Discrimination: Gender, Sexual Orientation and Disability and Sexual Harassment
Instruction: All the required readings are saved in the other file.
Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=ye4Y_VpvCko&feature=emb_logo
PowerPoint: Is in a video format. Click on link
Complete Module 3 Forum: Discrimination Scenario ONE
Review the fact pattern below. Once you are familiar with the scenario, please answer the questions that follow. You should answer in narrative format and your responses MUST be numbered to match the questions. Each response should be grammatically correct, free from spelling errors, and should provide enough information to answer the question completely.
MJ, an associate accountant, overheard one of the other accountants in her office refer to her as a “freak” and “gothic looking” and that her “butch” hair and numerous earrings were inappropriate business attire to wear at the office. Between March 2015 and November 2016, MJ received 3 anonymous notes on her desk that called her “weird” and that her wearing sneakers with a skirt made her look like a “punk-freak.” She also received several emails from co-workers that contained links to fashion magazines and articles on women’s apparel.
On Halloween, one co-worker came to the office in a wig with several clip-on earrings and sneakers and joked that she was “dressed like MJ for Halloween.” MJ also noticed that she was frequently being excluded from client meetings and, as a result, her ability to develop relationships with existing clients was hampered. MJ complained about these incidents to her supervisor who instructed her to comb her hair more conservatively, remove some of her earrings and to start wearing footwear that is more formal to the office. MJ immediately went to the EEOC office to file a complaint against her employer.
- What type of discrimination will MJ base her claim on?
- What is the likelihood that MJ will succeed? You should make reference to the legal requirements that MJ would need to establish in order to be successful.
- Why do you think she will or will not be successful in her lawsuit?
Complete Module 3 Forum: Discrimination Scenario TWO
Money Movers, a prestigious investment firm in located New Orleans, an ethnically diverse city with a population that is made up of 70% minorities, is in the middle of its recruiting season. John Moore, the HR manager, recently read a newspaper article stating that Latinos and African Americans sometimes get admitted to Ivy League business institutions with lower than average GMAT scores. Mr. Moore sends a memo to firm interviewers requesting that they ask all Latino and African-American applicants for their GMAT scores. Mr. Moore’s memo explains that the new policy is to ensure that the firm maintains its reputation as the number one employer of top-notch investment bankers. The firm requires all candidates be interviewed by the following partners – Franklin Pierce (white male, 55 yrs old, Harvard grad), Claude Pepper (white male, 49 yrs old, Harvard grad), F. Scott Fitzgerald (white male, 62 yrs old, Yale grad) and Adele Huffington (white female, 43 yrs old, Yale grad). The firm also only interviews candidates from Harvard and Yale who have a personal recommendation from an existing employee at the firm.
Pedro Martinez, John Case and Bill Wilkinson are enrolled in the Masters in Business Administration program at Harvard and have interviewed at Money Movers. Mr. Martinez is Cuban American. Mr. Case and Mr. Wilkinson are both white. After their interviews, they meet outside to discuss the interview process.
Martinez: Hey, did you guys think it was strange that they asked about GMAT scores?
Case: I wasn’t asked about my GMAT scores. Are you serious?
Wilkinson: I wasn’t asked about my scores either. The interviewer asked me how I did in corporate finance but not about my GMAT scores.
Martinez: That’s funny. At last month’s Latino Business Students Association meeting I remember a bunch of people said that they were asked their GMAT scores during their interview at Money Movers. I was so worried about my scores that I prepared a two-minute answer to explain my scores. I must have sounded rehearsed and nervous during my interview.
Mr. Case and Mr. Wilkinson are hired for positions at Money Makers. Mr. Martinez is not hired. In fact, all five new hires for this year were white males from Harvard. Martinez sues the company claiming he was not hired because he is Latino.
- What type of discrimination claim will Martinez assert? (Hint – make sure you specify whether it is disparate impact or treatment and what Title VII category?)
- Do you think Martinez will be successful in his lawsuit against Money Maker’s?
- Explain why he will or will not succeed?
- Are there any problems with Money Maker’s recruitment methods? If so, explain what the problems are.
- If Martinez wins his lawsuit, can the court require Money Maker to alter its hiring practices so that 1 out of every 2 new hires is a minority for the next several years?
- If your answer to “E” is “yes”, then explain why the court can do this. If your answer is “no”, then explain why the court cannot do this.
