...I. Meritor Savings Bank, FSB v. Vinson II. 477 U.S. 57 (1986) III. Facts: In 1947, Michelle Vinson started working at Meritor Savings Bank under the supervision of the bank’s vice president, Sidney Taylor. Over four years, Vinson, based on her merit, was promoted all the way up to assistant branch manager until 1978, when she was terminated for excessive use of sick leave. After Vinson filed a lawsuit under Title VII of the Civil Right Act 1964 against the bank and Taylor, alleging she was sexually harassed during her employment at Meritor Savings Bank. Vinson alleged that she was coerced into having sexual intercourse with Taylor, out of fear of losing her job. Vinson also alleged that Taylor had made lewd comments towards her on a several occasions, as well as fondling her. Taylor denied the allegation, along with the bank, which made a point of saying that officials were completely unaware of any wrong doings on Taylor’s part, and if there was that he did so on his own volition. Federal Court for District of Columbia held that Vinson was not the victim of sexual harassment, because the alleged sexual relationship was voluntary. The decision was then brought up on appeal and reversed in favor of Vinson on the basis that if Taylor made Vinson harassment a condition of her employment, it...
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...Meritor Savings v. Vinson of 1986 was a pivotal moment in sexual harassment history in the workplace. In this case the Supreme Court made it official that they supported the guidelines the commission set in place for sexual harassment in the workplace. In this particular case Vinson proved that the vice president of the company caused a hostile work environment. The courts use the definition of hostile work environment written by the commission guidelines as the burden of proof. (MERITOR SAVINGS BANK v. VINSON, 477 U.S. 57 (1986)). The burden of proof that Vinson proved was that “the (1) unwelcome behavior (2) was because of the Vinson gender, (3) the unwelcome behavior created a hostile work environment, and (4) the employer is liable according to appropriate agency laws.” (Current Issues on Sexual Harassment) In more recent cases like Ani Chopourian v Mercy General Hospital 2012, she was awarded 168 million dollars the largest compensation given to one individual in a sexual harassment case. Asheley v Aarons Inc. 2011, Asheley was awarded $95 million because she was harassed by the store manager. Female Employees v Mitsubishi Motors 1998, the female employees was awarded to $34 million because Mitsubishi was allowing them to work in a hostile work environment. The list of sexual...
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...Ben Vinson III. Benefits of free-colored Militia in Colonial Mexico Bearing Arms for His Majesty: The Free-Colored Militia in Colonial Mexico. Ben Vinson expresses how New Mexico was known to be white man’s’ land also known as Spanish Land. In the contrary, different races erupted in New Mexico as a result of her occupants. He highlights examples of the races that came to existence in the Spanish land. These races include Pardos, Mulatos and Morenos as well as the whites. In his analysis, Ben comes up with a conclusion that the different races led to discrimination. Ben outlines how the Spanish were forced by circumstances to accept race differences irrespective of their attitude towards the black. Many people elaborate how racial Mexico evolved and the potential effects of the despised race. Ben Vinson III wanted to understand racial differences in the people. He suggested a single mainframe to carry out his study. The suggestion was a...
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...The first case addressed on sexual harassment in the United States Supreme Court happen in 1986, Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson case. Mechelle Vinson sued the Vice President Sidney Taylor, of the bank she was employed with for “hostile working environment”. Vinson sued after she lost of job at the bank she claim constantly sexual harassment by Taylor. Title Vll of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, protected Vinson rights. In 1991, Anita Hill a law professor alleged that Supreme Court justice nominee Clarence Thomas sexually harassed her while working together. Anita Hill lost the case against Clarence Thomas, yet this case is a part of the important awareness about sexual harassment and women rights. Anita Hill vs. Clarence Thomas case publicly...
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...Employees’ behavior while they are on the job is vital to the life of a company. The actions that are conducted by them have impacts on the people who they target as customers and the people with whom they work. A professional and polite demeanor is required at all times when the employees are interacting with each other and the public in general as they need to convey to others that the company, organization, or institute for which they work holds high standards when it comes to their business practices and the selection of those who they trust to represent them in the public’s eyes. Additionally, they must be professional with each other as the employer could potentially face charges in the eyes of the law that could lead to the organization closing down thereby resulting in all of the employees losing their jobs. The prevention of harassment, specifically sexual harassment, is the main goal of all supervisors. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) defines sexual harassment as unwelcomed sexual advancements, requests for sexual favors, and verbal and physical conducts where refusal of the previously mentioned behaviors would affect one’s employment, one’s job performance, or creates an uncomfortable or hostile environment in which the employee cannot function to their full potential (Cascio, p. 97). Simply put, it means that employers cannot allow unwelcomed behaviors. An organizations failure to prevent or address sexual harassment will lead them to being...
