Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Disparate treatment vs disparate impact
Examples of case studies of disparate treatment
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Disparate treatment is a form of discrimination that is forbidden by laws in which all employers must comply, including fire and emergency services. Disparate treatment in the workplace is applicable to many functions of the workplace including, discipline, promotions, hiring, firing, benefits, layoffs, and testing (Varone, 2012). The claim of disparate treatment arises when a person or group, “is treated differently because of a prohibited classification” (Varone, 2012, p. 439). In the 2010 case, Lewis v. City of Chicago, six plaintiffs accused the city of disparate treatment following testing for open positions within the Chicago Fire Department (Lewis v. City of Chicago, 2010). The case is based on the argument that the Chicago Fire Department firefighter candidate testing, which was conducted in 1995, followed an unfair process of grouping eligible candidates, therefore discriminating against candidates of African-American decent. The case was heard by the Seventh District Court of Appeals and ultimately appeared before the United States Supreme Court, where Justice Scalia delivered the final verdict in favor of the plaintiffs. The Lewis v. City of Chicago case was filled because the City of Chicago, Illinois, offered a firefighter candidate exam, in which over 26,000 persons applied (Grossman, 2010). The city issued a public announcement following the exam that only candidates which received a minimum score of 89 or above on the test would be considered as well qualified and selected from a lottery pool to continue on in the hiring process for positions with the Chicago Fire Department (Grossman, 2010). Candidates who scored below a 65 were notified that they had failed the exam and would no longer be considered for a positi... ... middle of paper ... ...ervices to ensure that hiring and testing processes are equitable and legal. The Lewis v. City of Chicago case was found in favor of the plaintiffs that may have been an oversight in which the city simply desired to create a manageable hiring list. Illegal classifications and hiring projection errors created a case where a class action group was victims of disparate treatment. Hiring and promotional processes must remain fair and consistent to maintain a positive as well as legal employer. References Grossman, J. L. (2010). Lewis v. City of Chicago: The Supreme Court protects the rights of disparate-impact discrimination plaintiffs. Retrieved from http://writ.news.findlaw.com/grossman/20100608.html Lewis v. City of Chicago, 560 S. Ct. 560 (2010). Varone, J. C. (2012). Legal considerations for fire & emergency services (2nd ed.). Clifton Park, NY: Delmar.
If the court in Consolidated ruled that, even though the statistics told another story, there was no evidence of “intentional” discrimination, would unbalanced workforce due to word-of-mouth recruiting alone ever constitute disparate treatment?
One of the issues in the case EEOC v. Target Corp. is that the EEOC alleged that Target violated the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by engaging in race discrimination against African-American applicants who were interested in management positions. It is argued that Target did not give the opportunity to schedule an interview to plaintiffs, Kalisha White, Ralpheal Edgeston and Cherise Brown-Easley, because of racial discrimination. On the other hand, it argues that Target is in violation of the Act because the company failed to retain and present records that would determine if there was reason to believe that an unlawful practice had been committed.
Title VII of The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination based on race, color, national origin, gender, or religion. Race, color, national origin, gender, and religion are known as protected classes. The Supreme Court later established “several theories of discrimination that plaintiffs may purses based on the type of discrimination alleged.” (Melvin & Katz, 2015) The three most common theories are disparate treatment, mixed motives, and disparate impact. Aquino v. Honda is an example of disparate treatment as Aquino believe his was terminated, thus discriminated against, because of his race. Disparate Treatment is defined as “overt and intentional discrimination.” (Melvin & Katz, 2015)The burden of proof was on Honda to prove it had legitimate reason to terminate Aquino. The court ruled that Honda had met the burden of proof; the firing was not discriminatory as the accusations were not baseless nor did they amount to pretext. When the burned shifted back to Aquino to prove his firing was discriminatory in nature, he could not provide any
The case Meacham v. Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory did in fact uphold the jury's findings that employees who are on the older side had lost their jobs through a layoff plan. This discrimination was unintentional. However, the policy did have an impact that was deemed discriminatory and the firm could have reached its goals through a different method that would not effectively discriminate. The reason for the suit had to do with the fact that thirty of thirty-one people who were laid off were over the age of forty. There were 26 plaintiffs who did go to trial while some of the others settled with the company on their own. In the end, the jury awarded plaintiffs a total award of $4.2. The case was appealed and at the time, Knolls argued that the law really does not allow disparate impact claims, citing Hazen Paper Co. v. Biggins, 507 U.S. 604 (1993), where a claim involved disparate treatment and what was needed was proof of intentional discrimination. The Court claims that the Hazen Paper Court had not resolved the appropriate use of ADEA in terms of disparate impact. It was further stated that the decisions to come from other circuits do not necessarily overrule prior cases. The idea that disparate impact claims may not be allowed under ADEA is therefore rejected.
