Question 1

Your school's police/security force requires that all officers be over 6' and over 200 lbs.This requirement creates a:

Accepted Answer

The height and weight requirement of over 6' and over 200 lbs disproportionately affects women as they are generally shorter and have lower body weight than men. Therefore, this requirement results in disparate impact regarding women.

Question 2

Dr.Augustus is a professor at a university and is up for tenure.He is a black male of African heritage and speaks with a very strong and very difficult to understand accent.When upset or excited,his accent becomes incomprehensible.When his tenure committee reviews his credentials,they find that he meets and exceeds the publication record required of a person applying for tenure.They also see that his student evaluations are consistently negative citing an inability to communicate his ideas to students,constant lateness to class and unexplained essay grading appearing to be arbitrary.The evaluations also claim that he rarely maintains appropriate office hours and won't provide assistance to students.Peer and supervisor evaluations indicate his unwillingness to contribute to committee work and a general lack of camaraderie.His accent has been addressed but he has constantly rejected any suggestions to improve his communication skills.It is recommended that he be denied tenure.Subsequent committees come to similar conclusions and he is given a termination contract.Reasons given include his inability to communicate,his refusal to work with students,his failure to maintain office hours and his refusal to work with other faculty.Dr.Augustus believes that he has been denied tenure primarily due to his race and African heritage and files a claim with the EEOC.When the EEOC investigates,they find numerous black faculty members of African heritage; many with pronounced accents,both tenure track and tenured.Has Dr.Augustus been discriminated against? Why or why not?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Dr.Augustus is a professor at a university...

Question 3

Which of the following would be valid grounds to recognize and apply a bona fide occupational qualification?

Accepted Answer

Bona fide occupational qualifications can only be used when the qualification is essential to the job and there is no other way to reasonably accommodate it. In this case, privacy concerns in a health spa locker room may be a valid reason to have same-sex attendants.

Therefore, choices A, C, and D are not valid grounds to recognize and apply a bona fide occupational qualification. A preference from customers (A) does not make a qualification essential to the job, and excluding an entire gender for safety reasons (C) may not be reasonable if other safety measures can be put in place. Excluding individuals of a certain race (D) is also not legally permissible under discrimination laws.

Question 4

In Ricci v.DeStefano,Ricci,a white firefighter,took and passed the City of New Haven firefighter's test,required of all applicants for promotion in the city's fire department.The test was thrown out when it was discovered that minorities scored poorly and the city feared a disparate impact based law suit.

Accepted Answer

This is because an employer cannot simply disregard a test based on unwanted results unless the test is shown to be biased or deficient. In this case, there was no evidence that the test was biased or deficient, and therefore the city's decision to throw out the test results was seen as illegal discrimination against Ricci and the other firefighters who passed the test.

Question 5

What was the justification for,and the purpose of,the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009?

Accepted Answer

The answer of What was the justification for,and the purpose...

Question 6

Under what conditions may an employer be held responsible to an aggrieved employee for sexual harassment committed by a co-worker even if the employer is completely unaware of and had no actual knowledge of the illegal conduct.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Under what conditions may an employer be...

Question 7

Tom is a cop and has a reputation for being one of the toughest men in the precinct.He regularly hangs out with the guys and flirts with the women.After two years he announces that he is gay and always has been.A week later he is fired when his lieutenant announces that he can't trust a gay person and feels too uncomfortable around him.If Tom files a discrimination complaint with the EEOC,what will be the outcome?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Tom is a cop and has a...

Question 8

In Enriquez v.West Jersey Health Systems,the plaintiff began an external transformation from male to female.When her contract was not renewed she brought suit claiming discrimination.

Accepted Answer

New Jersey state law provided protection against discrimination based on gender identity, even though federal law at the time did not explicitly cover it.

Question 9

In a disparate impact case,if an employer can show that a challenged employment practice is job related and consistent with business necessity,the plaintiff can still win by showing that:

Accepted Answer

Even if the employer can show that the employment practice is job related and consistent with business necessity, the plaintiff can still win by showing that there is an alternative practice that would have less discriminatory effects, but the employer refuses to use it. This is known as the "business necessity defense" and can still be overcome by proving that there are less discriminatory alternatives available.

Question 10

The Equal Pay Act is an amendment to:

Accepted Answer

The Equal Pay Act is an amendment to the Fair Labor Standards Act, which establishes minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and child labor standards affecting full-time and part-time workers in the private sector and in Federal, State, and local governments. The Equal Pay Act prohibits employers from paying different wages to men and women who perform jobs that require equal skill, effort, and responsibility, and that are performed under similar working conditions within the same establishment.

