Studied by 17 people____ was the seminal piece of legislation that shaped and defined employment law rights in the U.S.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
What was the main motivation of Title VII?
Eliminate long-standing racial discrimination in the workplace against African-Americans
Title VII and other discrimination laws are meant to:
Remove matters such as race, etc. from the employment decision-making equation
True or False: Title VII and related laws are meant to provide “extra” rights or give anyone an advantage in getting/keeping a job, getting promoted/demoted
False
Employers are permitted to seek and promote ____ in the workplace
Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)
What elements does Title VII covers (5):
Race - ethnicity (not necessarily country of origin)
Color - skin
Gender
National origin - country of origin, not citizenship
Religion - beliefs or practices
What is covered under Title VII’s, gender (3)?
sexual harassment
sexual orientation
gender identity
True or False: can there be “overlap” between types of discrimination
True
(there can be overlap between race & color, race & national origin, etc.)
True or False: Title VII only covers employees in corporate + management positions
False
Covers all levels and types of employees)
True or False: Title VII does not apply to United States workers when they leave the U.S. for work.
False
U.S. citizens employed anywhere in the world by American employers are protected by Title VII
True or False: Non United States citizens employed by American employers are covered by Title VII only in the U.S.
True
What are the 2 ways employers can violate Title VII:
Disparate treatment
Disparate impact
____ happens when the plantiff is intentionally treated differently based on a reason thar is illegal, under Title VII
Disparate treatment
____ occurs when the plantiff is victim of unintentional discriminationillegal under Title VII
Disparate Impact
What did the McDonell Douglas Corp v. Green case show?
About Disparate Treatment
Plantiff presents their prima facie (first) case:
plantiff belongs to racial minority
plantiff applied and was qualified
despite qualifications, plaintiff rejected
after plaintiff’s rejection, position remained open & employer continued to seek applicants from persons of plantiff’s qualifications
What does defense of “valid legal reason” mean?
Defendant must show:
legitimate, non-discriminatory reason for adverse employment action (ex. termination, not being hired) against plaintiff
** After: plaintiff should present evidence showing defendant’s reason was pretext (an excuse) for discrimination
In McDonnell Douglas Corp v. Green (1973) what was the 3 step analysis?
Step 1: person/employee must show treated unfairly based on protected characteristic
Step 2: employer must provide legitimate reason
Step 3: must show employers’ reasoning was pretext (an excuse) for discrimination
(plaintiff > defendant > plaintiff)
What are some ways the defendant can prove the adverse employment action was base on a legiitmate, nondiscriminatory reason (2):
Good Cause
Bona-fide Occupational Qualifications (BFOQ)
What is a BFOQ?
A potential discriminatory policy or qualification, but is necessary for the job/business
A narrow exception to what would otherwise be illegal discrimination
What is an example of a BFOQ?
Not hiring a man to clean/manage a woman’s locker room
Lifting a certain amount of weight to the job safely (FedEx, firefighters, etc.)
How is Disparate impact initiated?
Employee/ applicant alleges that the employer’s (on the face) neutral policy/qualfiication has an adverse impact on a protected Title VII group
What must the employer do to examine potential disparate impact?
Look at the real-life effect of a job qualification, company policy, etc
(Since no intent is needed for a disparate impact case)
True or False: A white man can be protected in a race or sex discrimination case
True
A “protected” group can be any group adversely impacted
How do you show disparate impact?
4/5ths rule (statistical study)
What is the 4/5ths rule?
Minority group must do at least 80% as well as majority group on job screening device
If not: there is a presumption that a disparate impact case can arise
BUT can be rebutted by employer’s legitimate business necessity
What does theGriggs v. Duke Power co. case show?
About disparate impact:
For years, company able to get away with race discrimination
African Americans were only eligible to work in 1 department out of 5 (also lowest paying)
Once Title VII was enacted: opened up job to African Americans (in all 5 departments) but required applicants to be a High School graduate
This was a problem because: there were white people in other departments and did not have a diploma
Expert for plaintiff did a survey - noted: that local population had more black high school drop outs
Expert wanted to figure out why: because black students weren’t given adequate resources to be successful in schools
Yes, disparate impact was valid
What must the plantiff prove when the employer tries to retaliate under Title VII (3)?
Plantiff must prove:
Was engaged in activity protected by Title VII
Suffered adverse employment action
Engaging in protected activity caused the adverse employment action
What counts as an employer retaliating against Title VII? (2)
Opposing anything that violates Title VII (opposition clause)
Taking part in/ assisting any Title VII investigation, proceedings, or hearings (participation clause)
What did Clark v. Claremont University Center show about racial discrimnation?
Racial discrimination violated Title VII
Even actions that seem neutral can be discriminatory if they have a disproportionate impact on a certain race
Employers have an obligation to prevent racial discrimination, can be held liable if fail to take measures to prevent
Racial harassment can be a form of discrimination & employers must prevent + address harassment in the workplace
According to Ricci v. DeStefano, what must employers do (4):
Employers cannot make employment decisions based on race (even if they think they are doing it for non-discriminatory reasons)
Must have strong basis to justify employment decisions based on race
NOT rely on racial quotas/race-based decisions to achieve a more diverse workforce
NOT act against employees solely based on their race/ethnicity
What does race discrimination involve according to the EEOC?
(entire “race/color discrimination” section)
True or False: Discrimination can occur even if the plantiff is the same race as the defendant?
True
Note
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