...SUBJECT: Constructive Discharge Claim It has come to my attention that a previous employee plans to file a constructive discharge claim against our Company under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. He bases his suit on religious discrimination due to the new production schedule that has recently taken effect. In his opinion, the new production schedule requires employees to work on holy days thereby, discriminating against employees whose religious practice does not allow them to work on these particular days. The employee alleges that enforcement of the new policy forced him to resign his position before the effective date of the new schedule. Religious discrimination involves treating someone different due to their religious or cultural belief system. In business, it is unacceptable and unlawful to treat someone unfavorably because of their culture, religious beliefs, religion, or ethical and moral ideals. Constructive discharge is a legal concept adapted by the Federal Equal Employment Opportunity Law (EEO) that prohibits discrimination in the work environment. Constructive discharge addresses changes in policy or regulations in which an employee feels he is being directly targeted for a reason which would cause any prudent person no other recourse, with the exception of terminating employment. In other words, the employee feels as though he is being forced to quit. (eeoc.gov) Therefore, in order to sue the company, the employee must prove to the court that the...
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...June 19, 2014 From: Mark Jackson Manager, Elementary Division To: The CEO Subject: Former Employee's Constructive Discharge Claim ______________________________________________________________________ I received notified from the company’s attorney about a former employee who filed a claim against the company citing constructive discharge under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Findings: What is constructive discharge and how is it relevant to this situation. At the beginning of the New Year, a new shift policy was implemented to keep up with the company growth. We required employees in the production group to work 12-hour shifts with 4 days off in a rotating shift, which means some of those working days may fall into the employee’s religious holy day. The former employee quit after this implementation. The former employee is claiming a constructive discharge. Constructive discharge is a discriminatory practice where an employee is forced to resign because of perceived an intolerable work environment, courts usually agree to the employee if they determine that a reasonable person would also feel same in the same position (Paul, 2002). Courts also require employees that are filing under constructive discharge to show that the employee as created intolerable working condition with the intent of forcing resignation was deliberate (Paul, 2002). It is the responsibility of our former employee...
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...Toy Company USA| To:|John Johnny, CEO| From:|--- || Date:|7/9/2012| Re:|Constructive Discharge of Former Employee. Research and Response.| Comments:|Following your request to investigate how our company should respond to the recent claim by a former employee under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 after our schedule policy change I have made several notes regarding how we should respond to their claim.A. Constructive Discharge: According to an article by the Denver Business Journal a person cannot sue for a constructive discharge. While this statement isn’t completely true, it is very difficult to prove Constructive Discharge, which means that an employee resigns because working conditions are so unpleasant or difficult that a reasonable employee would feel compelled to resign. The employee must provide evidence or notification, in writing, regarding the cause for them choosing to resign and then allow the employer fifteen days to respond, in writing, to those allegations. In order to prove that there was a constructive discharge the employee, or in this case the former employee, must “preponderance of the evidence that the articulated reasons are a pretext for discrimination” as noted in Duffy V. Paper Magic Group Inc. 1988. Also as noted in this case it is very difficult for the former employee to provide evidence that this was the case. In the United States Supreme Court decision in the Pennsylvania State Police V. Suders 2004 it was shown that the former...
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...filed a claim with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) against Toy Box Industries (TBI) under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, constructive discharge, after a work schedule policy change. The employee, who quit after the policy change took effect, is alleging that the enforcement of the company’s new policy on shift work is discriminatory because the policy requires employees to work on a religious holy day. In the past, production employees worked Monday through Friday. As a result of company growth, the production schedule was changed at the beginning of the New Year, requiring employees to work 12-hour shifts with four days at work and then days off. The four workdays can occur any day of the week, Monday through Sunday. The entire production staff is required to work this rotating shift. Office staff members had no change in their schedule and continue to work from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. As requested, I have done some initial research into how the company should respond to the employee’s claim. Constructive Discharge Constructive discharge is a legal term that references a situation in which an employee feels “no other choice” but to resign their position due to alleged intolerable working conditions such as workplace harassment or discrimination as defined under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Two Supreme Court cases in 1998 provided some guidance regarding employer liability and defense for Title VII claims, but...
