Date: 06/01/2013

In response to your request regarding the H.R. problem that recently occurred, I have researched the specific issue and believe we should take the following action in order to keep legal costs down. The employee that was involved in this incident is trying to claim that he is a victim of constructive discharge under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. As a legal concept, constructive discharge is relevant in this scenario since our employee resigned because he felt that we, as an employer, created a policy that affected his religious life and forced him to quit.

The California Supreme Court states, “In order to establish a constructive discharge, the employee must plead and prove, by the usual preponderance of the evidence standard, that the employer either intentionally created or knowingly permitted working conditions that were so intolerable or aggravated at the time of the employee's resignation that a reasonable employer would realize that a reasonable person in the employee's position would be compelled to resign” (Turner V. Anheuser 1994).

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 “prohibits discrimination by covered employers on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin” (Find US Law, 1964). Because our organization consists of more than fifteen employees, we fall under this title and specifically in regards to religion in this situation. The EEOC, The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, enforces Title VII and states that an individual must file a complaint of discrimination within 180 days of learning of the discrimination or the individual may lose the right to file a lawsuit. This employee did file in a timely manner so we are obligated to respond to his claim.
I believe that there are certain steps we should take in response to this employee’s accusations that will help our company avoid