Chapter 17 Equal Employment Opportunity Protected classes race sex religion national origin age and disability Two types of illegal discrimination o Disparate treatment of a member of a protected class Results when an employer treats on employee less favorably than another because of race sex religion national origin age or disability Intentional In a treatment case the question in the defendant s motive You re certainly qualified but this is a man s job Motive usually isn t provable by direct evidence A plaintiff may raise an inference of discrimination by showing they Belonged to a protected class Applied for the job and was qualified Was rejected and the position remained opened When the above 3 are established its called prima facie case When these are established the defendant must prove a legitimate nondiscriminatory explanation for the employment decision Once the defendant provides an explanation the plaintiff must prove the explanation is really a pretext for discrimination To do so the plaintiff may attempt to show that The defendant s rationale lacks credibility The rationale was not uniformly applied The statistics indicate a general practice of discrimination Mixed Motive Cases In some cases the evidence may show that both discriminatory and legitimate reasons contributed to the defendant s actions The defendant is liable if the plaintiff proves their membership in a protected class was the motivating factor Sex plus discrimination hires women but not women with preschool children o Disparate impact of a protected class A practice disqualifies a protected class at a significantly greater rate than the majority class Ie security guards must be 6 tall The defendant may avoid liability by proving that the practice is job related and consistent with business necessity Smith v City of Jackson Mississippi Issue Does giving larger raises to police officers with more seniority constitute disparate impact Holding No while the ADEA authorizes disparate impact claims the reliance on seniority and rank is questionably reasonable given the City s goals to match salaries to those in surrounding communities The decision was based on a reasonable factor other than age Exceptions the federal law contains a variety of exceptions to their prohibitions against discrimination o Bona fide occupational qualification BFOQ allows an employer to discriminate in its hiring where religion national origin sex or age is a bona fide occupational qualification necessary to the normal operation of the business Does not apply to race Interpreted narrowly and the employer bears a heavy burden of proof United Auto Workers v Johnson Controls Inc Issue Can Johnson Controls use the BFOQ defense where they prohibited fertile women working in specific jobs Holding No the safety exception is limited to instances where sex or pregnancy actually interferes with the employee s ability to perform the job o Professionally Developed Ability Tests Title VII permits the use of any professionally developed ability test provided that the test in not designed to discriminate The EEOC has issued guidelines detailing the validation process it approves for establishing the job relatedness of any selection procedure that has an adverse impact on a protected group Criterion validity correlation of GMAT and performance in Content validity a word processing test for a word grad school processor Construct validity test indicates a psychological trait Ie leadership for a police commander o Seniority System Title VII the ADEA and the Equal Pay Act permit employers to apply different standards of employment pursuant to bona fide seniority that are not the result of an intention to discriminate Affirmative Action o Employers might voluntarily adopt affirmative action plans that give preference to minority employees o After finding that an employer has discriminated against minorities a court might require the employer to take affirmative action Harassment o Harassment that is discriminatory can violate Title VII o Sexual harassment is unwelcome sexual conduct that is a term or condition of employment o Two types Quid pro quo harassment Date me or lose your job Hostile environment harassment unwelcome intimidating hostile or offensive environment Harris V Forklift Systems Inc Issue Does the sexual insults and unwanted sexual innuendos the President constitute a hostile work environment Holding Yes it is sufficiently severe or pervasive to alter the conditions of the victim s employment and create an abusive working environment The Pregnancy Discrimination Act equates discrimination on the basis of pregnancy childbirth or related medical conditions with sex discrimination Sex discrimination in compensation violates Title VII Prohibits differences in pay between the sexes for employees who are performing work that requires equal skill effort and responsibility o Exceptions Bona fide seniority and merit systems Earnings based on quantity or quality of output Factors other than sex Religions Title VII requires an employer to make reasonable accommodations to employee s religious beliefs and practices unless accommodation would work an undue hardship on the business Citizenship Title VII prohibits national origin discrimination it does not forbid discrimination on the basis of American citizenship This does not mean that aliens have no Title VII rights Age covers employers with 20 or more employees The ADEA age discrimination in employment act prohibits discrimination against person s age 40 or older Employers can engage in bona fide employee benefit plans Ie can reduce life insurance benefits based on age General Dynamics Land Systems Inc V Cline Issue Does providing benefits to older employees but no younger employees violate the ADEA Or does it prohibit favoring the old over the young Holding No the statute does not mean to stop an employer from favoring and older employee over a younger one Disability The Americans with Disabilities Act ADA prohibits discrimination against otherwise qualified persons with disabilities Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky Inc V Williams Just know major life activities must be of central importance to daily life walking seeing and hearing Supreme court held that the woman could not sue for becoming disabled by her carpel tunnel she received from working on the line Individuals cannot file lawsuits under Title VII or ADA until EEOC notifies them of their right to sue The EEOC notice is called a right