Ch. 12- Employee discrimination

An employer may hire and employ on the basis of religion, gender or national origin in certain instances when the classification is: ______.

a bona fide occupational qualification.

State anti-discrimination statutes differ from federal laws in that these laws:

expand protected class membership

The first thing an employee must do when alleging employment discrimination is

file a complaint with the EEOC.

In Oncale v. Sundowner the Supreme court held that Title VII was: ______.

gender-neutral

The ADA amendments to 2008 (ADAAA) urges courts to:

interpret the definition of disability more broadly

The ADA defines a(n) ______ as someone who, with or without reasonable accommodation, can perform the "essential functions" of a employment position.

qualified individual

Which of the following cannot be used as a bona fide occupational qualification?

race

In the Adarand Constructors v. Pena, case the Supreme Court ruled that state and local government affirmative action plans in race-based or gender-based preferences for hiring contractors would be subject to the ______ standard.

strict scrutiny

True or false: Laws prohibiting sexual harassment apply to same-sex harassment.

true

True or false: When an employee commits an act of misconduct, so long as that act has been identified to the employee as such, employers may discipline the employee in accordance with the company's general practices without liability for discrimination.

true

In the Lilly Ledbetter v. Goodyear case before the U.S. Supreme Court, the Court held that the plaintiff should have filed suit:

within 180 days of receiving her first unfair paycheck.

Title VII applies to labor unions, employment agencies, state and local governments as well as private sector employers with ______ or more full-time employees.

15

Title VII applies to any private sector employer with ______ or more ______ employees.

15, full-time

Affirmative Action

An action plan designed to maintain equal employment opportunities and to remedy past employment discrimination of women, persons of color, persons with disabilities, and other underutilized protected classes.

Which of the following are theories of discrimination under Title VII?

Disparate treatment, disparate impact and mixed motives

The federal administrative agency charged with carrying out federal workplace antidiscrimination laws is the: ______.

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Technically, the Equal Pay Act is an amendment to the ______ and is therefore not always categorized as an antidiscrimination statute.

Fair Labor Standards Act

The primary federal antidiscrimination statutes include all of the following except: ______.

Fair Labor Standards Act

Affirmative action in employment began during World War II when President ______ issued an executive order banning racial, religious, and gender discrimination in the defense industry.

Franklin D Roosevelt

Which of the following will help shield an employer from sexual harassment liability?

Making employees aware of an employer's sexual harassment policy

protected classes

The classifications of individuals that are specified in Title VII, including color, race, national origin, religion, gender, and pregnancy.

Under the Faragher/Ellerth cases, which of the following is true?

The employer must prove the employee failed to take advantage of the preventative or corrective opportunities that were provided.

Disparate Treatment

Theory of employment discrimination predicated on overt and intentional discrimination; includes being treated differently because of one's membership in a protected class.

Which of the following laws protects against sexual harassment?

Title VII

______ prohibits discrimination in the workplace on the basis of an employee's race, color, national origin, gender, or religion.

Title VII

Disparate treatment by an employer is discrimination under: ______.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

Beginning in 1971, the U.S. Supreme Court began to develop guidance for the courts on how to apply:

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

pretext

A false reason offered to justify an action.

Equal Pay Act of 1963

A federal statute that makes it illegal for employers to pay unequal wages to men and women who perform substantially equal work.

Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA)

A federal statute that prohibits employers from discriminating against employees on the basis of their age once employees have reached age 40.

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA)

A federal statute that seeks to eliminate discriminatory employment practices against persons with disabilities; requires that employers with 15 or more employees make reasonable accommodations for an employee with disabilities in the workplace as long as the accommodations do not cause the employer to suffer an undue hardship.

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

A five-member federal administrative agency that administers congressional mandates that ensure adequate protection for victims of discrimination; accepts and investigates worker complaints and, in certain cases, will sue on behalf of employees.

Complaint (Discrimination)

A form that an aggrieved employee files against his employer with the EEOC that details how the employee was discriminated against.

disability

A physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a person's ability to participate in major life activities.

Bona Fide Occupational Qualification (BFOQ)

A provision in certain federal antidiscrimination statutes that allows discrimination based on religion, gender, or national origin when it can be shown that such discrimination is reasonably necessary to the business operation.

Reasonable Accommodations

Accommodations, required under the Americans with Disabilities Act, that allow disabled individuals to adequately perform essential job functions.

______ occurs when an employer intentionally treats an employee (or potential employee) differently based on her membership in a(n) ______.

Disparate treatment, protected class

Federal antidiscrimination statutes require an aggrieved employee to first file a complaint with the ______ within _____ of the adverse job action.

EEOC, 180 days

Which of the following may be a defense to a workplace discrimination claim?

Employee misconduct

The Blank______ cases created judicially created an affirmative defense whereby an employer may avoid vicarious liability by proving that a system was in place that was intended to deter, prevent, report, and correct any harassment.

Faragher/Ellerth

Which Supreme Court case is primarily used for disparate impact cases?

Griggs v Duke Power

Which of the following standards requires a disparate treatment analysis under Title VII?

McDonnell Douglas

In the _______ case, the U.S. Supreme Court articulated a ______ theory of protection under Title VII when the cause of the employment action includes both legitimate and discriminatory intentions.

