The following is an excerpt from the final exam essay questions that were tackled in this course:
A school district, which already has a male counselor, is seeking a female counselor for its high school. A male applicant, who is otherwise qualified for the second counselor position, has filed suit against the school district claiming that the school's hiring policy violates the Equal Protection clause of the U. S. Constitution and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Who is most likely to prevail?
Title VII Section 703 of the Equal Protection of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 states “It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer-- (1)to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual's race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.” In the scenario above, the applicant is being discriminated against because of his sex. Therefore, the male counselor applicant would prevail. If the school can however, prove that they have a significant number of female students and justify that they must have a female counselor for these students, then the school district could fall under the exclusion of the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act that states that it is not unlawful to hire on the basis of sex when the sex of the applicant is an occupational qualification necessary to the normal operation of that school.
A school superintendent believes that since the vast majority of the community is Christian, that their local schools should reflect these Christian values. Therefore, the superintendent is seeking Christian teachers for the local schools. A non-Christian applicant sues the school district claiming a violation of Title VII. The superintendent responds that Title VII provides for an exception for employment related to "religion, sex, or national origin" where there is "a bona fide occupational qualification reasonably necessary to the normal operation of that particular business or enterprise. " But if the school will not hire Christian teachers only, the superintendent states that he will open a competing private school hiring only Christian teachers. Who is most likely to prevail?
The non-Christian applicant will prevail. Title VII says that hiring Christian teachers exclusively is illegal. Not only is it against the law for a school district to do this, it is also against the law for them to inquire about an applicant’s religious background in the first place. The superintendent is free to leave and open a competing private school hiring only Christian teachers. This is legal since the proposed school is private and will not be receiving federal funds. If the school is funded privately, then hiring only Christian teachers is legal.