Chapter 11: "Employment Discrimination and Diversity"

Question 1

disparate-treatment discrimination

Answer 1

Definition:
A form of employment discrimination that results when an employer intentionally discriminates against employees who are members of protected classes.

Question 2

protected class

Answer 2

Definition:
A class of persons with identifiable characteristics who historically have been victimized by discriminatory treatment for certain purposes. Depending on the context, these characteristics include age, color, gender, national origin, race, and religion.

Question 3

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

Answer 3

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and its amendments prohibit job discrimination against employees, applicants, and union members on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, and gender at any stage of employment. It prohibits discrimination in the hiring process, discipline procedures, discharge, promotion, and benefits.

Question 4

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Answer 4

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) monitors compliance with Title VII. An employee alleging discrimination must file a claim with the EEOC before a lawsuit can be brought against the employer.

Question 5

prima facie case

Answer 5

Definition:
A case in which the plaintiff has produced sufficient evidence of his or her conclusion that the case can go to a jury; a case in which the evidence compels the plaintiff’s conclusion if the defendant produces no evidence to disprove it.

Question 6

Disparate-impact discrimination

Answer 6

Definition:
A form of employment discrimination that results from certain employer practices or procedures that, although not discriminatory on their face, have a discriminatory effect.

Question 7

The most important federal statute prohibiting employment discrimination against members of a protected class is:

a. The Equal Pay Act of 1963.	
b. The Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990.	
c. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.	
d. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967.

Answer 7

c. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Question 8

In 2011, the United States Supreme Court limited the rights of employees to bring discrimination claims against their employers as a group in the form of a class action lawsuit.

a. True
b. False

Answer 8

b. False

Question 9

Reverse Discrimination

n in damages.

Answer 9

Note that Title VII also protects against reverse discrimination—that is, discrimination against majority group individuals, such as white males.

Case in Point 11.5
An African American woman fired four white men from their management positions at a school district. She claimed that the terminations were part of a reorganization plan to cut costs in the department. The men sued for (reverse) racial discrimination and won. They were awarded nearly $3 millio

Question 10

Contructive discharge

Answer 10

Definition:
A termination of employment brought about by making an employee’s working conditions so intolerable that the employee reasonably feels compelled to leave.

Question 11

Sexual harassment can take two forms:

Answer 11

Quid pro quo harassment occurs when sexual favors are demanded in return for job opportunities, promotions, salary increases, or other benefits. Quid pro quo is a Latin phrase that is often translated as “something in exchange for something else.”

Hostile-environment harassment occurs when a pattern of sexually offensive conduct runs throughout the workplace and the employer has not taken steps to prevent or discourage it. In the words of the United States Supreme Court, hostile-environment harassment exists when “the workplace is permeated with discriminatory intimidation, ridicule, and insult, that is sufficiently severe or pervasive to alter the conditions of the victim’s employment and create an abusive working environment.”

Question 12

tangible employment action

Answer 12

A significant change in employment status, such as firing or failing to promote an employee, reassigning the employee to a position with significantly different responsibilities, or effecting a significant change in employment benefits.

Question 13

Ellerth/Faragher affirmative defense

The Court’s decisions in these cases established Ellerth/Faragher affirmative defense what has become known as the Ellerth/Faragher affirmative defense to charges of sexual harassment. The defense has two elements:

Answer 13

The employer must have taken reasonable care to prevent and promptly correct any sexually harassing behavior (by establishing effective harassment policies and complaint procedures, for instance).

The plaintiff-employee must have unreasonably failed to take advantage of preventive or corrective opportunities provided by the employer to avoid harm.

Question 14

In a retaliation claim, an individual asserts that she or he has suffered harm as a result of making a charge, testifying, or participating in a Title VII investigation or proceeding.

a. True
b. False

Answer 14

a. True

Question 15

Punitive damages for unlawful discrimination under Title VII may be recovered against a private employer under all circumstances.

• hint
  What if the employer had no notion that the harassment was occurring?
  a. True
  b. False

Answer 15

b. False

Question 16

Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA)

the employer must have __ or more employees.

Answer 16

The Age Discrimination in Employment ActFootnote (ADEA), as amended, prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of age against individuals forty years of age or older. The act also prohibits mandatory retirement for nonmanagerial workers.

The United States Supreme Court has ruled that the ADEA encompasses not only claims of age discrimination, but also claims of retaliation for complaining about age discrimination.Footnote Thus, the ADEA protects federal and private-sector employees from retaliation based on age-related complaints.

For the act to apply, an employer must have twenty or more employees, and the employer’s business activities must affect interstate commerce. The EEOC administers the ADEA, but the act also permits private causes of action against employers for age discrimination.

Question 17

business necessity

Answer 17

A defense to allegations of employment discrimination in which the employer demonstrates that an employment practice that discriminates against members of a protected class is related to job performance.

Question 18

Affirmative action

Answer 18

Job-hiring policies that give special consideration to members of protected classes in an effort to overcome present effects of past discrimination.