Evidence of discrimination
Evidence of discrimination.
Address the following questions and ensure that your responses for each question are clearly delineated. Your combined response for all of the questions should be at least 500 words as outlined in the grading rubric. Be sure to number your responses.
Discussion
Evidence of Discrimination
Douglas J. Farmer, an employment lawyer with Ogletree Deakins, finds it remarkable that there are still so many lawsuits 50 years after Title VII became law. Part of the problem is that defining discrimination is not as clear-cut as, say, showing that an employer has paid someone less than minimum wage.
In Title VII cases, Farmer says, courts look at three kinds of evidence:
How have similarly situated people been treated? Did a minority employee get fired for falsifying a timecard but a white employee didn’t, for instance?
Is there a smoking gun, like a manager saying, “Fire the old man”?
Do statistics show a pattern of a supervisor or department being biased against a protected group?
For each of the situations presented below, answer the following questions:
1. Discuss fully and specifically whether each of the situations outlined represent a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, as amended.
2. Given Attorney Farmer‘s outline of the three kinds of evidence courts consider for Title VII cases,
a. provide an example of each kind of evidence that the plaintiff (employee) in each situation could provide as evidence of their claims. Explain how such information can help to support the plaintiff’s case.
b. provide an example of each kind of evidence that the defendant (organization) in each situation could provide as a defense against the plaintiff’s claims. Explain how such information can help to support the defendant’s defense.
3. Identify two actions that organizational leaders could implement to increase the likelihood of successful defense against violation of Title VII claims. Briefly describe how these actions could be helpful in such a case.
Situations
A. Angel worked for a school district in Nevada. She attended a meeting with two male workers. One of the men made a sexist joke to the other male that was not directed at Angel. She filed a sexual harassment complaint with the EEOC. Soon after, she was transferred to another position, a move that she had known for some time might occur. She added a charge of retaliation to her complaint.
B. Jose, who is openly gay, worked for the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas for two years. He contended that his male supervisor and co-workers subjected him to a hostile work environment on a daily basis. He was subject to crude jokes, name-calling, and unwelcome physical touching. He sued the hotel for sexual harassment, noting that the reason for the harassment was his sexual orientation.