BUS251: Chapter 41 Reading & Assessment Questions

A standard that is applied to all employees or candidates for employment equally but nevertheless is shown to be discriminatory is called a _______ standard.

facially neutral

Under the _______ theory of sexual harassment, a violation of Title VII occurs when the conduct of the harasser is of so pervasive in the workplace that it interferes with the victim's ability to perform her job responsibilities.

hostile work environment

If an employer uses a false nondiscriminatory reason to take negative employment action in order to hide the discriminatory reason, the false reason is known as ______.

pretext

_______ damages are available only when a plaintiff proves that a private employer acted with malice, in retaliation, or with reckless disregard for the employment discrimination laws.

punitive

The Americans with Disabilities Act defines a ________ individual as someone who, with or without reasonable accommodation, can perform the "essential functions" of the employment position that such individual holds or desires.

qualified

In the "_______" theory of sexual harassment, the harasser demands sexual favors as a condition of continued employment or as a prerequisite for a promotion or pay raise. (Choose two correct answers)

quid pro quo

The ADA defines a "qualified individual" as someone who, with or without _______, can perform the "essential functions" of the employment position that such individual holds or desires. (Choose two best answers)

reasonable accomodation

Title VII includes "_______" as a(n) _______ class and federal law extends protection to employees who are being sexually harassed.

sex; class

One area of federal antidiscrimination law that has recently developed rapidly is whether _______ may be a protected class under Title VII.

sexual orientation

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

strict scrutiny

The Americans with Disabilities Act does not require an employer to provide accommodations that constitute a(n) ________ on the employer.

undue hardship

As an administrative agency, the EEOC may use its investigative authority to: ________.

witness statements; obtain documents; determine if the employer has a BFOQ defense

Who(m) may be excluded from a prohibition on mandatory retirement policies?

All of the choices are correct. (pilots; federal law enforcement officers; firefighters)

The ADA was originally passed in 1990, but it was amended in 2008 in order to settle some of the more ________ interpretations by courts related to the definition of a disability.

controversial

True or false: Affirmative action plans require absolute equality.

false

True or false: Employers are required to overlook employee misconduct when complying with antidiscrimination statutes.

false

Under Title VII, statutory protection is extended only to those who have been discriminated against based on _______.

membership in a protected class

The McDonnell Douglas case created a four-prong disparate treatment test in which the: ______.

plaintiff was a member of a protected class; plaintiff rejected for the job she was qualified for; employer continued to seek qualified applicants

Disparate impact discrimination does not require ________ as a necessary element to prove discrimination since even facially neutral practices can be discriminatory based on their _______ on certain applicants or employees.

policies, impact; intent, impact

If a person does not have a "disability" under the ADA, employees still may be protected by the ADA under the _______ test.

regarded-as

Title VII prohibits discrimination in the workplace on the basis of an employee's: _______.

religion; race; color

Federal antidiscrimination statutes are categorized into two classes, those that _______.

require persons receive special treatment; require persons receive equal treatment

Proponents of recognizing sexual orientation as a protected class argue that it amounts to discrimination based on _______ which is illegal under federal discrimination statutes.

sex

True or false: According to federal antidiscrimination laws not all discrimination is illegal.

true

True or false: Affirmative action in employment began during World War II when President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued an executive order banning racial, religious, and gender discrimination in the defense industry.

true

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

EEOC

The _______ Act mandated that each discriminatory paycheck resets the period of time during which the worker may file a pay discrimination claim.

Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay

Disparate treatment is analyzed using the _________ standard.

McDonnell Douglas

In the _______ case, the U.S. Supreme Court crafted a template for disparate treatment proof that plaintiffs could use to obtain relief under Title VII.

McDonnell Douglas v. Green

Under the _______ standard, a plaintiff establishes a(n) _______ case by producing certain evidence that is sufficient to prevail in a discrimination claim without proving additional facts.