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...Carl Vinson and Richard B. Russell were both greatly appreciated men before, during, and after World War II. Russell was mainly involved in Georgia government and law while Vinson focused more on the military affairs. Both of these men contributed great things to the United States by serving their part to help our country before, during, and even after World War II. Richard B. Russell was born in Winder, Georgia on November 2nd, 1897. He was born to an already governmentally involved family. His father, Richard B. Russell Sr., was a state legislator, businessman, and judge. Russell began studying at the University of Georgia in 1915 where he was involved in many social groups. He served in public office for 50 years which all included...
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...Meritor Sav. Bank v. Vinson, 477 US 57 (1986) Facts: After being terminated a female bank employee filed an action under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C.S. §2000e et seq., claiming that she had been sexually harassed by her male supervisor. The US Supreme Court ruled that if the actions of the supervisor were unwelcome, than the respondent had a claim for sexual harassment on the basis of a hostile work environment, even if the sexual acts were voluntary. Issues: (1) Whether a corporate employer is automatically liable under Title VII if they have no prior knowledge of the alleged discrimination. (2) Whether a hostile work environment based on sexual harassment can be established …. Holding: In a 9/0 decision, the United States Supreme Court declared that A claim of "hostile environment" sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination that is actionable under Title VII. Pp. 477 U. S. 63-69. Rationale: (a) The language of Title VII is not limited to "economic" or "tangible" discrimination. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Guidelines fully support the view that sexual harassment leading to non-economic injury can violate Title VII. Here, respondent's allegations were sufficient to state a claim for "hostile environment" sexual harassment. Pp. 477 U. S. 63-67. (b) The District Court's findings were insufficient to dispose of respondent's "hostile environment" claim. The District Court apparently erroneously believed that a sexual harassment...
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...Employment Law and Discrimination Racquell Jones Business Law University Of Phoenix November 9, 2015 SEXUAL HARASSMENT In the case of Jonathan Silverstein, plaintiff vs. Meredith Shaw, defendant. The plaintiff claims that the defendant caused him to miss out on a promotion because she put a sexy screen saver on his computer and when his boss saw it he lost a promotion. The key elements of this case were whether the sexual behavior that the plaintiff had towards the defendant was unwelcomed. This element of the case is subjective as we cannot ascertain the real intentions of the doer and the reaction of the recipient towards what he had been experiencing. The fact that the defendant claims that this was something that had been going on for sometimes begs the question why the plaintiff had not reported this case to the relevant authorities. The second element of this case is the question “does the plaintiff reaction meet the reasonable person standard?” The plaintiff reaction is not that of a reasonable person because he should have anticipated what the consequences of the harassment he was experiencing, and put a stop to it at an earlier time rather than start blaming his peers when the damage is already done. The other element is whether a hostile environment has been created. A hostile working environment has been created for the plaintiff in his workplace because he chose to file a case against...
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...There has been court cases relating to the way girls wear today that has been looked over by the courts because it had no place in the case. In the Meritor Savings Bank Vs. Vinson case, a girls named Vince that was the age of 36 had pressed charges against one of her supervisors because he was continuously sexually harassing her. The way he was sexual harrassing her was that he was using his position against her to make her have sexual intercourse with him forty times, exposing himself, and he also fondled her. Throughout the case was in the court, the supervisor had used the excuse that her dress was the cause of his actions, but the court had said that her dress has no place in his argument (Lennon). This has proven that girls clothing...
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...§1604.11(a) (2) and (3). “Title VII covers mandatory sexual conduct [quid pro quo] as well as severe and pervasive hostile environments. The statutory basis is that such situations constitute a ‘term’ or ‘condition’ of employment ‘because of’ the individual man or woman’s ‘sex’ within the meaning of the Act” (Rothstein, Craver, Schroeder, & Shoben, 1999). A relationship between a supervisor and subordinate presents some legal issues. Is the subordinate truly a consenting party? Will it result in favoritism? If an employee makes a claim, but one that is legally recognizable, it still has the effect of drawing the employer’s resources to investigate the claim and defend itself against it, even if it wins. If the elements support a legally recognizable claim, not only are there costs associated with defending the claim, but the employer may be found liable by a trier of fact and be subjected to an uncertain amount of damages. If the relationship is between co-workers, the prevailing legal issue is sexual harassment if and when the relationship should cease and one of the parties continues to pursue it against the other’s wishes. The conduct exhibited in pursuit of the relationship then becomes unwelcome. Let’s take a quick look at these individual scenarios. Consent is not a synonym for welcome. When ask whether the subordinate in a relationship with a supervisor is a consenting party, what is really meant and should be ask is whether the supervisor’s advances were welcomed...
