Brett Donovan was the manager at Walton's Diner. He planned to promote Keisha, one of the waitresses, to Assistant Manager; however, the owner told him that he did not want a black person in charge at any time of the day or night at his restaurant. Additionally, Brett wanted to promote Carlton, one of the bus boys, to waiter. The owner vetoed that recommendation as well on the grounds that his customers would not feel comfortable having a black man bring them their food, that it might be intimidating. Brett was extremely frustrated and offered Keisha and Carlton the promotions anyway because they were deserving. Subsequently, Brett was fired.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Brett may have a cause of action for constructive discharge, which occurs when an employer makes working conditions so intolerable that a reasonable person in the employee's position would feel compelled to quit. In this case, Brett's frustration with the owner's discriminatory practices and his subsequent firing could be seen as meeting this threshold. Option A is incorrect because the opposition clause protects employees from retaliation when they oppose discriminatory practices or file complaints, whereas Brett's actions were not in opposition to Walton's Diner. Option C is incorrect because Brett did not fail to change the company's policy; rather, the owner vetoed his recommendations based on discriminatory beliefs. Option D is also incorrect because Brett did not acquiesce to the discriminatory policy, but rather challenged it by trying to promote deserving employees despite the owner's objections.

Brett Donovan Was the Manager at Walton's Diner