditions, an employer may

be liable for the quid pro quo harassment committed by its supervisory employees.

http://caselaw.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?navby=search&linkurl=%3C%25LINKURL%25%3E&graphurl=%3C%25GRAPHURL%25%3E&court=US&case=/us/000/97%2D282.html




Harassment by Co-WorkersHarassment by Co-Workers

• Employer generally liable only if employer knew or should have known and failed to take action. – Employee notice to supervisor is notice to

Employer under agency law.• Employers may also be liable for

harassment by non-employees.• Same-sex harassment also violates Title

VII.

http://caselaw.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=us&vol=000&invol=96-568


Remedies for HarassmentRemedies for Harassment

• Liability may be extensive. Plaintiff may receive:– Reinstatement.– Back Pay.– Retroactive Promotions; and– Damages.


§ 2: § 2: Equal Pay Act of 1963Equal Pay Act of 1963

• The EPA amends the Fair Labor Standards Act to prohibit gender-based discrimination in wages paid for similar jobs performed under similar conditions.

• Pay differentials for jobs with the same or similar jobs can be justified on the basis of seniority, merit, a piece-work system, or any factor other than gender.


§ 3: Age § 3: Age DiscriminationDiscrimination

• The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) protects individuals over the age of 40 from workplace discrimination that favors younger workers.

• Under Kimmel v. Florida Board of Regents (2000), states are immune from private lawsuits brought in federal court under 11th Amendment.

http://caselaw.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=000&invol=98-791


§ 4: Discrimination based § 4: Discrimination based on “Disability” on “Disability”

• The Americans with Disability Act (ADA) requires employers to offer reasonable accommodation to employees or applicants with a “disability” who are otherwise qualified for the job they hold or seek.

• The duty of reasonable accommodation ends at the point at where it becomes an undue hardship.


ADAADA

• To prevail on a claim under ADA, plaintiff must show she:– Has a “disability.”– Is otherwise qualified for the employment in

question; and– Was excluded from employment solely because

of the disability.• Plaintiff must first exhaust administrative

relief with EEOC.


ADA: What is a “Disability”?ADA: What is a “Disability”?

• ADA defines disability as:– Physical or mental impairment that

“substantially limits one or more of major life activities; or

– A record of such impairment; or – Being regarded as having such an impairment.

• Determination is decided on a case-by-case basis.– Case 42.3: Sutton v. United Airlines (1999).




ADA: “Reasonable ADA: “Reasonable Accommodation”Accommodation”

• If an employee with a disability can perform the job with reasonable accommodation, without undue hardship on the employer, the accommodation must be made.– Examples: wheelchair ramps, flexible working

hours, improved training materials.• Job Applications and Pre-Employment

Physical Exams.


§5: §5: Defenses to Claims Defenses to Claims of Discriminationof Discrimination

• There are four basic types of defenses to employment discrimination claims.– Business necessity.– Bona fide occupational qualification.– Seniority Systems.– After-acquired evidence of employee

misconduct.


Business NecessityBusiness Necessity

• The business necessity defense requires the employer to demonstrate that the imposition of a job qualification is reasonably necessary to the legitimate conduct of the employer’s business.

• Business necessity is a defense to disparate impact discrimination.


Bona Fide Occupational Bona Fide Occupational QualificationQualification

• The bona fide occupational qualification (BFOQ) defense requires an employer to show that an particular skill is necessary for the performance of a particular job.

• The BFOQ defense is used in cases of disparate treatment discrimination.


Seniority SystemsSeniority Systems

• A seniority system is one that conditions the distribution of job benefits on the length of time one has worked for an employer.

• A seniority system can be a defense only if it is a bona fide system, not designed to evade the effects of the anti-discrimination laws.


After-Acquired EvidenceAfter-Acquired Evidence

• After-acquired evidence refers to evidence of misconduct, committed by an employee who is suing an employer for employment discrimination, that is uncovered during the process of discovery conducted in preparation for a defense against the suit.

• While it may serve to limit employee recovery, it does not act as an absolute defense for the employer.


§ 6: Affirmative Action§ 6: Affirmative Action

• Affirmative action programs go one step beyond non-discrimination: they are designed to “make up” for past patterns of discrimination by giving preferential treatment to protected classes.

• AA has led to “reverse discrimination” cases.– University of California v. Bakke (1978).– Adarand Constructors v. Pena (1995).

http://caselaw.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=438&invol=265





The The HopwoodHopwood Case Case

• In 1996, two white law school applicants sued the University of Texas at Austin when they were denied admission. The Fifth Circuit opined:– “Diversity fosters, rather than minimizes, the use of

race. It treats minorities as a group, rather than as individuals. It may further remedial purposes but, just as likely, may promote improper racial stereotypes, thus fueling racial hatred.” Hopwood v. State of Texas, 84 F.3d 720 (5th Cir. 1996).

• The U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari and so the opinion stands.


Focus on EthicsFocus on Ethics

• Family and Medical Leave Act.• Arbitration Clauses in Employment

Agreements.• Disability-Based Discrimination.• At-Will Employment.• “English-Only” Policies.

– Yniguez v. Arizona (9th Cir. 1995).– EEOC v. Premier Operator Services.


Law on the WebLaw on the Web

• Employment law at Cornell U.• Arent Fox Law Firm.

• Legal Research Exercises on the Web.

©2001 west legal studies in business. all rights reserved. 1 chapter 42: employment discrimination

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