For the following 10 scenarios, please identify which employment law applies and
ID: 449456 • Letter: F
Question
For the following 10 scenarios, please identify which employment law applies and explain how and why the law you identified applies.
Sample Question and Answer:
Question: Jaggi is an observant Sikh who is required to wear a turban while in public. When he applied for a job as a traffic enforcement agent (a meter maid) he was told ‘to remove that towel from his head.” When Jaggi explained to HR that his religion requires him to wear a turban, the HR manager said, “We have a policy that all meter maids wear a uniform. No exceptions.”
Answer: Title VII on the basis of religion
1. Clara is a new employee in your accounting department. She recently told her boss that she is pregnant and will most likely take maternity leave within the next 3 months. Out of fear that he will not be able to fill her position while she is on leave, Clara’s supervisor decides to lay her off.
2. David is an African-American delivery driver with dreadlocks. Your Director of Customer Service wants to put David on the night shift and only allow him to work in African-American neighborhoods because he thinks that David might scare his non-African-American customers.
3. Jenna is a 55-year old woman who wants to work in your paint mixing department. The paint fumes have caused nausea, upset stomach and dizziness with some female workers over the years. However, the paint fumes do not exceed the industry standard and does not violate OSHA. Your Director of Paint Mixing is concerned about assigning Jenna to this department because he is not sure that a woman is physically capable of managing the work.
4. Thomas is an employee in your corporate division. He comes to your office to report a shaky elevator that might need to be taken out of service. He’s concerned that the elevator might injure someone.
5. Bob is a division supervisor who feels that Michael is disrupting the workplace by talking to the other workers about joining the local union. Michael talks to his fellow co-workers about the union during his lunch break and has agreed to answer any of their questions after hours.
6. Samantha is the Executive Vice President of programming for your children’s television division. Joan is an assistant producer who has been reporting to Samantha for the last 3 months. During this time, Samantha has asked Joan to dinner, makes sexual jokes at work and has even asked to visit Joan at home to discuss a programming idea. Joan comes to you because Samantha is making her uncomfortable but she doesn’t want to make a big deal and lose her job.
7. During an interview for a full-time cashier, your Sales Manager noticed that the job candidate was wearing a Star of David. The Sales Manager asks the candidate if she is Jewish. When the candidate answered, “yes” the Manager said, “I don’t think that this is going to work out because I need a cashier who can work weekends and I know that Saturday is your Sabbath.”
8. Nelson is in the Army reserve and he was recently deployed to Iraq for 6 months. Your Director of Marketing decides to fire Nelson because he can not afford to leave this position open for 6 months.
9. Mohammad is a 64-year old employee who is having difficulty learning the new computer system in the office. He tells you that his supervisor said to him, “Mohammad, you’re only a few years away from retirement. Why don’t you clear the way for some new blood to take over from the fossils?”
10. Keith is legally blind and uses the assistance of a guide dog. When he walks into the company cafeteria, many of the employees get up and leave. Lucy, an employee in Keith’s department comes to your office to complain. She says, “Why does Keith get to bring a dog to work? You don’t see me bringing my pet Maltese, Fifi, into the office?”
Explanation / Answer
Assumption: We are discussing US fedral laws.
Answer for Question 1:
The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, signed into law during President Bill Clinton's first term, guaranteed maternity leave to many new mothers across the nation. It mandated a minimum of 12 weeks unpaid leave to mothers for the purpose of attending to a newborn or newly adopted child.
She has applied for maternity leave in the next three months which roughly translate to 12 weeks and thus she is entitled for the leave and may proceed for prosecution if denied,
Thanks!