Question

Determining Discrimination

Although discrimination still occurs in society today, the legal system in the United States has taken several steps to limit and prevent the number of instances in which this occurs. First, the legal system provides protection for individuals who have experienced disparate treatment, or have been dealt with differently in selection or employment settings due to their demographic characteristics. Second, laws against disparate impact, or unintentionally having hiring practices that affect members of a protected group, have been enacted to protect minorities. A four-fifths or standard deviation rule is used to determine if adverse impact has taken place. Lastly, reasonable accommodation has been emphasized by the legal system in making facilities accessible to individuals with disabilities or observing religious practices. In this exercise, please read the mini-case and answer the questions that follow. Gloria Santiago, a Latin American woman, overheard two of her male co-workers boasting about the promotions they had just received to district sales managers. When Gloria complained to her boss about not receiving the same promotion, he told her the men were among the company's top salespeople and the company had to offer them a higher position to keep them from joining one of the company's competitors. Gloria was not satisfied with this response as she had been working hard all year to reach high sales figures. She decided to check the archival data the company stored on each employee's sales. She discovered that although one of the men had sold more than she had, Gloria actually had almost exactly the same sales numbers as the other salesman. She went back to her boss to reveal her findings and he told her that since most of the customers were male, he felt as though having men in the district sales manager positions was necessary because it would help build rapport and enhance sales in those areas. After hearing this news, Gloria listed several instances of women in district sales manager positions who had succeeded despite serving mostly a male clientele.

1). What type of discrimination was taking place in this situation?

A). Race

B). Age

C). Religion

D). Sex

2). It seems as though the manager was behaving differently to the men because of their gender. This is referred to as

A). Disparate Treatment

B). Reasonable Accommodation

C). Sexual Harassment

D). The Four-Fifths Rule

3).Gloria has the burden of proving the manager has committed an illegal act. She can do this by demonstrating all of the following EXCEPT

A). That someone filled the position with similar qualifications

B). That she was qualified for the promotion

C). That she belongs to the Latino American community which is a protected group

D). That she was rejected for the promotion despite her qualifications

4). When the boss stated that he thought being male was a necessary qualification for the promotion because the customers were mostly male, he was trying to argue that this was a

A). Disparate Impact

B). Prima Facie

C). Bona Fide Occupational Qualification

D). Reasonable Accommodation

5). After the boss provided the reasoning for his employment decision, Gloria cited examples of women in district sales manager positions. She was trying to demonstrate that his reason was actually a ____________ for the actual decision.

A). pretext

B). mixed motive

C). reasonable accommodation

D). prima facie

Answer 1

1) What type of discrimination was taking place in this situation?

Answer: Option (D) - Sex

Explanation: Discrimination on the basis of gender or sex was taking place in the organization, where men were promoted to a higher position while women were not promoted inspite of having almost similar qualifications or achievements.

2) It seems as though the manager was behaving differently to the men because of their gender. This is referred to as

Answer: Option (A) - Disparate Treatment

Explanation: As per the US labor law, disparate treatment refers to an unequal behaviour by an employer on the basis of a protected characteristic such as race or gender.

3) Gloria has the burden of proving the manager has committed an illegal act. She can do this by demonstrating all of the following EXCEPT

Answer: Option (C) - That she belongs to the Latino American community which is a protected group.

Explanation: In the given scenario, the discrimination is done on the basis of gender. Therefore, the fact that Gloria belongs to the Latino American community does not makes manager’s act illegal.

4) When the boss stated that he thought being male was a necessary qualification for the promotion because the customers were mostly male, he was trying to argue that this was a

Answer: Option (C) - Bona Fide Occupational Qualification

Explanation: Bona Fide Occupational Qualifications are those qualifications which the employer feels is necessary for a person to hold a particular job or for the regular functioning of the business. Under Bona Fide Occupational Qualifications, an employer is allowed to discriminate on the basis of race, gender or national origin if it is essential to the business.

5) After the boss provided the reasoning for his employment decision, Gloria cited examples of women in district sales manager positions. She was trying to demonstrate that his reason was actually a ____________ for the actual decision.

Answer: Option (A) - Pretext

Explanation: Pretext refers to the phenomenon of using a false reason to justify a particular action or to hide the real reason for the discriminatory behaviour.