No Pregnant Chicks-Fil-A
Chris McFarland
University of Phoenix
Professor Bailey
SOC/315
7/21/2014

No Pregnant Chicks-Fil-A

A description of the compliance issue that led to the lawsuit and its ramifications for the organization.
Heather Morrison, a Charlotte North Carolina resident applied for a position at a local Chick Fil A in her hometown. Heather was 6 months pregnant when she was called into the Chick Fil A store for an interview with the store manager of Chick Fil A. During Heather’s interview the store manager consistently focused on the fact that Heather was pregnant and asked Heather numerous questions in regards to her pregnancy, questions concerning time taken of for the birth of the child and also asked questions concerning child care for her child in regards to interfering with her employment at Chick Fil A. 3 days after the inappropriate interview Heather received a phone call from the Chick Fil A Manager informing her that she would not be getting hired for the position and stated that she should call back after she has the child.
Because Heather was discriminated against by the store manager, Heather filed a lawsuit against Chick Fil A for discriminating against her because she was pregnant. This has not only tarnished Chick Fil A’s image but they were forced to pay Heather $10,000 and undergo much scrutiny from the media and EEOC and also undergo annual training in regards to hiring practices and specifically the hiring or pregnant females.

A brief summary of the functions of the EEOC in one paragraph.
Located in the heart of Washington D.C., the EEOC’s mission as found on the EEOC website state that the EEOC is responsible for enforcing the federal laws that protect prospective employees and employees from being discriminated against in regards to the following: * Race * Color * Religion * Sex * Complaints Filed * Employees who filed a charge of discrimination or participated in a lawsuit
The EEOC also provides guidance and ensures compliance to all federal agencies on the Equal Employment Opportunity Program.
The EEOC’s role in this lawsuit.
The EEOC’s role in this lawsuit was to enforce discrimination laws that were set forth by the federal government to ensure that Heather Morrison was not discriminated against from Chick Fil A. After an unsuccessful attempt to litigate with Chick Fil A the EEOC decided to file a lawsuit against Chick Fil A with the “US District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina” ("Eeoc", n.d.). By filing this law suit, the EEOC was able to show the courts that Chick Fil A was in federal violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 Title VII. With the court’s ruling in the EEOC’s favor, the EEOC was able to provide Heather Morrison with substantial injunctive relief in the amount of $10,000.
Whether or not this lawsuit promotes social change; justify your reasoning
Without a doubt this lawsuit makes a bold statement about the rights of pregnant women and employability in the United States. Before hearing about this lawsuit I would have personally thought twice before hiring a pregnant woman for the same reasons as the Chick Fil A manager. Ignorance is no excuse for breaking the law and I would have never thought twice about the rights of a pregnant woman and hiring practices. Not only are businesses now aware of the rights of pregnant women, hiring practices and federal laws but are also being held accountable by the EEOC. It is not always about profitability it is about our civil rights as people and employees and seeing an example made of a giant corporation like Chick Fil A is a bell that is ringing loud for businesses across America. Businesses cannot do whatever they want legally and will be held accountable for their actions by the EEOC.
A comparison of the EEOC press release to the news item. What accounts for the differences?
Both press releases seemed to be short and to the point of the case of discrimination. The EEOC definitely too the higher road of staying on point of the facts, the allegations and the results of the case and the steps they took to achieve the results awarded. The article on the internet as provided from worldpress.com almost mirrored the press release from the EEOC’s website except for a few minor jabs in my opinion against Chick Fil A stating that Chick Fil A opted to Pay the $10, 000 which in their opinion was an admission of guilt. The EEOC stayed professional with their release never throwing stones only sticking to the facts. The differences are obvious in my opinion because workdpress.com is internet media that isn’t really held accountable and is more fact/opinion based whereas the EEOC is a highly regarded organization that makes its reputation by upholding the law in favor or civil rights and diversity.
Strategies you would implement, if you were a senior manager of this company, to ensure future compliance and inclusion in the multicultural workplace.
Aside from the court ordered mandates of annual training in regards to pregnancy discrimination, as a manager of a well-known organization such a Chick-Fil-A I would personally make my mission to insure that we were following every state and federal guidelines on all hiring practices and not just pregnant women. Diversity and inclusion would not only be a key factor in the hiring process but also within the daily work atmosphere. As a manager I would also seek external guidance from diversity and inclusion trainers to teach in an un-bias atmosphere and educate all of the employees to include Management. Establishing a work statement that each employee signs would also be a good motivating factor to keep employees and Management involved in making the workplace diversified and inclusive. Having a Team meeting and coming up with a statement and guidelines that everyone abides by in the work place and then have everyone sign this poster and hang in the work area. It happens to work very well for the Government as a reminder of how we operate and the standards we are willing to uphold. Often time we get into the habit of routines that don’t always deal with or include some of the laws that we are held accountable for such as the problem of the Chick Fil A case. Sometimes having as simple as visual reminder can make all the difference in the world in helping us stay committed to doing the right thing at all times. Below is a picture that my organization developed as a reminder of where we would like to be in the work-place. *

Reference:
EEOC. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/release/6-5-14.cfm
EEOC. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/index.cfm
Lustig, J. (2014). World Press. Retrieved from https://joelustig.wordpress.com/2014/06/05/100000-closes-books-on-eeocs-pregnancy-discrimination-suit-against-chick-fil-a-franchise/