Problem
I. Debra Agis worked as a waitress in a Ground Round restaurant. The manager, Roger Dionne, informed the waitresses that "there was some stealing going on." Until he found out who was doing it, he intended to fire a waitress each day, in alphabetical order, starting with the letter "A." Dionne then fired Agis. Does she have a valid claim against her employer?
II. Hoffman Plastics fired Jose Castro because he was supporting the efforts of union organizers. During NLRB hearings concerning his termination, Castro revealed for the first time that he did not have legal immigration documents. He had used false documents to obtain the job at Hoffman. Despite his illegal status, the NLRB found that Hoffman's retaliatory firing violated the NLRA and ordered the company to pay Castro $66,951 in back pay. Hoffman challenged the order in court. Should Hoffman have to pay?
III. When Thomas Lussier filled out a Postal Service employment application, he did not admit that he had twice pleaded guilty to charges of disorderly conduct. Lussier suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder acquired during military service. Because of this disorder, he sometimes had panic attacks that required him to leave meetings. He was also a recovered alcoholic and drug user. During his stint with the Postal Service, he had some personality conflicts with other employees. Once, another employee hit him. He also had one episode of "erratic emotional behavior and verbal outburst." In the meantime, a postal employee in Ridgewood, New Jersey, killed four colleagues. The postmaster general encouraged all supervisors to identify workers who could be dangerous. Lussier's boss discovered that he had lied on his employment application about the disorderly conduct charges and fired him. Is the Postal Service in violation of the law?
IV. Lisa T. Jackson, who was White, worked at Uncle Bubba's Seafood and Oyster House. She filed suit under Title VII, alleging that the restaurant discriminated against Black employees. They had to enter through the restaurant's rear entrance and could not use the customer bathrooms. Neither of these prohibitions applied to White staff. Jackson's boss also repeatedly told racist jokes. Jackson stated that this behavior caused her great difficulty in managing the staff and also immense emotional distress because she had biracial nieces. In addition, one of her bosses asked her how she "looked so White," given that her father was of Sicilian descent. Can Jackson recover under Title VII?