BCOR 3000 1nd Edition Lecture 22 Outline of Last Lecture I OSHA II Worker s Compensation III Social Security IV ERISA V Employee Privacy Outline of Current Lecture I Brown vs Board II EEOC III Title VII IV Equal Pay Act V Constructive Discharge VI Sexual Harassment VII Hostile Environment VIII Age Discrimination Current Lecture Chapter 25 Employment Discrimination Brown vs Board of Education Court said precedent was wrong Prior case RR Cars Brown Schools These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute Differences in school vs RRs What could court have done What did court do What was extraordinary EEOC Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Essentially what happens is that in my factory there is favoritism for male workers If you want something done about this because it is a violation you cannot go straight to court you have to go to the EEOC The EEOC will look at the complaint and will resolve it If it is something that has already happened there is nothing they can do it Fired under wrongful termination EEOC won t be able to get your job back but will be able to sue and collect damages They will look at the case and resolve it They are most able to resolve things that are on going where the employee is still there Sometime the EEOC will take the case they will sue for another party Most discrimination complaints must first go here EEOC Either Will take the case Issues right to sue letter Decision on this unrelated to merits The letter from the EEOC means that they do not want to take the case but that you have the right to sue from the EEOC because they have reviewed it Without this letter the case will be dismissed Title VII Is one section of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 Covers most employers except small ones Prevents certain factors from being used in making decisions Like gender Title VII Protected Categories Plaintiff has to prove that an employment decision was made and took into account ONE of these categories Race Color National Origin Sex Religion Title VII prevents discrimination in Hiring decisions Firing decisions Promotion Compensation Any term condition or privilege of employment Ex Pictures of naked women will effect men differently then it will women sexual harassment Title VII Actions Disparate treatment An individual is discriminated against based on a protected category You are treated differently because one of the protected categories Ex Hiring a male over a woman because there are too many females on the force Disparate impact ONLY AN ISSUE WITH LARGE COMPANIES Employment requirement appears neutral on its face but discriminates against a group There is a criteria that initially appears that does not involve a protected category Something that is applied equally to everyone but the overall impact is discriminatory 80 rule compares selection rates Suppose you have a company everyone takes this test which is biased against women They compare selection rates pass rates of the exam If 20 of men pass this test if the less success group pass the test with 80 of the 20 which means 16 of women pass then the company is okay If only 15 of women pass this does not mean that this illegal but it could be come illegal if under investigation The more it is lower than the allowed percentage the more likely it will be that you could get in trouble Examples Residency requirements Height weight requirements all flight attendants must be a certain height and weight so that it is limiting to only females Strength requirements similar to height and weight requirements IQ Tests Equal Pay Acts Equal Pay Act of 1963 Gender based only Requires equal pay for similar jobs in same company OK if pay difference is due to another reason seniority day night shifts skills ability Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act 2009 Modified time limit to sue rules Change limitations to sue under the Equal Pay Act if you work in a company and you notice you have a claim under this act that someone is making more than you are and you are both at the same level and you keep working there b c you think that if you raise a stink you will get fired there used to be 180 days to sue and if you didn t then you would lose the right to sue Lilly Ledbetter makes it 6 months from a pay check to sue Constructive Discharge Employee not actually fired Employer makes working conditions intolerable so that employee has no choice but to leave Common demotion and or ridicule Sexual Harassment First recognized in 1986 Is considered Title VII discrimination on the basis of working conditions i e it affects the genders differently Sexual Harassment Quid pro quo this for that Sexual favors gets you something in return Specific incident one incident illegal If boss sleeps with employee and employee gets promotion illegal Facts are hard to prove If employee doesn t sleep with boss and gets fired illegal Hostile Environment General conduct or conditions One incident not usually a violation Employer s duty is to take reasonable efforts to make the workplace free of sexual harassment does not mean that have the duty to protect ALL OF IT Employer should take reasonable steps to prevent Should have a policy Should have a procedure to address complaints Has to be someone outside the line of authority that you can go to to complain Policy should be specific spell it out about prohibited conduct Hostile Environment Limits on Employer Liability Employer Not Liable where Employer exercised reasonable care And Employee failed to use company process to redress Co should have effective policy Employee must use it first Harassment by non employees Age Discrimination Protects only workers age 40 Prohibits most mandatory retirement ages Protects only against discrimination against older workers OK to discriminate against younger even if the younger worker is 40 American With Disabilities Act Prevents discrimination Prevents asking about disabilities in hiring process Applicant is free to discuss OK to discuss after hired Requires employers to make reasonable accommodations