McDonnell Douglas; prima facie

_______ of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and its amendments make up the centerpiece of antidiscrimination statutes.

Title VII

The McDonnell Douglas standard contemplates a(n) _______ analysis after the plaintiff establish a(n) _______ case of discrimination.

burden-shifting; prima facie

_________ damages could be in the form of back pay for the aggrieved employee.

compensatory

After a business necessity defense is made by an employer, the plaintiff may still prevail if she can prove the employer refused to adopt an alternative practice that would satisfy the employer's interests without having _______.

adverse impact

A bona fide occupational qualification (BFOQ) that is reasonably necessary to the normal operation of that particular business or enterprise is:

allowed

To qualify for _______, the employee must have a documented disability.

an accomodation

Perhaps the broadest defense to employment discrimination is ________, which occurs when a business can justify discrimination on the basis that it is legitimately necessary to the business operations of the company.

business necessity

To obtain a license, one typically must apply in the office of _______ of any state in which the work will be performed.

business regulation

In Diaz v. Pan Am World Airways, Inc., the plaintiff was denied a job as a flight attendant because the airline had a policy of hiring only women as flight attendants. The court held that:

customer preference did not make gender a bona fide qualification for the position

The _______ theory of discrimination was first announced by the US Supreme Court in the Griggs v. Duke Power Co. case.

disparate impact

The three most common theories of discrimination are: _______.

disparate impact; disparate treatment; mixed motives;

Angel is Hispanic and has applied for a job at Buckets Inc. Buckets Inc. has a workforce that is 45 percent Hispanic, 35 percent black, and 30 percent white. This closely approximates the workforce available to Buckets. Angel is turned down for the job and is told that Buckets has too many Hispanics, so he couldn't be hired. He is a victim of:

disparate treatment

Under Title VII, _______ discrimination can occur when an employer treats an employee differently based on her membership in a protected class.

disparate treatment

The ADEA is similar to Title VII in that protected employees ______ and become members of a special class if ______.

do not get special treatment, employers discriminated against them in favor of a substantially younger employee

In the _______ case, the court made clear that since Title VII was gender-neutral, it recognized sexual harassment as a form of discrimination - regardless of the gender of the victim or the harasser.

Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services

The Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins case articulates an alternative theory of _______ protection under Title VII when the cause of the employment action was motivated by both legitimate and _______.

mixed motives; discriminatory intent

Employment discrimination encompassing a broad spectrum of workplace-related discrimination that includes: _______.

the hiring process; promotions; disciplinary actions

The plaintiff in an ADEA case must prove that the younger employees are substantially younger which means at least _____ younger to qualify.

10

Title VII applies to private sector employers with:

15 employees or more

An employee must file charges of illegal discrimination with the EEOC generally within ______ days of the adverse job action.

180

The primary federal antidiscrimination statutes are: _______.

ADA; Title VII; ADEA

The _______ seeks to eliminate discriminatory employment practices against _______ persons that would prevent otherwise qualified employees from obtaining or continuing employment, being promoted, or obtaining benefits available to non-disabled employees.

ADA; disabled

A(n) _______ allows employers to hire and employ on the basis of religion, gender, or national origin when the characteristic is _______ to the normal operation of that particular business.

BFOQ; reasonable necessary

Carter is a brand representative at an exclusive shopping store that requires male brand representatives to have long hair. After a 90-day evaluation with his boss, it is clear that Carter has refused to stop cutting his hair in accordance with the standards. He is fired on the spot. Which of the following is true?

Carter has no claim under Title VII because of the protected class requirement

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

Faragher/Ellerth; vicarious liability

In 1998, the U.S. Supreme Court decided the _______ and the _______ cases that extended vicarious liability to employers for sexual harassment under certain circumstances.

