Title 7: Specif. Prob's of Relig., Nat'l Origin, Race, & Sex

Specif. Prob's of Prohibited Classif.

  1. Priority of Protection: From Lowest 2 Highest
    1. Relig.
    2. Sex
    3. Nat'l Origin
    4. Race

Accommodating Ee's Relig.: §701)j

  1. Def. of Relig.
    1. Belief
      1. EEOC guideline incl's moral & ethical belief as long as sincerely held w/strength of relig. view
    2. Pract.
    3. Observ.
  2. Structure
    1. PFC
      1. Bona fide belief / sincerely held belief sys. where complying w/er's reqt. is contrary 2 relig. faith
      2. Informed er
      3. Ee discharged b/c of refusal 2 comply
    2. Er
      1. Can rebut PFC /
      2. Aff. defense that can't accom. w/o undue hardship
        1. Req'ing er more than de minimis is undue hardship
    3. Pretext If Er Rebuts PFC

Nat'l Origin

  1. Need
    1. Nat'l Orig. +
    2. Discrim.
  2. Can Discrim. by Citizenship Unless
    1. Pretext
    2. Intentional discrim.
    3. Disparate impact on non-cit.
  3. For. Lang. v. Eng.
    1. Legit. busi. rsn / job rel.'ed 2 discrim. heavy for. accent
    2. No rt. 2 culture @ job so can req. Eng. only if no sig. impact

Race & Color

  1. Color Blind Stt.
    1. Broad construction of race & color
    2. Any disp. treatment, even if beneficial

Sex

  1. Sex Discrim.
    1. As long as dif. treatment btwn men & women, not by activity
    2. Sex +
      1. Can't discrim. if + is fund.'al rt. / immutable charact.
      2. Good grooming rule ok but not if burdern higher 4 1 gender
    3. Pregnancy
      1. Const'al E/P
        1. Not discrim. 2 discrim. by preg.
        2. Preg. v. non-preg. which incl's women so no intentional discrim.
      2. Preg. Discrim. Act (PDA): §701)k
        1. Discrim. if fire only 4 preg., childbirth, / rel'ed condition
        2. Preg. is phys. disability so must treat preg. women same
        3. Er's vol. benefits must B given ='ly
      3. CA Stt
        1. Title 7 not trump state law if consistent w/Title 7
        2. Can treat preg. women better than other disabled people in CA
        3. Er must give rsbl unpaid leave up 2 4 mo. 4 preg.
        4. Rt 2 come back @ same / similar job
    4. Parental Leave
      1. Gender Neutral 4 Child Care
      2. FMLA & CA's FEHA
        1. Cov's 4
          1. Er w/50 / more ee's
          2. Eligible ee worked 1250 hrs w/in 12 mo. per.
        2. Can get 12 wks of unpaid leave w/in 12 mo. per. 4
          1. Infant care
          2. Newborn child
          3. Newly adopted
          4. Ill parents / spouse
          5. Own serious med. condition, not disability
        3. Req. proof of childbirth / adoption
        4. If both spouses work 4 er, share 12 wks
        5. Fed & state run concurrently but women can tack PDA & FMLA
        6. State ee's can get 1 yr. of unpaid leave
  2. Sex Harassment
    1. Quid Pro Quo Case (ez'er 2 get liab.)
      1. Conditions job on grant of sex favor
      2. Harass by
        1. Unwelcome sex advances
        2. Submit implicitly / explicitly 4 condition of empl.
    2. Hostile Env. Theory Case
      1. Unrsbl interference w/work perf. by hostile work env.
        1. Suff'ly severe & pervasive 2 B sex harass
        2. Form of intentional discrim. in damage
      2. Stand. 4 finding conduct created hostile env.
        1. Rsbl person stand. +
          1. Might / not 2 rsbl woman's stand.
        2. P subj'ly perceived
          1. Totality of circ. incl's freq. of conduct, severity, etc.
        3. Intent of harasser irrelev.
    3. Liab.: EEOC Guideline
      1. Supervisor, then er VL w/o consid. auth'ed act / knew about it
      2. Co-worker, then er liab. if knows / should've known unless er took imm. & corrective axn
      3. Non ee's / 3rd party, then er liab. only when er knows / should've known & fails 2 take imm. & corrective axn
    4. Indiv. Liab.
      1. Title 7 holds entities liab. not indiv. so supervisor shouldn't B
      2. CA's FEHA
        1. Stand. 4 all harassment is knew / should've known & failed 2 take imm. corrective axn
        2. Def's er as empl'ing 1 / more persons 4 harassment
        3. Some CA cts say supervisor indiv. liab.
  3. Sexual Orientation
    1. Fed
      1. Some recog. same sex harassment w/quid pro quo but split
      2. Title 7 not recog. sex orientation discrim.
    2. CA
      1. FEHA
        1. Tracks Title 7 so no recog.
      2. CA Const. E/P & Pvcy Cl.
        1. Can't excl. w/o showing unfit by E/P
        2. Pvcy cl. covers priv. & pub. sector
      3. Labor Code
        1. Can't discrim. b/c priv. er can't interfere w/ee's politics
      4. New Stt 1102.1
        1. Er is empl'ing 5 / more ee's or any person acting as agent of er dir'ly / indir'ly incl'ing state ers
        2. Codifies Pac Tel Case

This material is copyrighted by the author. Use of this material for profit is strictly prohibited without the written permission from the author.

My 4, 1997

Ms. Haeji Hong

Go Back to Law School Notes