CLASS: Labor & Employment Law
Read each scenario listed below and answer the question(s) at the end of each. Be sure to be specific in your answer, including any laws or court cases that are relevant. Each answer is worth 50 points (there is partial credit, so explain as much as you can). Your answer to each question will likely be 1-3 paragraphs in length.
Dalia worked on a contract basis as an auto mechanic for the clients of an auto repair shop. Whenever there was too much work for the employees of the shop, Dalia would receive a call and be assigned by the shop to do specific repairs on a particular vehicle.
Dalia’s specialty was rebuilding engines, and the firm would often contact her to handle complex breakdowns for which they did not have sufficient time, since she worked much fast than the other four mechanics it had on staff. When the job was completed, she was paid a commission for her work based on the amount charged to the client by the auto shop. This commission was established in advance in the contract Dalia was offered when she accepted the position.
During the time she was working, Dalia was paid weekly, was free to use the shop’s garage, and also could use whatever equipment and supplies were necessary to complete the job. In order to ensure a consistent quality among all of its workers as well as to be sure that it complied with all regulations that might govern the job, the firm’s head mechanic would check the car before the client was called to pick up the vehicle. This process ensured that clients saw all of the shop’s workers and contractors as equivalent quality.
Dalia is laid off in the middle of a job, and she files for unemployment compensation. The shop defends the claim, arguing that she was not an employee. Was Dalia an employee or an independent contractor? How do you know?
#2Jill, an interviewer for a large business firm, receives a letter from a consulting firm inviting her to attend a seminar on Title VII issues. Jill feels she doesn’t need to go since all she does is interview applicants, who are then hired by someone else in the firm. Is Jill correct? Why or why not?
#3Shelly receives an anonymous tip that she is making less money than all the other managers on her level, all of whom are male. Shelly believes it began when she did not receive a raise because she rejected advances by her supervisor six years before, and the wage gap has grown far more than she realized. Shelly files a claim with the EEOC. Will she prevail? Why or why not? On what basis?
#4Melinda wants to file a sexual harassment claim against her employer but feels she cannot do so because he would retaliate against her by firing her. She also has no money to sue him. What advice would you give Melinda?
#5Ione is asked to fill two new positions at her company. The first requires complicated accounting knowledge; the second has no prerequisites, but there also is no opportunity for advancement without a college degree, preferably in marketing or English. Ione wants to hire younger workers so they will be more likely to have a long tenure at the firm. She places an advertisement in the local public university’s alumni magazine, requesting resumes from “recent college graduates,” business or English degree preferred.
Ione’s coworker suggests that she place the advertisement in their mutual alma mater’s magazine, since many of the current employees graduated from there and employees from that university have proven knowledgeable and hard-working. Ione decides not to place advertisements at this time in the alumni magazines of the two local private universities, a Jesuit in-state university, and a historically black college that is very close to her offices and has a well-regarded business program. She figures she will get around to it if her first search is unsuccessful. Is Ion’s firm subject to any liability based on this advertisement?
#6Anne is employed by Matthew Contracting Company (MCC). MCC has a $1.3 million contract to build a small group of outbuildings in a national park. Anne alleges that MCC has discriminated against her, in that she has not been promoted to skilled craft positions with MCC because it thinks that it is inappropriate for women to be in skilled craft positions and that most of the male skilled craft workers are very much against having women in such positions. Knowing that MCC has a contract with the federal government, Anne brings suit against MCC under Executive Order 11246 for gender discrimination. Will she be successful? Why or why not?
#7Mary, an Asian employee with light skin tone, reports that her manager, Joan, who is a darker-skin-toned Asian, is saying negative things to Mary about the color of Mary’s lighter skin. The comments include such statements such as that Mary thinks she (Mary) is better than other employees, Mary is not as special as Mary thinks, and so on. Joan also constantly calls Mary “Sunshine” in a sarcastic way, which Mary takes as a reference to Mary’s lighter skin. Mary is afraid that Joan will give her a bad evaluation. Mary is also embarrassed about having this constantly happen in front of other employees. Are Joan’s actions more than just unprofessional behavior? Are they illegal?
#8A white college receptionist is fired when it is found that she told a Black college applicant that the applications for admission are distinguished by race by the notation of a small RH in the corner of Black applicants’ applications. “RH,” she says is her supervisor’s term for “raisin heads,” which he calls African Americans. Is the employee entitled to reinstatement? Why or why not?
#9Mamdouh El-Hakem was employed by BJY, Inc. for more than a year. His manager repeatedly called Mamdouh, an Arabic employee, “Manny” or “Hank” instead of his given name. His manager explained that he believed that Mamdouh would have a better opportunity for success with the firm’s clients with a more Western-sounding name. However, Mamdouh made it clear during his entire time with BJY that he objected to the westernization of his name and requested repeatedly that the manager call him by his rightful name. Mamdouh finally sued for national origin discrimination. Does he have a claim? Why or why not?
#10An employer had only one promotion to give, but he was torn between giving in to the single female and the male who had a family and, the employer thought, most needed and could best use the money. He finally decided to vive the promotion to the male and told the female he gave it to the male because the male was a family man and needed the money. If the female employee sues, will she win? Why? Under what statute?