Fragher; Ellerth

In Samson v. Federal Express Corporation, Samson sued Federal Express under the ADA claiming his job offer as a technician was withdrawn solely because he had failed his DOT medical examination because he had diabetes - a disqualifier for operating a motor vehicle in interstate commerce. What was the appellate court's ruling?

The trial court's ruling in favor or the employer was reversed because there was a genuine issue of fact as to whether test-driving was truly "essential" to the job of a technician and remanded the case to a jury trial.

Viro and Winona are both tenured associate professors in a school's English Department. Winona is constantly asking Viro out on dates, which he always refuses. He has asked her to stop. Furthermore, Winona is always making provocative comments to him, telling dirty jokes, and asking him about his preferences in women, which embarrasses him and has caused him to lose sleep. If Viro sues the school for permitting her behavior:

Viro would win if he had previously complained to the school and it had done nothing to stop the harassment

Affirmative action in employment began during ________ when President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued an executive order banning racial, religious, and gender discrimination in the defense industry.

World War II

The ADA requires an employer with 15 or more employees to make ______ for a disabled employee in the workplace so long as the accommodation does not cause the employer to suffer an undue hardship.

any accomodations

Antidiscrimination statutes bar employers from terminating employees based on _______.

discriminatory motives

Disparate treatment occurs when a(n):_______.

employee adversely classify someone for a job action because of their race; employer refuses to hire someone because of their religion

Under the McDonnell Douglas standard, after the plaintiff makes out a prima facie case, the burden of proof shifts to the _______ who must articulate a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for the action.

employer

Once the prima facie elements of disparate impact are established, the burden of proof shifts to the _______ to provide evidence that the challenged practice is job related for the position in question and is a(n) _______.

employer; business necessity

Similar to BFOQ, the ADA has a statutory scheme which allows _______ of persons with disabilities if the person, with or without _________, cannot perform essential job functions.

exclusion; reasonable accomodation

_______ is the first step for a party claiming unlawful employment discrimination.

filing a complaint with the EEOC

The first step in asserting a discrimination claim is _______ at the local office of the EEOC.

filing a discrimination claim

The seniority system is a defense for employers and must be based on several criteria: _______.

good faith employment decisions; objective elements of seniority

Under the ADEA employers are prohibited from discriminating against employees on the basis of their age ______.

if the employee is over the age of 40

Title VII provides aggrieved employees with a broad range of remedies including: _______.

injunction; reinstatement; backpay

If sexual harassment is perpetrated by a supervisor the employer is _______ for any sexual harassment claim, if the harassment culminates in a tangible employment action such as termination.

not liable

State antidiscrimination statutes differ from federal statues in two ways: _______ and _______.

some states have expanded protected class membership to include LGBTQ and trans people; some state statutes tend to cover more employers

If the harasser is a supervisor who has the power to hire, fire, demote, promote, transfer, or discipline the employee, and the harassment culminates in a tangible employment action, the employer is ______________.

strictly liable

The Equal Pay Act (EPA) makes it illegal for employers to pay unequal wages to men and women who perform _______ work.

substantially equal

The ADA defines "disability" as a physical or mental impairment that _______ a person's ability to participate in _______ activities.

substantially limits; major life

If sexual harassment does not result in a(n) _______ employment action (e.g., demotion), employers may avoid liability via the _______ defense by proving that a preventative was in place but the employee failed to take advantage of it.

tangible; Fragher/Ellerth

When the Age Discrimination in Employment Act is being applied, the substantially younger test generally says that the younger employee must be at least _______ years younger than the terminated employee claiming discrimination.

ten

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

the Fair Labor Standards Act

Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature are considered violations of Title VII if the conduct is ______ or _______.

the basis for any employment decisions; creates an offensive work environment

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:

the stated reasons contain a mixed motive

The Faragher and Ellerth cases held that an employer could be held _______ for sexual harassment by a(n) _______ co-worker if the employee can prove the employer was negligent in responding to a sexual harassment complaint made to a supervisor.

vicariously liable; nonsupervisory