Question 11

The Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Criteria says that discrimination is likely if the pass rate of any protected class is less than ________ of the pass rate of the most successful race,sex or other protected class tested.

Accepted Answer

The Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Criteria state that discrimination is likely if the pass rate of any protected class is less than 80% of the pass rate of the most successful group. This is known as the "four-fifths rule."

Question 12

Name the four elements that must be proven to establish a prima facie case of disparate treatment in hiring under the McDonnell Douglas standard.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Name the four elements that must be...

Question 13

Kim,a CPA,works for a small accounting firm consisting of two managing partners,six accountants and four secretaries.During a skiing vacation,Kim has a serious fall and is paralyzed from the waist down.While she cannot walk,her mind is not affected and she is 100% capable of performing her accounting duties.She has asked the firm to widen the aisles between cubicles so she can maneuver her wheel chair and to provide a special desk that is wheel chair friendly.These accommodations would cost less than $1,000.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Kim,a CPA,works for a small accounting firm...

Question 14

Robin has just graduated with an MS in elementary education.He sends his resume to a number of school boards and one writes back offering an interview for a kindergarten position.When Robin arrives at the interview it is obvious that the interviewers had expected a female.They ask a few general questions and conclude the interview.Two days later he gets a rejection letter.He later finds out that a female applicant with only a Bachelors degree was hired.He believes that he has been discriminated against due to sex and he files a complaint with the EEOC.The school district defends by saying that kindergarten teachers are traditionally female and that the parents' preference is for a female to conduct the class.Is the school board justified in their actions and will their defense be effective?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Robin has just graduated with an MS...

Question 15

What are the four defenses available to an employer under the Equal Pay Act that will permit different levels of pay between men and women?

Accepted Answer

The answer of What are the four defenses available to...

Question 16

Mohammed has applied for a custodial job and has been rejected.He believes that his rejection is because of his Arab heritage.He is able to show two years of custodial experience and has successfully performed each of the jobs listed on the positions job description.He subsequently discovers that the job continued to be advertised after his rejection.When he files a complaint alleging disparate impact discrimination with the EEOC,the employer asserts that Mohammed did not meet their qualifications which included a minimum of ten years experience and a high school degree.How should the court decide this case?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Mohammed has applied for a custodial job...

Question 17

Once the plaintiff has established a prima facie case under the McDonnell Douglas standard and the defendant has presented justification for the actions taken,the plaintiff must now prove any of the following except:

Accepted Answer

The plaintiff does not need to prove that the stated reasons contain a mixed motive. If the plaintiff can show that one or more of the reasons given by the defendant for their actions are false, pretextual, or otherwise inadequate, they may be able to establish that discrimination or retaliation was a motivating factor in the defendant's actions. However, the plaintiff is not required to show that the defendant had a mixed motive.

Question 18

What procedures or policies should employers implement to protect themselves from charges of discrimination even when firing an employee for misconduct?

Accepted Answer

The answer of What procedures or policies should employers implement...

Question 19

Amanda works in an office environment with 50 employees.Once or twice a week,her boss Alan,tells her she has great legs and that she should wear shorter skirts.He also tells her to let loose and open another button on her blouse once in a while.She asks him to stop and continues to wear knee length skirts and keeps her blouse buttoned to the neck.He never touches her and he never makes these comments when someone else can hear.When she gets her performance appraisal from Alan,he gives her an excellent evaluation and a raise.After listening to Alan for six months she files a complaint with the EEOC:

Accepted Answer

Amanda has a valid hostile environment claim. Alan's comments about her body and appearance constitute sexual harassment and have created a hostile and offensive work environment for Amanda. The fact that he only makes these comments when no one else can hear also indicates that he likely knows his behavior is inappropriate. The fact that Amanda received a good performance evaluation and a raise does not negate the fact that she has been subjected to unwanted sexual comments, which is a form of sexual harassment.

Question 20

Ben has just been diagnosed with diabetes.He has the disease under control through diet,exercise and drugs.He is an assistant manager at a chain department store and is fully capable of performing all of his job functions and needs no accommodations.Ben rides a bicycle over 100 miles per week,participates in half marathons and regularly works out at the YMCA.When he applies for a promotion to manage a store in the chain,he is turned down because his superiors are concerned that his diabetes could affect his job performance.Is Ben disabled and does the Americans with Disabilities Act afford him any protections?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Ben has just been diagnosed with diabetes.He...

Quiz 12: Employment Discrimination