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... MANAGER, ELEMENTARY TOYS SUBJECT: RESPONSE TO SHIFT POLICY CHANGES DATE: MAY 15, 2014 Constructive Discharge With the recent changes to the new shift work policy, some employees have expressed the sentiment that the new policy would preclude them from observing their holy days or Sabbath. In particular this change has elicited some unfavorable perceptions of the company as practicing discrimination by forcing employees to work on the Sabbath. The change in policy, which was necessary to promote company growth, simply changes the production schedule from five 8 hour shifts Monday through Friday, to four consecutive 12 hour shifts Monday through Sunday with four days at work and then four days off. However the days can occur any day of the week. However, one employee has taken the steps to file a claim under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, constructive discharge. The constructive discharge claim, is that the company created a discriminatory work environment that essentially forced the employee to seek termination. Legally, Constructive Discharge is defined as “an employee who resigns after being subjected to unlawful discrimination is said to have been constructively discharged if a reasonable person would have found the discriminatory conditions to be intolerable” (Finnegan, 1986). The interpretation of discrimination in a constructive discharge claim is fairly rigidly described by the circuit courts, even with minor differences. But most courts seem...
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...Per your request, I am writing a memorandum outlining a potential recent claim of constructive discharge. Recently, in lieu of Happy Toy’s growth and expansion, the production schedule has changed requiring production employees to work 12 hour rotating shifts four consecutive days in a seven day period (Monday-Sunday). Office hours will remain the same (Monday-Friday, 08:00-17:00). Production employee Tom Arnold has filed a constructive discharge claim due to the new hours requiring him to work on a religious holy day, and quit pending the schedule change. This claim must be taken seriously as constructive discharge can result in litigations and can be rightfully covered under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This memo will depict how constructive discharge is relevant to this scenario, a protected category under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 relevant to this scenario, recommend a company response with support, and recommend steps the company should take in order to avoid future litigations. As a legal concept, constructive discharge is fully relevant to this situation as it can be covered under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which specifically encompasses religious precedence. Constructive discharge can cover Mr. Arnold provided no reasonable accommodations were made in order to circumvent the situation. Happy Toy’s must fully understand the severity of these allegations, as well as the rights and preventative measures that will protect...
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...A former employee of our company has filed a claim with the EEOC that the company discriminated against him and due to this discrimination; the employee was forced to resign due to constructive discharge. The claim states that the constructive discharge violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The former employee alleges that the constructive discharge was in correlation with religious discrimination based on a work schedule policy change. The former employee states that the change in the work schedule policy was discriminatory, because it required employees to work on a religious holy day and due to this change the employee was forced to quit. Constructive discharge in employment law is typically when working conditions are so intolerable that the employee feels compelled to resign (Constructive Discharge, n.d.). Constructive discharge is a discriminatory practice that forces an employee to resign due to perceived intolerability in the work environment. Courts will typically agree with the claim of constructive discharge, if the court determines that any reasonable employee in a similar situation would also feel discriminated against if in the former employee’s position (Ford, Notestine, & Hill, 2000). Courts also require that an employee show that the working condition was so intolerable and that the employer made it purposely so, it forced the employee to resign (Ford, Notestine, & Hill, 2000). The burden of proof is placed on the former employee...
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...Western Governors University In partial fulfillment of the requirements of Human Resources JDT2 Memorandum to Chief Executive Officer WGU Toy Company TO: WGU Toy Company, Chief Executive Officer FROM: Elementary Division Manager DATE: June 18, 2013 SUBJECT: Constructive Discharge Claim As a result of a work schedule policy change at WGU Toy Company, a constructive discharge was filed under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 related to religious discrimination by a former employee. This is due to a policy change that required toy company employees to work rotating shifts to accommodate the demands of production. In this former employee’s claim, rotation would fall on a religious holy day. The rotating schedule change is required for all production employees but would not affect office staff members who will maintain 0800 to 1700 Monday through Friday work schedules. This memorandum will provide information to assist WGU Toy Company with recommendations in handling this claim. The nature of discrimination charges were best explained through review of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which identifies definitions specific to this claim against WGU Toy Company. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act states, “it is illegal to discriminate against someone based on race, color, religion, national origin, or sex” (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2013). Specific to religion, all aspects of religious observance and practice...
