Chapter 2

The Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

"no person shall...be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of the law."

The employee who feels that harassment is taking place should take the following steps:

1. File a verbal contemporaneous complaint with the harasser and the harasser's boss, stating that the unwanted overtures should cease. 2. If the unwelcome conduct does not cease, file verbal and written reports to HR. 3. If the letters and appeals to the employer do not suffice, the accuser should turn to the EEOC.

Under CRA 1991, the discrimination claim must be filed within

300 days or 180 days after the alleged incident took place

The federal agencies charged with ensuring compliance with the discrimination laws and executive orders—the

EEOC, Civil Service Commission, Department of Labor, and Department of Justice

account for the greatest number of ADA claims

Mental disabilities

Griggs v. Duke Power Company

Supreme Court case in which the plaintiff argued that his employer's requirement that coal handlers be high school graduates was unfairly discriminatory. In finding for the plaintiff, the Court ruled that discrimination need not be overt to be illegal, that employment practices must be related to job performance, and that the burden of proof is on the employer to show that hiring standards are job related.

Albemarle Paper Company v. Moody

Supreme Court provided more details on how employers could prove that tests or other screening tools relate to job performance. If an employer wants to test candidates for a job, then the employer first should document the job's duties and responsibilities clearly and understand them. Additionally, the job's performance standards should be clear and unambiguous. Clear performance standards would show which employees are performing better than others.

The Equal Pay Act of 1963 (amended in 1972)

This law made it unlawful to discriminate in pay based on sex when jobs involve equal work—equivalent skills, effort, and responsibility—and are performed under similar working conditions.

The Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1973

act requiring certain federal contractors to take affirmative action for disabled persons

American with Disabilities Act (ADA)

act that requires employers to make reasonable accommodations for disabled employees; it prohibits discrimination against disabled persons. The act was signed in 1990 and prohibits employers with 15 or more workers from discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities with regard to hiring, discharge, compensation, advancement, training, or other terms, conditions, or privileges of employment.

Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA)

amendment to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act that prohibits sex discrimination based on "pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions." This act, passed in 1973, prohibits discrimination in many employment practices such as hiring, promotion, discharge, or any other term or condition of employment. Basically, the act says that if an employer offers its employees disability coverage, then pregnancy and childbirth must be treated like any other disability and must be included in the plan as a covered condition.

Disparate Impact

claims do not require proof of discriminatory intent. Instead, the plaintiff must show that the apparently neutral employment practice creates an adverse impact—a significant disparity—between the proportion of minorities in the available labor pool and the proportion you hire.

The Civil Rights Act of 1991 (CRA 1991)

is an act that places burden of proof back on employers and permits compensatory and punitive damages. This act rolled back the clock to where it stood before the decisions of the 1980s and actually placed more responsibility on employers.

Sexual harassment

is harassment on the basis of sex that has the purpose or effect of substantially interfering with a person's work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment

Disparate treatment

means intentional discrimination. It "requires no more than a finding that women (or protected minority groups)" were intentionally treated differently because they were members of a particular race, religion, gender, or ethnic group. -this is proven discrimination

Disparate impact

means that "an employer engages in an employment practice or policy that has a greater adverse impact (effect) on the members of a protected group under Title VII than on other employees, regardless of intent." A rule that says "employees must have college degrees to do a job exemplifies this. -strange impact but may not be discrimination

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA),

prohibits arbitrary age discrimination and specifically protecting individuals over 40 years old. In the case O'Connor v. Consolidated Coin Caterers Corp., the U.S. Supreme Court held that employers can't circumvent the ADEA by simply replacing employees over 40 years of age with those who are "significantly younger" but also over 40.

Bona Fide Occupational Qualifications (BFOQ)

requirement that an employee be of a certain religion, sex, or national origin where that is reasonably necessary to the organization's normal operation. Specified by the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

After a charge is filed

the EEOC has 10 days to serve notice of the charge on the employer.

Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act

the section of the act that says an employer cannot discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin with respect to employment.

Religious Discrimination

treating someone unfavorably because of his or her religious beliefs