PriceWaterhouse v. Hopkins, mixed motives

burden of proof

The responsibility of producing sufficient evidence in support of a fact or issue and favorably convincing the fact finder of that fact or issue.

title vii

The section of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that serves as the centerpiece of antidiscrimination law; covers a comprehensive set of job-related transactions and prohibits discrimination in the workplace on the basis of an employee's race, color, national origin, gender, religion, or pregancy. The law applies to any private sector employer with 15 or more full-time employees and to unions, employment agencies, state and local governments, and most of the federal government.

mixed motives

Theory of employment discrimination in which the cause of the adverse employment action was motivated by both legitimate and discriminatory motives.

employee discrimination

Workplace-related discrimination in the hiring process and treatment of employees; encompasses everything from promotions and demotions to work schedules, working conditions, and disciplinary measures.

A(n) ______ occurs when the conduct of the harasser(s) is of such a severe and crude nature, or is so pervasive in the workplace, that it interferes with the victim's ability to perform their job responsibilities.

hostile work environment

In a disparate treatment discrimination claim, the existence of a pretext is a question of fact for the ______ to decide.

jury

Which of the following classifications is an example of a protected class?

race

Once a person has a disability, the ADA requires the employer to make ______ that allow the employee to perform essential job functions.

reasonable accommodations

Even if an employee does not meet the ADA definitions, she may still be protected under an alternative theory known as the: ______ test.

regarded-as

Requests for sexual favors and unwelcome sexual favors are examples of: ______.

sexual harassment

Under the ______ theory, an employee is protected under Title VII if the employee proves the protected-class membership was a ______ in the decision-making process.

mixed-motives, substantial factor

______________ negotiations is a requirement in an employment discrimination claim. This means that the EEOC make good faith efforts in favor of settling the dispute.

conciliation

The Equal Pay Act requires an employer to pay ______ wages for equal work.

equal

When dealing with a claim under the ADA, the employer: ______.

is not required to provide accommodations that create an undue hardship

Federal antidiscrimination statutes differ from state statutes that tend to cover more employers, with some states imposing antidiscrimination statutes on small businesses with:

just 1 employee

Federal antidiscrimination statutes allow a defense for employers using actual number of years on the job (referred to as ______) as the basis for certain job decisions.

seniority

A(n) ______ hardship is one that results in significant difficulty or expense in the context of overall employer resources.

undue

The ADA amendments of 2008 (the ADAA) now includes a requirement that courts make determinations of disabilities without regard to whether the plaintiff: ______.

uses medication or artificial aids

Although each antidiscrimination statute has its own set of defenses, there is some ______ among employer defenses.

commonality

Business necessity test

A defense used to rebut disparate impact claims when a business can prove that a certain skill, ability, or procedure is absolutely necessary to the operation of the business. Discrimination is permitted even if a protected class is adversely affected.

In the "______" theory of sexual harassment, the harasser demands sexual favors as a(n) condition of continued employment or promotion.

quid pro quo

In the ______ case, the Supreme Court recognized that certain evaluation techniques for employee selection could be administered uniformly to all candidates but still constitute a(n) ______ against certain protected-class members.

Griggs v Duke Power Co., built-in headwinds

The mixed motives theory of Title VII discrimination is also referred to as the: ______.

Hopkins standard.

Disparate Impact

Theory of employment discrimination in which employee evaluation techniques that are not themselves discriminatory have a different and adverse impact on members of a protected class.

hostile work environment

Theory of liability under Title VII for sexual harassment that is of such a severe and crude nature or is so pervasive in the workplace that it interferes with the victim's ability to do the job.

Under the mixed motives theory of discrimination, once the burden shifts to the employer, the standard is: ______.

a preponderance of the evidence

Under the McDonnell Douglas standard, shifting of the ______ requires the employer to prove nondiscriminatory reason for the evidence against it.

burden of proof

Under the McDonnell Douglas standard, the ______ requires a shift to the employer once the plaintiff has established a prima facie case.

burden of proof

The ______ test is the broadest defense to employment discrimination and is used when a business can justify discrimination on the basis that it is legitimately necessary to the business operations of the company.

business necessity

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission was created by the: ______.

civil rights act

Affirmative action plans by state and local governments must not use a quota system and must be designed to: ______.

combat actual past discrimination

Even if an employer is not intentionally discriminating, ______ prohibits an employer from using a facially neutral practice that discriminates against members of a(n) ______.

disparate impact, protected class

In some cases involving ______ treatment, the employee does not need to prove that his employer had ______ knowledge.

disparate, actual

Filing a complaint with the ______ is usually the first step for a party claiming unlawful employment discrimination.

eeoc

When a seniority system is implemented, the burden falls on the ______ to prove that the system was designed with discriminatory motives.

employee

Antidiscrimination statutes in the workplace protect: ______.

employees

The term ______ has a broad-based definition encompassing all workplace-related discrimination.

employment discrimination

The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 ensures that employees subject to wage discrimination have the opportunity to challenge:

every discriminatory paycheck received

The ADEA also acts to prohibit: ______.

mandatory retirement policies

Once a plaintiff has proved her prima facie case, the employer has the burden of offering a(n) _____ motive for the action or asserting a legally recognized ______ against the claim.

nondiscriminatory, defense

An essential function that a qualified individual can perform includes:

performance of fundamental job duties

A(n) ______ is a false reason under the circumstances.

pretext

Historically, ______ recognized virtually no protections for employees from discrimination based on race, color, gender, religion, national origin, age, disabilities, and other characteristics.

the common law

Once the plaintiff has proven his or her prima facie case under the McDonnell Douglas standard, the burden of proof shifts to: ______.

the employer