Case Study: Discrimination At Trenton

The standard for employer liability for hostile work environment harassment depends typically on whether or not the harasser is the victim’s supervisor. An employer is vicariously liable for a hostile work environment created by a supervisor. In Vance v. Ball State University, 133 S. Ct. 2434 (2013), the Supreme Court rejected in part the EEOC’s definition of “supervisor.” The Court held that an employee is a “supervisor” if the employer has empowered that employee “to take tangible employment actions against the victim, i.e., to effect a ‘significant change in employment status, such as hiring, firing, failing to promote, reassignment

1. Identify and describe the specific issues Maalick encountered in the workplace. Do the actions of other workers at Treton represent discrimination and harassment? What elements of law are important for Treton to consider?

The significance of this case revolves around the “supervisor(s)” liability rule under the Title VII. The rule under the Title VII act clearly states that employer’s liability for workplace harassment depends upon the status or job title and duties of the harasser. Summarizing that if the harasser is a co-worker the employer will only be held accountable if negligence in diffusing the intense and awkward work conditions was found on their part. However, if the harasser is a supervisor, (has the power to change employee work status i.e. hire, fire, etc.), and the harassment results in tangible actions towards the employee such as changes in duties, benefits, etc… the employer is totally liable. On the other hand, the employer is not liable if corrective measures and procedure were provided on the companies end, or if the plaintiff ignored or disregarded corrective measures provided by the employer.

The elements of law that are important for Trenton to consider include the very real possibility that Maalick opts to file a lawsuit for discrimination due to promotion denial, which is the subject of Maalick’s official complaint. Additionally, Maalick may have grounds to file a lawsuit based on religious and racial harassment due to the ineffective resolution of the initial complaint to and by Clive Jenkins. Furthermore, Maalick is part of a protected class of workers as he is African American which is part of “groups of people who suffered discrimination in the past require and should be given, special protection by the judicial system” (Gomez-Mejia, Balkin & Cardy, 2016 p. 87).

On the other hand, harassment becomes unlawful when an employee is faced with enduring offensive conduct as a condition of employment, or the harassment results in an environment that is intimidating, hostile, or abusive (Perry, 2001). Next, the Equal Pay Act serves to ensure that men and women be given equal pay for equal work in the same workplace. This does not necessarily mean that the job titles have to be the same; however, job content determines whether they are substantially equal according to the law. The judgment should affirm the jury’s verdict on the retaliation claim and the grant of summary judgment on the other discrimination claims. Third, it is clear that the plaintiff had engaged in protected activity, which is opposition in the form of raising her concerns about sex discrimination in the Reston office with multiple other parties in the firm, and that she suffered the adverse employment actions by having a pay increase withheld and being terminated (BRAKE,

Each day in the United States, there is some type of event that illustrates prejudice and discrimination. This is not a good thing for our country and needs to be put to an end. In Huntsville, Alabama there are several things that have happened over the past year that involve discrimination. Two main stories that come to mind are an Indian grandfather who was attacked by a Madison City police officer and the Department of Justice rezoning the Huntsville City schools.

Systemic racism occurs when policies and practices exist is institutions that discriminates against and excludes one group or exclusively fosters another. The system is setup so that it doesn't need individuals to discriminate themselves because it is structured so that discrimination is omnipresent. Systemic racism is responsible for the inequity of schools between poor minority neighborhoods and rich white neighborhoods, because it puts restraints on their ability to learn and what they learn, which then hinders their ability to attain equal status.

As children grow up, they become the person they turn out to be because of experiences and the culture and society they grew up in. Nations are affected in the same sense because the people living in a nation affect how the nation is influenced and builds its character.

Discrimination lingers under the diversity of the United States. Minorities across the country are targeted and eventually fight for their respect or learn to ignore the harassment. These struggles have caused beautiful revolts and renaissances throughout history. What are a few examples of these cases?

We have issues: more specifically , the United States has issues, continuous and all-encompassing issues of racial inequality.The United States is experiencing a outburst of racism, as can be seen from the 2014 killings of two unarmed African-American men, to the brutality of white supremacy in Charleston and the string of arsons in black churches across the South. Of course, it’s nothing new for a nation with a long history of extreme racist violence—the most recent lynching-related death occurred in 1981, hardly a lifetime ago, when Michael Donald was hanged by two members of the Ku Klux Klan.The United States, however, continues to avoid its history on race, refusing to confront its past in a “post-racial,” “colorblind” society, and that policy of systemic ignorance is particularly strong when mention of racial equality is brought up. Although the concept of equality has never truly existed in this world, as can be traced back to the very beginnings of recorded history we see the nobles ruling the commoners, conquerors reigning over the conquered, the will of man dominating women; the United States needs to acknowledge the fact that racial inequality still exists within our country and has in no way progressed towards betterment.

All employers are prohibited from harassing employees in the workplace. If harassment occurs, an employer may be liable even if management was not aware of the harassment. An employer might avoid liability if the

Discrimination is the action of treating people unequally or harassing people mostly based on prejudice. There are a a lot of kind of discrimination based on age, disability, employment, language, nationality, region or as shown in Philadelphia movie sexual orientation and people with disease. This paper focusses on sexual oriented discrimination and discrimination against people with diseases like AIDS with the example out of the Philadelphia movie. Since society is apt to exclude different people than usual, because of their sexual orientations, homosexuals are discriminated in society.

In the United States today discrimination is still an issue in society. As a society progress has definitely been made, but it has never fully gone away. Some of the most discriminatory action takes place in the American justice system. Young minority males between the ages of 25-29 are subject to being treated the most unfairly while whites of the same age are still being treated better than any race in this country. African American and Hispanic males are being incarcerated at higher rates than white males in America. Not only are minorities being incarcerated more, but also they are subject to harsher sentencing terms, fall victim to police racial profiling, and have disparities in the war on drugs. Also whites are still the dominant

In this particular case, Mr. Maalick received very clear and convincing racial and religious discrimination from both his supervisor and from his co-workers. The employees of Treton blatantly violated the Civil Rights Act and the Equal. Employment. Opportunity Commission. These acts do not allow, under any circumstances, discrimination based on the idea of race, color, sex, religion or age (The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission | National Archives, n.d.).

Civil rights activist Al Sharpton said, “We have come a long way from the days of slavery, but in 2014, discrimination and inequality still saturate our society in modern ways”. This quote rings true where equality in the workplace is concerned. In Toni Cade Bambara’s short story “The Lesson”, we see what social discrimination looks like through the eyes of children who are observing a wealthier part of town. In their eyes, they see and injustice and question why it is not being altered into something centered more on equality and equal opportunity. Toni Cade Bambara’s story “The Lesson” is written to make a point about racial discrimination in the workplace and social inequality.