Chapter 12 Employment Discrimination Monday November 17th 2014 12 0 Introduction Introduction Employment at will Legal doctrine that employees can be hired and fired at the will of the employer Protected Class Legislatively created category of workers that are protected from unfavorable employment actions due to their membership in the protected class 12 1 Overview of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 Learning Objectives Learn about the history of the Civil Rights Act Understand who has to comply with the Civil Rights Act Explore what employment practices are protected by the Civil Rights Act Study the procedures involved with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission History of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 The Civil Rights Act of 1964 has broad significance for all racial minorities religious organizations and women The most important provision of the bill for businesses is known widely as Title VII o Applies to employers with more than fifteen employees o Eliminates job discrimination on the basis of race color religion sex and national origin Compliance of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 Title VII prohibits acts of retaliation against anyone who complains about or participates in any employment discrimination complaint o Retaliation Adverse employment action taken against an employee who has filed or is contemplating filing charges of illegal discrimination o Employers need to be very careful about this provision Taking any subsequent action after an employee has complained can be a separate charge of discrimination o Employer should not alter any condition of his or her employment until the complaint has been resolved Employment Practices Protected by the Civil Rights Act Law allows discrimination on religion sex and national origin if there is a bona fide occupational qualification BFOQ reasonably necessary for normal business operations o Bona fide occupational qualification BFOQ Legitimate reason for why an employer might discriminate against someone who belongs to a protected class BFOQ must be directly related to an essential job function to be bona fide Employment Practices Protected by the Civil Rights Act Customer preference race and color are not on the list of acceptable BFOQs Title VII o Creates only five protected classes Weight attractiveness and height are not on the list of protected classes o Does not prohibit all discrimination Employers are free to consider factors related to the job o Requires employers to treat employees equally but not identically Title VII and Victims of Discrimination Title VII is a federal law but it does not give victims of discrimination the immediate right to file a federal lawsuit Equal Employment Opportunity Commission EEOC o Federal agency was created to enforce civil rights in the work place o Publishes guidelines and interpretations for the private sector to assist businesses in deciding what employment practices are lawful o Investigates complaints filed by workers who believe they are victims of unlawful discrimination o Can file charges against the employer when EEOC believes that unlawful discrimination has taken place Title VII and Victims of Discrimination Employees must file Title VII charges with the EEOC first before going to court If the EEOC investigates and decides not to pursue the case any further the EEOC can issue a right to sue letter o With the letter the employee can then file a case in federal court within 90 days of the date of the letter Title VII and Victims of Discrimination Any EEOC complaint must be filed within 180 days of the alleged discriminatory act taking place If employees wait beyond 180 or 300 days their claims will be dismissed o Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 Federal law that resets the time to file a charge in unequal pay cases every time a discriminatory paycheck is received Remedies to Victims of Discrimination by EEOC Award of back pay for any lost wages Issuance of an injunction to stop the employer from making any continuing acts or policies of discrimination Ordering a terminated or demoted employee to be reinstated to his or her prior position Award of compensatory damages for out of pocket costs resulting from the discrimination as well as emotional harm Theories While Claiming Title VII protected class Disparate Treatment Intentional discrimination against a member of a Disparate Impact Theory of liability under employment discrimination law that prohibits an employer from using a facially neutral policy that has been an unfavorable impact on members of a protected class Demonstration of Disparate Impact If a victim successfully demonstrates a disparate impact then the employer must articulate a nondiscriminatory business necessity for the policy or practice o Business Necessity If a policy has a disparate impact on members of a protected class the employer can justify the policy if it is essential to the employer and no alternative nondiscriminatory policy exists Suspicious Business Policies for Disparate Impact Educational qualifications Intelligence or aptitude tests Written tests Height and weight requirements Nepotism in hiring Credit checks Subjective procedures such as interviews Disparate Impact and Victims of Discrimination Proving a disparate impact case is not easy for victims of discrimination o It is not enough for the employee to use statistic alone to pointout that job policy or practice has a disparate impact on the victim s protected class 1991 amendments to the Civil Rights Act prohibited race norming o Race Norming Practice of grading employment related tests or qualifications differently based on the race of the candidate or applicant
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