Exam 2: The Employment Law Toolkit: Resources for Understanding the Lawand Recurring Legal Concepts

U.S.citizens employed outside the U.S.by foreign employers are protected against workplace discrimination by Title VII.

Undocumented workers are

Describe the basic legal theory that is used to determine whether the plaintiff or the defendant will prevail in a lawsuit in which it is alleged that the defendant has committed illegal,disparate treatment employment discrimination,in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964,as amended,when there is no direct evidence of discrimination.

Carol Jones,a U.S.citizen,was employed with MET,Inc.in its London office.Met Inc.is a Delaware corporation with its principle place of business in New York.Ms.Jones was recently laid off,and she believes she was a victim of racial discrimination.Ms.Jones

The Business Necessity Defense requires the employer to show

Describe the two theoretical bases for lawsuits alleging discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Karen Rogers was employed at the Pentagon as manager of the Purchasing Department.Prior to the arrival of her new supervisor in June of 2004,she received the highest employee rating on her yearly evaluation.Her new supervisor,John Lincoln,had been overheard saying that he did not believe that women were smart enough to manage a department.Six months later,Karen was fired for poor work performance.If she wins her claim for gender discrimination,Karen may be entitled to I back pay II reinstatement to her former position III punitive damages

years.Bored with this job,she applied for an open position as a telephone repairman which paid $10.00 per hour more than she was currently earning.This position required the employee to be able to climb to the top of a telephone pole wearing a tool belt weighing approximately 15 to 20 lbs to make repairs.Southern Telephone Company refused to admit Linda into the training program for the position claiming that she was incapable of performing the duties of the position because she was female. Discuss this scenario from both Linda and Southern Telephone Company's point of view,including the basis for the relevant claims and defenses.

Joe's Bakery advertised in the local newspaper for an assistant baker.Muhammad,a recent honors graduate of the Culinary School of America,applied for the position and was told that the position had been filled.Muhammad is of Middle-Eastern descent and practices the Muslim faith.The following day and for nine consecutive days,Muhammad saw the ad in the paper again.Joe's Bakery employs 7 people,including Joe.Do the facts satisfy the requirements for a prima facie case? If so,can Muhammad pursue a claim for discrimination against Joe's Bakery?

Distinguish the business necessity defense from the bona fide occupational qualification defense,including describing each defense and stating when each can be used.

Nemo Gill was hired by the Spectacular Tropical Aquarium and agreed to submit any disputes arising out of his employment to binding arbitration.Nemo was fired when he became a "Rastafarian" and urged his co-workers to become vegetarians and smoke ganja.Without waiting for the results of the arbitration,Nemo filed a complaint alleging religious discrimination with the EEOC.The EEOC quickly filed a lawsuit on his behalf.Spectacular moved to have the EEOC's lawsuit dismissed on the grounds that Nemo signed a valid arbitration agreement.

James Helton,an African-American,was hired as a dock worker with Coastal Distributing Company.As a full time employee,he was eligible for health insurance benefits if he met certain criteria.His pre-employment physical indicated that he suffered from hypertension or high blood pressure.The company's health insurance plan excluded employees that had that condition.Hypertension is a condition that is common among African-Americans and affects that race at a much higher percentage than any other race.

An employee may file a lawsuit against his/her former employer even if the EEOC did not find justification for the claim of discrimination.

Claims for discrimination filed with a 706 agency must be filed within ____ days of the incident giving rise to the claim.

An employer can successfully defend a charge of disparate treatment discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act by offering a legitimate,nondiscriminatory reason for the action taken regarding the charging party.

McFerrin was refused employment by Billiot,Inc.,because he failed to achieve a high enough score on a valid,reliable skills test.Believing that he has been the victim of national origin discrimination,since no one of Scottish descent has ever achieved a satisfactory score,McFerrin sues under Title VII after exhausting his administrative remedies.He asks the court to require Billiot to adjust the scores of all Scottish-descent test-takers,upward,by ten points.Assuming McFerrin proves national origin discrimination,can the court grant the relief he seeks?

NorthernSky Airlines is a regional carrier that flies a variety of aircraft with maximum interior cabin heights ranging from 6'2¼" to 5'9." Northern Sky advertisements for flight attendants state that an applicant "must be between 5'0" and 5'8" without shoes due to the internal size of our aircraft." James,a 6' 0" man complains that the height restrictions have a disparate impact on men.The airline defends the case by asserting that height is a business necessityfor the job.

Statistics compiled by the EEOC show that

When an employee alleges that the employer treated him/her differently because of the employee's race,religion,gender,color or national origin,the employee is using the disparate treatment theory of discrimination.

Every successful claimant in a Title VII case is eligible to receive