Stanford University Discrimination against Employee Discussion

I’m working on a Business Law question and need guidance to help me study.

Discussion Topic 2:

Are
there situations where a company may discriminate against an employee?
What is reasonable accommodation and when does it apply? Can a company
refuse to hire someone: a) with a visible tattoo? b) Someone who is
transgender? c) A white person to work in a Chinese restaurant? d) A
black actress to play the role of Amelia Earhart? Do you agree with the
laws regarding discrimination?

also response each posted #1 to 3 down below

posted 1

Yes,
there are situations where a company may discriminate against an
employee. Title VII provides employers several defenses, which either
limit plaintiff’s recovery or completely excuse the employer from
liability (Langvardt, A. W., Barnes, A.J., McCrory, M.A., & Perry, J.E., 2019).
These defenses include: same decision defense, senority, the various
“merit” defense, and the BFOQ defense. These defenses protect the
employer because unfortunately, sometimes race, sex, and age does
matter. A delivery company wouldn’t employ a person who can’t walk.
Positions that can be filled by a crippled person, must provide
reasonable accommodations. Reasonable accommodations ensure that the
employee can perform the job functions without challenges due to their
disability, race, sex, or religion. I believe a company can refuse a
black actress from playing Amelia Earhart. I have seen advertising for
cast auditions and sometimes they do mention which race they need to
play a role. I look at video production as an art, I do not see why a
producer shouldn’t tell their story, their way. With that being said, as
a black woman, I’d prefer to see Harriet Tubman being played by a black
woman. There are enough holes in history, so it is important to tell
the story as honestly possible. Also, representations matters!

In
reference to sex and age, a company wouldn’t hire a woman to do a job
that she is physically incapable of doing. It also, wouldn’t make sense
to hire an elderly person for a position that is fast paced and requires
a certain level of strength. Yes, a company can refuse to hire someone
with a visible tattoo. There are some jobs that require a specific
appearance and the company policy legally enforces that. Being
transgender isn’t a reason to refuse employment, however if the current
gender status impacts the needs of the business, an employer can refuse
to hire you. Being white in a Chinese restaurant is not a reason to deny
employment. I agree with the laws regarding discrimination, I just
don’t think they’re always exercised.

posted 2

In
my opinion, there is no situation where a company can discriminate
against an employee. We have different laws to protect employees from
the different types of discrimination like sex, race, religion, national
origin or color discrimination). But according to Langvardt, Barnes,
Prenkert, & Perry (2019), the employer has some defenses that can
exclude their liabilities under the Title VII, as described below:

• Same-decision
  defense: When the employer can prove that it would have taken the same
  action regardless the employee’s protected status;
• Seniority: When the difference on the treatment is caused by the level of seniority of the employee.
• BFOQ: When the difference on the treatment is caused by the qualification of the employee.
• The various merit defenses: When the difference on the treatment is caused the quantity or quality of the production.

The
reasonable accommodation means the actions that need to be taken by the
employers to make their facilities usable and accessible to accommodate
all employees, including the qualified individuals with a disability.
It represents giving to all the employees the minimal condition for all
of them to reasonably perform the essential functions of their jobs. If
the companies fail to provide a reasonable accommodation, they are
illegally discriminating.

I
agree with the laws regarding discrimination, once they give a chance
for everyone to compete with equal chances and opportunities in an
already highly competitive market that we currently have. Additionally, I
don’t think that a company can refuse to hire some person because of
his physical attributes, like tattoos, gender, national origins and etc.

posted 3

There are several situation where companies discriminate against
employees, they just act like its not the reason, they discriminate
against race, sex, age, size, pregnancy etc. I worked in corporate
America for 9 years and I lived it first hand, I even quit my job
because of it. I was turned done for several promotions that I was more
than qualified for, but I noticed that they went to white men with far
less experience than me.

Reasonable accommodation applies to people that have a disabilities,
companies have to accommodate their needs, such as special computer
equipment, chairs, bathrooms etc. Companies cannot refuse to hire
someone with a visible tattoo, they can ask them to cover it up with
clothing based on a stated dress code or aesthetics. Companies cannot
refuse to hire some one who is transgender, or white working in a
Chinese restaurant, or a black actress to play the role of Amelia
Earhart because of Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. I fully agree
with the laws regarding discrimination, but I will say that it happens
anyway, because how are you going to prove that you are being
discriminated against? When you say something about not getting a
promotion, people tell you not to rock the boat, or people do not like
women that are outspoken.

I was fired from a job for being black at the age of 17 or 18. I was
working in the deli of Eddies Market in Baltimore, Md. I was learning
how make and ring up sandwiches, I made a sandwich for a black customer
but did not charge him for substituting turkey for corned beef, the deli
manager snatched the sandwich out of my hand and yelled at me in front
of the customer, he reprimanded her for her actions and behavior. I was
sent home for the day and told to call the manger in the morning, when I
did, he apologized for what happened then said it wouldn’t be good to
bring back someone that was bitter. I was not bitter, I was too young to
be bitter, I was confused more than anything else. It was my first or
second day working there, I was not taught that I had to charge things
separately when a substitution was made.