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...Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Constructive discharge To: Mr. Ben Levant, CEO From: James Bond Date: 7/10/2012 Re: Constructive Discharge – Evan Hallway Mr. Levant, Per your instruction, I investigated the claim submitted by our former employee Evan Hallway. Mr. Hallway is claiming that there was no other solution but to stop showing up for work based on the fact that he was asked to work on the weekends. According to Mr. Hallway, this represents a contravention to his principles and values and he is stating that work environment is unfair and it’s difficult to continue working in such environment. In order to elaborate and conclude on Mr. Hallway claim. Please allow me first to provide a synopsis on the Constructive Discharge and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 Constructive Discharge and Title VII: Constructive discharge is a legal concept that is part of the Federal Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Law, which prohibits job distinction and bias based on race, national origin, sexual preference, religion or disability discriminating against individuals because of their race, color, national origin, religion, or sex” (The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, n.d.). Based on the labor law, a constructive discharge will take place if an individual’s job is impossible to perform that the normal person would abandon his post. Mr. Hallway is stating that his new schedule disabled him from showing up to work and to continue to be an employee of “Kids...
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...Constructive Discharge: After conducting research on Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, it is important to understand the legal concept, “Constructive Discharge”, as it is extremely relevant to the employee’s claim. Constructive discharge is when an employee resigns from a job, claiming that the employer has made it impossible for the employee to continue working for the company. Because the resignation is not truly voluntary, it is considered termination or firing. In order to establish a constructive discharge claim, the employee must show reasonable evidence that the discharge occurred, also known as “prima facie”. To show prima facie, the plaintiff must show the following factors occurred: 1. The employee resigned directly because of a change in working condition or policy implemented by the employer (Niznik, 2012). 2. There was a “cause and effect” relationship between the resignation and the change in working condition or policy; both must have occurred within reasonable time of each other (Niznik ,2012). 3. Any reasonable employee would resign under the same circumstances because the change in policy or working condition was unbearable (Niznik ,2012). 4. The resignation was predictable – the employer intentionally implemented the change, knowing any reasonable would quit (Niznik ,2012). Although the employee can prove factors #1 & 2 occurred, it would be extremely difficult for the employee to prove that any other “reasonable” employee...
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...Toy Company | To: | CEO | From: | Christine Nelson | Date: | 6/30/2014 | Re: | EEOC Title VII Claim | | This memo is in response to a notice received from the EEOC that a constructive discharge claim has been filed by a former employee. The employee alleges that our new company policy on shift work is discriminatory because the policy requires employees to work on a religious holy day. In the past, production employees worked Monday through Friday. Due to company growth, the production schedule was changed at the beginning of the year, requiring employees to work 12-hour shifts with four days at work and then four days off. The four work days can occur any day of the week, Monday through Sunday. The entire production staff is required to work this rotating shift. The legal definition of constructive discharge states “constructive discharge may only be established by either of the following: 1. Evidence of objectively difficult or unpleasant working conditions to the extent that a reasonable employee would feel compelled to resign, if the employer has been given at least fifteen days’ notice by the employee that the employee intends to resign because of these conditions and the employer fails to respond to the employee’s concerns. 2. Evidence of outrageous conduct by the employer or a managing agent of the employer, including sexual assault, threats of violence directed at the employee, a continuous pattern of discriminatory harassment by the employer or by...
