Chapter 43 Flashcards
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Protects employees against discrimination based on race, color, religion, natural origin and sex; also prohibits harassment based on the same protected categories
Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1987
Amended Title VII of the CRA to expand the definition of sex discrimination to include discrimination based on pregnancy.
Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967
Prohibits employers from refusing to hire, discharging, or discriminating in terms and conditions of employment on the basis of an employee’s or applicant’s being age 40+
Americans with Disabilities Act
Prohibits discrimination against employees and job applicants with disabilities.
Equal Pay Act of 1963
Prohibits an employer from paying workers of one gender less than the wages paid to employees of the opposite gender for work that requires equal skill, effort and responsibility
Civil Rights Act is divided into parts, known as _____, that prohibit _______
titles; discrimination in various situations
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
A federal agency responsible for administering laws that prohibit discrimination in employment
Most important title from CRA
Title VII
Two ways to prove discrimination under Title VII
Disparate Treatment, Disparate Impact
Disparate Treatment
Sometimes referred to as intentional discrimination; occurs when an employee is treated differently on the basis of being a member of a protected class
Disparate Impact
AKA unintentional discrimination; occurs when an employer sets a requirement for employment that inadvertently precludes large numbers of a protected class from employment in a particular job.
3 Step Process for Disparate Treatment
- Plaintiff demonstrate a prima facie case of discrimination
- Defendant articulate business reason why for the action
- plaintiff prove business reason is wrong
“prima facie”
At first view
Proving disparate impact
Disparate impact cases arise when a plaintiff attempts to establish that while an employer’s policy or practice appears to apply to everyone equally, actual effect is that it disproportionately limits employment opportunities for protected class.
Initial steps for proving a prima facie case of disparate impact were set forth in
Griggs v Duke Power Co
Sexual Harassment defined by the EEOC
unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual factors and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature that implicitly or explicity makes submission a term or condition of employment
Two forms of Sexual Harassment
quid pro quo, hostile work environment
Civil Rights Act of 1991
A federal statute that provides two important additional remedies to an employee who can prove that he/she was a victim of discrimination:
- an employee may collect punitive damages
- an employee may recover for emotional distress associated with being the victim of discrimination
Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins (1989)
The court provided that, even where a plaintiff demonstrates that an employer was motivated by discrimination, the employer can still escape liability by proving that it would have taken the same action based upon lawful motive.
Wards Cove Packing Co. v. Antonio (1988)
Reinterpreted the law, and held that an employer can avoid liability merely by showing a business justification for the practice causing an unequal impact and that the plaintiff has the burden of proving a lack of business justification.
Under CRA of 1991, parties could now obtain ______ and recover ______ in Title VII and ADA lawsuits involving _________.
jury trials, compensatory and punitive damages, intentional discrimination
Under CRA 1991, the maximum award of compensatory and punitive damages combined was set at ________ for _______
$300,000 for largest employers (500+ employees)
CRA 1991 Act added a new subsection to Title VII. The Act provided that where the ________________ for an employment decision, the employer is liable for injunctive relief, attorney’s fees, and costs (but not individual monetary or affirmative relief) even though it proves it would have made the same decision in the absence of a discriminatory motive.
plaintiff shows that discrimination was a motivating factor
Quid Pro Quo
occurs whena sueprvisor makes a sexual demand on someone of the opposite sex and this demand is reasonable perceived as a term or condition of employment
Hostile Work Environment
Victim suffered intentional, unwanted discrimination because of their sex, the harassment was severe or pervasive, the harassment negatively affected the terms, conditions or privileges of their work environment, where the harassment was both subjectively and objectively unwelcome, and the management knew about the harassment, should have known, and did nothing to stop it.
If a case of sexual harassment winds up in court, the employer will attempt to defend against this lawsuit by demonstrating that _________________.
there was an effective sexual harassment program in force
An effective sexual harassment program is one that:
- Is _____ & _____ to the employees.
- Defines sexual harassment and declares ________ policy.
- Establishes a __________.
- Trains, _________ and ______ employees.
- Provides for __________ of complaints.
- Includes corrective action, including _________.
- Is in writing and communicated to the employees.
- Defines sexual harassment and declares a “no tolerance” policy
- Establishes a complaint procedure
- Trains, educates and sensitive employees
- Provides for prompt and thorough investigation of complaints.
- Includes corrective action, including discipline.
How to prevent sexual harassment claims
- ______ a policy against sexual harassment
- _____ supervisor training
- _____ a mechanism for receiving complaints
- _____ a method for conducting prompt and thorough investigations
- implement
- require
- provide
- create
Employers may be held _________ of their employees by nonemployees under very limited circumstances.
liable for harassment
The Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978
A federal statute designed to protect individuals from illegal discrimination in employment on the basis of pregnancy.
Under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, employers must treat women ______________ who suffers from a ____________.
affected by pregnancy in the same manner as any other employee who suffers from a temporary disability.
Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967
is a federal statute designed to protect individuals from illegal discrimination in employment on the basis of age.
The protected class created pursuant to this statute is person over the age of
40
Several states have laws making it illegal to disciminate on the basis of age against persons who are over the age of
21
3 defenses to claims under Title VII
- Bona fide occupational qualification defense
- the merit defense
- The seniority system defense
Bona Fide Occupational Qualification Defense
allows employers to discriminate in hiring on the basis of sex, religion or national origin when doing so is necessary for the performance of the job
The Merit Defense
usually raised when hiring or promotion decisions are partially based on test scores
Three types of validations under the merit defense
- criterion-related validity
- content validity
- construct validity
the seniority system defense
employees given special treatment based on their length of service
Remedies under Title VII
back pay, remedial seniority dating back to the time when the plaintiff was discriminated against, attorney fees may
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990
A federal statute designed to protect individuals from illegal discrimination in employment on the basis of disability
ADA defines disability as
a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits activities of life
ADA requires that employers make _______ or unless to do so would cause undue hardship
reasonable accommodations for an otherwise qualified employee with a disability
Procedure to file a claim under Title VII
- File a charge with EEOC. Employee must file charge within ______ of alleged act.
- EEOC notified employer of the charge within ______
- Employee may file a lawsuit
- 180 days
2. 10 days
Equal Pay Act (EPA) of 1963
Prohibits an employer form engaging in wage discrimination based upon sex
EPA requires all employers performing _____ jobs to be compensated equally.
substantially similar
Defense of Marriage Act (1996)
- Signed by Clinton in 1996
- Prevented same-sex couples whose marriages were recognized by their home state from receiving the hundreds of benefits available to other married couples under federal law.
Landmark SCOTUS case in which the Court held in a 5-4 deision that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples by both Due Process Clause and Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendments to the constitution.
Obergefell v. Hodges
Employment Discrimination Internationally
Civil Rights Act of 1991 extended the protection of Title VII and ADA to US Citizens working abroad for American employers or for foreign corporations controlled by US employer. Exception is if it violated foreign law.
