Problem
Bob's Sporting Goods is being sued by multiple current and former employees for EEO discrimination. Review each of the five following cases and
• Write if the company should FIGHT the lawsuit (because they did not break any EEO laws and will likely win the case) or SETTLE (because they did break an EEO law and will likely lose).
• IF you decide they should SETTLE because an EEO law was violated, write which specific law it was.
Question I
Jeanette was offered a job as a salesperson at Bob's. At the end of her interview, she mentioned that she was pregnant, but that she was perfectly capable of performing her duties. When Jeanette called to get her start date, the manager said he had hired someone else. He said he was afraid that Jeanette would hurt her baby carrying heavy boxes and that the customers might not like having a pregnant woman waiting on them. He invited her to reapply after she had her baby. Jeanette has sued Bob's.
Question II
Quincy has worked at Bob's for six months and has received good performance reviews from his manager. Two months ago, Quincy's girlfriend stopped by the store. A few weeks later, the manager fired Quincy, explaining that sales were down. A co-worker told Quincy that the manager was looking for a reason to fire Quincy because she disapproved of Quincy's interracial relationship. Quincy is African-American and his girlfriend is White. Quincy has sued Bob's.
Question III
Bob decides that smoking is not only bad for his employees' health but also goes against the company's goal of promoting a healthy, active lifestyle. In addition, health insurance costs would most likely decrease if there were no smokers working at the store. Therefore, Bob fires all employees who smoke. Those former employees have sued Bob's.
Question IV
Jay, a cashier at Bob's, asks his Store Manager to order special equipment for the cash register because he has low vision and cannot see the number keys. The Store Manager agrees to Jay's request and orders the special equipment. Later that day, the Store Manager tells one of Jay's co-workers about the special equipment she ordered because Jay has trouble seeing the number keys on the cash register. The co-worker is surprised and says she didn't know that Jay was "blind as a bat." The next day, Jay's co-workers call him Batman and flap their arms and squint when they see him. Jay complains to the Store Manager about this behavior, and she immediately corrects the problem. Jay's co-workers do not make any more comments about his vision. Jay has sued Bob's.
Question V
Rebecca recently graduated from high school and began work as a shift manager at Bob's. She does not get along with an older employee (age 45) who works part-time. At one staff meeting, Rebecca gave the older employee a cane as a joke. On another occasion, Rebecca told the older employee to take the afternoon off and go home to take a nap. Rebecca regularly refers to this older employee as "Grandma." After several months, Rebecca fires the older employee because she wants to hire someone younger. Rebecca believes a younger employee will relate better to the store's customers. The older employee has sued Bob's.