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...Memorandum To: CEO From: Manager Date: March 9, 2012 Subject: Constructive Discharge Claim As requested, I have done the initial research on how the company should respond to the plaintiff’s claim of constructive discharge. According to The University of Chicago Law Review (1986), constructive discharge occurs when the working conditions of an employee are so unbearable and discriminatory that any sensible person would quit. The plaintiff must be able to prove two things: (1) that the working conditions were intolerable, and (2) that the employer deliberately created those conditions with the intent to cause the plaintiff to quit (Finnegan and Sheila, 1986). Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employers from discriminating against “persons on the basis of their race, color, religion, sex, or national origin” (Gomez-Mejia, Balkin, Cardy, 2009, p.93). The plaintiff is claiming that there was no choice but to quit based on the fact that the plaintiff was required to work on a religious holy day as a result of the work schedule policy change. According to the plaintiff, the change in the work schedule policy is an infringement on their religious beliefs and is therefore claiming constructive discharge based on Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The legal concept of constructive discharge is relevant in this scenario, in that the plaintiff quit because he/she alleged that the work schedule policy change requires employees to work on a...
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...| USA Toy Company | Memo To: Company CEO From: Plant Manager CC: Company Attorney Date: 5/18/2013 Re: Companies Response to an Ex-Employee’s Claim of Constructive Discharge and the Federal Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Law How is Constructive Discharge Relevant to this Situation? Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 makes it illegal to discriminate against someone on the basis of their race, color, religion, national origin, or sex (Shaker, n.d.). This law provides legal recourse for employees to seek Constructive Discharge for discrimination of their legal rights if they believe a change to a policy or procedure has violated their rights (Shaker, n.d.). The law specific to religious beliefs applies to this situation that has occurred within the company. On November 1, 2011, the Human Resource (HR) Department provided training to the each of the division managers regarding a change to the employee work shift schedule to begin on January 1, 2012. This change was a direct result of the company’s increase in growth and production demand. Following the meeting, each division manager scheduled a date and time that week for their employees to receive comparable training from the HR Department. The HR personnel also relayed to the employees that the change in work shift schedule was a necessary response to the company’s increase in growth and production demand. Employees were given the same opportunity as the division managers to ask questions, receive feedback,...
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...3/11/2013 | | Memo | | | | To CEO From Elementary Division Manager Re Constructive Discharge Complaint Comments: Earlier this quarter a former employee voluntarily terminated their employment with our company but has since filed a claim against our company alleging that the employee’s rights under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, specifically constructive discharge, were violated. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was designed to protect the rights of employees within the workplace from instances of discrimination with relation to race, religion, sex, national origin and religion (Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964). With this law came about the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) whose responsibility it is to enforce the provisions within Title VII and provide oversight and guidance to employers and employees with regard to this law. The EEOC has sent us notification that this former employee has made a claim under the constructive discharge area of Title VII. Constructive discharge is an employment situation whereby the employee feels that due to changes their employer has made with regard to any Title VII covered entity; they have no option but to resign. This act is relevant to the claim in that the claim stated that the employee felt he had no alternative but to resign. The employee believed that with the company’s new policy reflecting work/shift changes he would not be able to observe the Holy days required by...
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... During your third week as the elementary division manager at a toy company, the company attorney notifies you that a former employee has filed a case against the company under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, constructive discharge, after a work schedule policy change. The employee, who quit after the policy change took effect, is alleging that the enforcement of the company’s new policy on shift work is discriminatory because the policy requires employees to work on a religious holy day. In the past, production employees worked Monday through Friday. As a result of company growth, the production schedule was changed at the beginning of the new year, requiring employees to work 12-hour shifts with four days at work and then four days off. The four work days can occur any day of the week, Monday through Sunday. The entire production staff is required to work this rotating shift. Office staff members, however, work from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. In order to keep legal costs down, the CEO has asked you to do the initial research on how the company should respond to the employee’s claim. Task: Prepare a memo for the CEO in which you summarize your findings by doing the following: A. Explain how constructive discharge as a legal concept is relevant to the scenario. B. Discuss areas covered under Title VII of the...
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