Part A-
1. Sally works in a large department store, Due to her disability; she requires a very warm environment in which to work. Management is concerned that satisfactory heat for Sally may be a problem for other employees and customers and terminates Sally after she tells them that the temperature in the store needs to be raised as a reasonable accommodation for her disability. Sally files a disability discrimination lawsuit against her employer. What result? Why?
2. Chip Black, a 57 year old man, worked for Wal-Mart in Napoleon, Ohio, He was merchandise manager. During reorganization he was terminated. His responsibilities were given to three other lower level managers who welt 36, 39, and 42. The reason that Chip was given for his termination was that the three departments he managed were having poor sales records under his supervision, although the Napoleon store did have a slow selling season during the past year. Black was aware that sales in his three departments were way down. Black goes through the administrative procedures at the EEOC and then files an age discrimination lawsuit. What result? Why?
3. After violently assaulting his supervisor, Brian is diagnosed as suffering from a "maladaptive reaction to a psychosocial stressor," his argumentative supervisor. His employer terminates Brian for misconduct. Brian claims that all that-was needed was "reasonable" accommodation: the transfer of either or both him and his supervisor elsewhere within the firm. Does Brian's problem constitute a disability? Does it limit a major life activity? If so is this a reasonable request, assuming that such a move would prevent future misconduct by Brian? Brian brings a lawsuit. What result? Why?
4. Booth Company is an interstate manufacturer' of animal feed concentrates. In the course of its manufacturing process, the company uses fish parts, which are treated with sulfuric acid when packaged. One night, a truck delivering the fish parts deposited the mixture into a Booth Company tank, which overflowed into an adjacent room in the basement and filled it to a depth of 31 inches. The company used a pump to get rid of most of the overflow but ordered the employees to enter the room when the level had decreased to only 3-4 inches to clean up the remaining debris and to repair some pumps. The employees who entered were almost immediately overcome by hydrogen sulfide gas (caused when the sulfur came into contact with iron sulfide particles, which had fallen from the ceiling), as were those who tried to help them. Booth Company had no emergency equipment available and had taken no safety precautions to cope with accumulation of the gas. In the end, three employees died, and two were seriously injured. OSHA brings charges against the Booth Company. What results? Why?
Part B-
1. Skip Datruth, the manager of an apartment complex owned by Whiteside, Inc. uses his master key during his off-duty hours to enter a tenant's apartment and then rapes her at knife point. During the investigation of the incident, it is discovered that Whiteside, Inc. had not checked the manager's reference nor inquired about a lengthy gap in his employment history. The tenant brings a lawsuit against Whiteside, Inc. What result? Why?
2. The Fireside Company recruited new "over the road" (OTR) drivers predominantly by word-of-mouth solicitation and recommendations by current employees. Dale Jarrett, a black man who was rejected for the OTR positions, filed suit against the company on the basis that the company's word-of-mouth recruitment was excluding employment opportunities for blacks as evidenced by the all-white OTR driver workforce. The company claimed that the lack of blacks on the OTR driver workforce was due to the lack of interest on the part of blacks in these positions, not the recruitment methods. . There were other divisions in the company that utilized advertising and other recruitment alternatives and the workforces in these divisions were much more racially mixed. The company claims that each division needs to be treated differently and denies any intention of discrimination. Jarrett brings a lawsuit against Fireside for refusal to hire. What result? Why?
3. Bill Acton is a police officer, but he has also been a licensed football official in Ohio for about 20 years. On the average, he officiates about 25 -30 football games a year for various schools. On one occasion, he was hired by a school to officiate two specific games at $30.00 a game. During one of these games, Acton suffered an injury to his teeth, and he filed suit against the school for his dental injury. Is Acton considered an employee of the school, which would make the school responsible for his injury on the job, or is Acton an independent contractor? What result? Why?
4. Bill and Peggy White attend the annual office party at Smith Stamping, where Peggy works. Bill drinks too much and becomes loud and obnoxious (like many men do when they drink too much) which embarrasses everybody, including Peggy. Peggy's boss, Joe Smith, is quite offended by Bill's drunken antics and, making certain that this will never happen again, discharges Peggy the next day. Peggy has been an excellent employee for several years. Peggy has no written contract and the business is non-union. Peggy brings a lawsuit against Smith Stamping for unlawful discharge. What result? Why?
5. Irwin Company has 200 employees. 150 of the jobs are unskilled and 50 of the jobs require an apprenticeship and licensure. These 50 skilled jobs pay twice as much as the unskilled jobs, 3 women have skilled jobs and the other 47 are held by men. The local workforce is 40% women. Fearing trouble, the company establishes an in-house apprenticeship program with entry to be 60% women and 40% men until the skilled jobs percentage gets to be 40% women. Several men who have much more seniority than the women are furious when they are passed over and bring a lawsuit alleging discrimination. What result? Why?
6. Learning Miracles, a chain of day care centers, has a policy of hiring only females as teachers in the centers because management feels they are better nurturers. Kenny Boy Lay, a male who has experience working as a teacher at another day care center, applies for a job at one of the Learning Miracles centers, but is not hired. He brings a lawsuit for refusal to hire. What theory does he use? What result? Why?