Your course project for this
term is to write a 6-8 page, double-spaced mini-research paper, with your
subject asEmployment Discrimination. Everything you need to know about the project resides on this tab.
Your project requires at least
three (3) outside resources besides the textbook. Your paper must be written in
APA format, include a title and reference page, and reference your sources both
internally (parenthetically) and in the reference page. Please use the APA
template in doc-sharing to complete your work.
Employment discrimination law
is about prohibiting or encouraging behaviors in the workplace regarding
differences in people. It has evolved over the years significantly, and the
passage of Title VII, the US. Civil Rights Act, has made more changes to how
the US defines the right to work free from harassment and discrimination, than
any other law, case, or regulation in the nation. This project has three parts.
Part 1 asks you to answer eight questions about employment discrimination. Part
2 asks you to pick one US Supreme court case from a list, to discuss. Part 3
asks you to review pending legislation regarding employment discrimination, and
provide a few details about one currently pending (i.e. not yet passed) bill in
either your state, or the federal government. Remember, the focus of the
project is on employment discrimination.
Project Part 1:
Answer each of the following 8
questions, in 1-2 paragraphs each. You can use your textbook, or other outside
sources to answer these questions. Do not write a book – answer the questions
succinctly.
1.
What must a person who is
claiming they were harassed in the workplace allege in order to first state a
case with the EEOC for each of the following types of harassment:
1.
Sexual harassment – quid pro
quo
2.
Sexual harassment – hostile
environment
3.
Religious harassment
4.
Racial harassment
2.
Explain the difference between
sexual harassment, gender discrimination, and sexual orientation
discrimination, as those terms are used legally.
3.
How does GINA protect a person
whose mother died of breast cancer from employment discrimination?
4.
Provide one example of a
behavior that could be found to be both a hostile environment and quid pro quo
forms of sexual harassment at the same time. Explain how a person could
argue that this behavior at work was illegal.
5.
Give the main legal reason why
every company should have a valid written policy against all forms of
harassment (besides the fact it is the “right” thing to do.)
6.
Can an employer require that
only females serve female customers and only males serve male customers?
Explain your answer using legal terms.
7.
How many employees must an
employer or company have working for it to be subject to:
1.
the ADA
2.
Pregnancy Discrimination Act
3.
Title VII
4.
IRCA
5.
GINA
8.
Assume you work for a company
that has a sexual anti-harassment policy, but not a religious, sexual
orientation, or racial anti-harassment policy. Write a one-two paragraph
statement to your boss (the HR Director), as to why you believe it would make
sense to revamp the policy to include other forms of harassment. Include one
example of a real situation where a policy may have protected a company from
liability or stopped harassment from happening. (You will find case examples on
the EEOC website). Cite that case/situation in your memo to your boss. Provide
the amount of damages/fines the company in your example case had to pay as a
result of failing to protect an employee from discrimination.
Project Part II. Employment Discrimination
Cases.
Many court cases on employment
discrimination have shaped, created, and changed the employment landscape. Some
protect employees from discrimination, and many protect employers from
liability. Settlements and trial court cases do not create legal precedent or
changes in the law. However, appeals court cases, and especially the U.S.
Supreme Court Cases, do change, shape, and create new law, when statutes are
interpreted in binding ways. Pick ONE case from the following list. Read
the case. Answer each of the FOUR questions following the list of cases and place
them in your Project Part II. Be sure to identify WHICH of the cases you
selected.
List
of U.S. Supreme Court Cases:
Vance v. Ball State University.http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/12pdf/11-556_11o2.pdf
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center v. Nassar.http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/12pdf/12-484_o759.pdf
Phillips v. Martin Marietta Corp. 400 U.S. 542 (1971).http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=400&invol=542
Espinoza v Farah Mfg. Co, 414 U.S. 86 (1973)http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=414&invol=86
Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, 83 F. 3d 118http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/96-568.ZO.html
Questions
for answering.
1.
Explain briefly, the
statute(s) (law or act) which was in question in your case, the facts of the
case, and why the parties were in court. What was each party asking the court
to do?
2.
What did the court decide in
your case and what will be the results of that decision? (i.e. who won, and was
the win finalor did
the court send the case back to the lower court system to re-decide an issue?)
3.
In what way did this case create,
change, or shape the employment landscape for employers as a result of the
decision made? Did this change help employers or employees the most? Explain.
4.
Do you agree with the decision
in the case you referenced? In other words, do you think that employment law
was made better and stronger, or weaker and less effective as a result of this
case? Write at least one full paragraph that supports your opinion.
Part 3. Legal Research into an Employment Law
Pending Before Congress
Organizations such as the Society
for Human Resource Management (http://www.shrm.org) work hard to support, lobby against, or provide education to the
public about laws that will affect workers and employers. These organizations
significantly influence what laws pass. Savvy HR managers have SHRM on their
desktops so they are familiar with the many changes being suggested at any
time, as they could cost companies significant amounts of money if they are
passed.
Each year, thousands of
proposed laws are being discussed, debated, and either passed, ignored, or
rejected in state legislators around the country, or in Congress.
Find a proposed piece of legislation in the U.S. (or your state legislature)
which interests you. This piece of legislation needs to regard employment law
in some way (labor law, employment discrimination, ADA, PPACA, Title VII, GINA,
etc.) Note that any bill that suggests changes to any current law will suffice,
as well as a new law. Some examples you can use if you are interested are: the Fair Playing Field
Act of 2012, the Religious Freedom Act
of 2012,or a new bill regarding
whether full-time employment under PPACA is 40 hours/week instead of 30 hours.
(Since the time of writing this project, it is possible these examples of passed
– be sure to check if you use any of them).
Places to look for legislation
like this include:
Congress.gov.http://www.congress.gov
(Note that the Active Legislationlink (right side) and Most Viewed Billsside include unpassed, pending legislation. the Public Lawslink are passedlaws – so do not use those.)
Govtrack.UShttps://www.govtrack.us/
Note: you can type in your state, and get updates your state’s representatives
to Congress.
SHRM’s
legislative pages:http://www.shrm.org/legalissues/federalresources/federallegislation/pages/default.aspx#
(Note that link takes you to the top level – and you can dig around on their
links to find more information. Some of the internal pages may require a
subscription to SHRM, however.)
Once you find a law pending before Congress that interests you, read the bill and
answer these questions.
1.
What is the name of the
bill? What is the resolution number of the bill (e.g., HR 212)?
2.
Does the bill you selected
create a new law or amend an existing law?
3.
If this bill is passed, how
will it change current employment law? Be specific here and include enough
detail so that someone reading your answer really understanding the bill under
consideration.
4.
State whether you agree or
disagree with the bill. If you were a member of Congress would you vote
for it? Explain why.
