Deck 2: Major Title Vii Judicial Scenarios

Question 1

What were the burdens for plaintiffs and defendants as originally decided in
McDonnell v. Green (1973)?

Answer 1

McDonnell v GreenAs originally stated by Justice Powell in resolution of McDonnell v Green, the plaintiff is first responsible for establishing prima facie through the presentation of presumptive evidence of a violation More specifically, the plaintiff must convince the court that he/she is a member of a protected group, that he/she has applied and was qualified for a positive work-related outcome ie promotion, that he/she was rejected for said outcome despite possession of necessary qualifications, and that following his/her rejection, the employer continued to seek applicants possessing similar qualifications to those held by the plaintiffThe plaintiff, having established prima facie, then transfers the burden of production to the defendant At this stage, the defendant must simply articulate some nondiscriminatory reason for the plaintiff's rejection To reiterate, the defendant is not required to prove or provide hard evidence of anything, but rather, must simply state a legitimate, nondiscriminatory explanation for its actionHaving completed the previous two phases, the plaintiff then becomes responsible for satisfaction of the burden of pretext In keeping with the findings of McDonnell v Green, the establishment of pretext is the only burden of persuasion required throughout the McDonnell-Burdine scenarioFurthermore, in the absence of direct evidence indicating a history of discrimination towards others or the plaintiff, the burden of pretext may also be satisfied indirectly through the presentation of circumstantial evidence suggesting that nonminority individuals were treated more favorably under similar circumstances

Question 2

What major change was made to the scenario in St. Mary's v. Hicks (1993) and how was the Hicks ruling clarified in Reeves v. Sanderson Plumbing (2000)?

Answer 2

St Mary's v HicksHicksReeves v Sanderson PlumbingSt Mary's v Hicks 1993 held significant implications for the final phase of the McDonnell- Burdine Scenario Specifically, in this case, the plaintiff presented strong indirect evidence of pretext but lost, implying that such evidence lacked probative value However, the court's decision was clarified in Reeves v Sanderson Plumbing 2000 when it was established that indirect evidence can suffice for judgment for the plaintiff, but did not guarantee such a judgment

Question 3

How do burdens in mixed motive differ from McDonnell-Burdine?

Answer 3

a. Under McDonnell-Burdine, the plaintiff would have lost because she was unable to prove a viable pretext for her termination
b. However, under mixed motive, the plaintiff won the case because she only had to provide apreponderance of evidence Specifically, the decision-makers placed substantial reliance on a criterion that had no relevance to the job

Question 4

How did congress react to the Supreme Court's ruling in Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins (1989)?
a) Congress overturned the decision in CRA-91, stating that a requirement of a motivating factor, not a substantial factor, was necessary.
b) Remedies were also bifurcated. Judgment Plaintiff: entitled to declaratory relief, injunctive relieve, and attorney's fees. Judgment Defendant: Avoids paying damages, needing to reinstate, hiring, promote, or pay.

Question 5

How was the plaintiff's burden in mixed-motive altered by Desert Palace v. Costa (2003)?

Question 6

How do the burdens in pattern or practice compare to McDonnell-Burdine?

Question 7

What are the traditional indicators of pattern or practice as represented in Int. Teamsters v. US (1977) and US v. Hazelwood (1977)?

Question 8

What are some of the newer issues in pattern or practice case law?

Question 9

What are the characteristics of successful and unsuccessful BFOQ defenses?

Question 10

What are the major implications of bona fide seniority systems (BFSS) for past victims of discrimination?

Question 11

What variations in adverse impact theory existed in early Supreme Court rulings?

Question 12

What variations are termed adverse impact light and adverse impact heavy?

Question 13

What was the apparent ruling in Watson v. Fort Worth (1988) on subjective causes of adverse impact?

Question 14

What were the three major recommendations for altering the adverse impact scenario by the O'Connor plurality?

Question 15

What were the counter arguments by the Blackmun plurality?

Question 16

What prior Supreme Court precedents were overturned by (1989)?

Question 17

What were the respective positions of Democrats and Republicans on Wards Cove in CRRA-90 and CRA-91 debates?

Question 18

What major compromises were made regarding Wards Cove in CRA-91?

Question 19

How do we reconcile the fact that the Uniform Guidelines are outdated, especially in view of strategies for validation research in psychological authorities such as the SIOP Principles and the APA Standards?

Question 20

What are practical recommendations based on case law surveyed in this chapter?

Question 21

What are practical principles in spirit of the Guidelines?

Question 22

What is the distinction between presumptive and direct evidence?

Question 23

What is the distinction between pattern of practice and disparate treatment?

Question 24

What is the distinction between pattern of practice and adverse impact?

Question 25

What are the 3 phases of the McDonnell-Burdine scenario?

Question 26

Post-CRA91, what role do "derogatory remarks" play in mixed motive cases?

Question 27

What are the 3 phases of Mixed Motive scenarios?

Question 28

What are the 3 phases of a Pattern of Practice scenario?

Question 29

What role does "inexorable zero" play in pattern of practice cases?

Question 30

What role does each of the following play in BFOQ defenses? Workforce safety, worker safety, customer safety, customer privacy, customer confidentiality, customer preference.

Question 31

What is the adverse impact scenario under CRA91?

Question 32

The key to proving a "manifest relationship" between test performance and job performance depends on what?

Question 33

When with regard to job demands and the consequences of job failure, does the employer have a lighter burden to demonstrate the job relatedness of a predictor(s)?

Question 34

What is the distinction between a "target attribute" and a "surrogate attribute" and what role does it play in adverse impact cases?

Question 35

What is the distinction between job-relatedness and business necessity and what role does it play in determining cases?

Question 36

What was the CRA91 Ward's Cove compromise? Where did it leave the standing on O'Connor's opinion in Watson?