The court case of Plessy vs. Ferguson created nationwide controversy in the United States due to the fact that its outcome would ultimately affect every citizen of our country. On Tuesday, June 7th, 1892, Mr. Homer Plessy purchased a first class ticket on the East Louisiana Railroad for a trip from New Orleans to Covington. He then entered a passenger car and took a vacant seat in a coach where white passengers were also sitting. There was another coach assigned to people who weren’t of the white race, but this railroad was a common carrier and was not authorized to discriminate passengers based off of their race. (“Plessy vs. Ferguson, syllabus”).Mr. Plessy was a “Creole of Color”, a person who traces their heritage back to some of the Caribbean, French, and Spanish who settled into Louisiana before it was part of the US (“The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow”). Even though Plessy was only one eighth African American, and could pass for a full white man, still he was threatened to be penalized and ejected from the train if he did not vacate to the non-white coach (“Plessy vs. Ferguson, syllabus). In ...
The merit system standards case is based on Congressman Wally Herger’s comments regarding the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) civil rights program (Reeves, 2006). In an attempt to persuade the House of Representatives that change was necessary, Herger quoted several United States Forest Service job announcements that included language such as “only unqualified applicants may apply” and “only applicants who do not meet Office of Personnel Management (OPM) qualification requirements will be considered” (Reeves, 2006). The This case study analysis will focus on the Forest Service’s unfair practice of actively recruiting and hiring unqualified applicants, the reasons for discontinuing this practice, and the increase in Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) complaints due to this practice and suggestions for increasing diversity without compromising the merit system (Reeves, 2006).
In the United States, racial discrimination has a lengthy history, dating back to the biblical period. Racial discrimination is a term used to characterize disruptive or discriminatory behaviors afflicted on a person because of his or her ethnic background. In other words, every t...
In today’s world, the American still has barriers to overcome in the matter of racial equality. Whether it is being passed over for a promotion at the job or being underpaid, some people have to deal with unfair practice that would prevent someone of color or the opposite sex from having equal opportunity at the job. In 2004, Dukes vs. Wal-Mart Stores Incorporation was a civil rights class-action suite that ruled in favor of the women who worked and did not received promotions, pay and certain job assignments. This proves that some corporations ignore the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which protects workers from discrimination based on sex, race, religion or national origin.
One of pecks main points throughout the article was how the current hiring process came about. First, he introduces the hiring process before the 1950’s.Prior to the 1950’s company’s tested physical abilities such as testing
Employment discrimination is a controversial issue in the United States. Employment discrimination is discrimination in hiring, promoting, terminating, and compensating employees. Examples of discrimination include age, disability, equal pay, genetic information, national origin, pregnancy, race/color, religion, and gender. Throughout the years, the United States has enacted numerous laws to try to eliminate employment discrimination. While most of the legislation is effective, discrimination in the workforce still exists today. This paper will focus on one major type of employment discrimination, racial discrimination.
...kes members of the society to be unable to understand the differences in culture and race, which could lead them to perceive a conflict with members of the visible minority. A majority of the employment decisions today work at the disadvantage of the members of the minority racial groups. The screening process which employees and applicants undergo is the major form of racial discrimination that has led to such a pattern of racial discrimination at the workplace.
I agree with the view that the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures contains numerous statements that can be used as guidelines by firms when undergoing employment selection procedures. The purpose behind these guidelines is to aid the achievement towards gaining equal employment opportunities during selection. “It is designed to help employers comply with federal bans against employment practice that discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender or national and origin”. (Snell, 2013, p. 131). The Federal Agencies introduced these statements do that all companies can follow a standard policy when selecting their employees. This overall aids the nation's aim attaining equality in job opportunities with any discrimination.
Selecting the right employee is important for a number of reasons, such as, the employee’s performance, the cost to train and retain the employee, and legal obligations, such as creating and maintaining a diverse workforce. As Greenberg explains, “An organization’s success and competiveness depends on its ability to embrace diversity and realize the benefits” (Greenberg, 2004). Properly selecting the right employee for the job will greatly reduce the time and cost of future
Candidates who applied for the job also need to be considered. By hiring one person, the other candidates have lost out on the potential opportunity. Ethics demand that I should be fair in making my decision and consider every qualified candidate who has applied for the position. Under Federal law, every candidate should have an equal employment opportunity. An employer should not discriminate at any stage of the hiring process from reviewing résumés, to the interview and the final selection of the employee.
economic and financial results, positive organizational perceptions) could come from ethical and fair treatment of candidates.