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...Fundamentals of Human Resource Management Student’s Name Institution Fundamentals of Human Resource Management True and False: Please mark either T or F in the appropriate space before the question (7 * .25 each = 1.75 points) 1. __T__ Today’s managers have found that employees do not set aside their cultural values and lifestyle preferences when they come to work. The challenge is to make organizations more accommodating to diverse groups of people by addressing different lifestyles, family needs, and work styles. 2. __T__ Work Process Engineering is referred to at times as work process reengineering because it goes beyond incremental change and requires an organization to face the possibility that what the organization may need is radical or quantum change. 3. __F__ Drug testing in today’s organization is conducted not to eliminate illegal substance at the point of hire, but only to catch those using it in the workplace. 4. __F__ Type A behavior is characterized by a procrastinated sense of time urgency, excessively competitive drive, and difficulty accepting and enjoying leisure time. 5. __F__ the purpose of job analysis is ONLY concerned with the amount of money that is paid to the employee for following their job description. 6.__T_ some stress in organizations is absolutely necessary; without it, workers lack energy. 7._T__ Employee assistance programs (EAPS) are specific programs designed to help employees with personal problems. ...
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...CASE 3 : Accounting Fraud at WolrdCom Table of Contents Introduction....................................................................................................................... 1 Question 1 .......................................................................................................................... 2 Question 2 .......................................................................................................................... 4 Question 3 .......................................................................................................................... 6 Question 4 ........................................................................................................................ 10 Question 5 ........................................................................................................................ 16 References........................................................................................................................ 24 BKAL 3063 Integrated Case Study 0 CASE 3 : Accounting Fraud at WolrdCom Introduction WorldCom, US second largest telecommunication company shocked the world by filing bankruptcy at 21 July 2002. The WorldCom filing surpassed Enron and became the largest bankruptcy filing in United States history. Due to its rapid growth, WorldCom is also heavily in debt as they finance the company growth with debt. The collapse of WorldCom did not just affect their employees, retailers, the government...
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...(Controller), Troy Norman (Director of Legal Entity Accounting), and Betty Vinson (Director of Management Reporting), pressured by CEO and CFO to prepare improper accounting entries. Those executives and accountants were convicted of securities fraud and received federal jail sentences after the manipulation came out in public. What institutional setting and pressures is Betty Vinson exposed to? WorldCom profits gone down in October 2000, and Better Vinson’s boss, Buford Yates (Jr. Director of General Accounting) asked her and another manager to release $828 million of line accruals into the income statement. The company was facing revenue and pricing pressure then, and the CEO had threatened his staffs about how he and other directors would lose everything if the company did not improve its performance. WorldCom’s corporate culture of encouraging “systemic attitude conveyed from the top down that employees should not question their superiors, but simply do what they were told” also made it more difficult for Vinson, who had developed a reputation as “she would do anything you told”, to oppose her boss. What choices does she have? Ethical dilemma she had is whether to obey her boss and accept the ethically wrong request or deny the request. What are the pros and cons of each choice? What organizational and individual factors pushed her towards the choice that she made? While Betty Vinson...
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...1. What are the pressures that lead executives and managers to "cook the books?" In the 1990’s WorldCom was a growing and successful telecommunications company, involved in may acquisitions, and had made some ‘Mega Deals” in the telecommunications industry. The Company was becoming very profitable, but in 1999 revenue growth had stopped causing the price of stock to fall. This was due to the down turn in telecommunications industry, an increase in competition, the overcapacity in the telecommunications market, the effects from the dot com bubble collapse, and the onset of the economic recession. This major loss in revenue, current market conditions, and a large amount of liabilities from all the companies they had been acquiring led WorldCom to their involvement in accounting fraud. 2. What is the boundary between earnings smoothing or earning management and fraudulent reporting? The boundary between income smoothing and fraudulent reporting seems to be more of a blurred line than a distinct one. Both actions will inhibit investors and creditors from making accurate and informed decisions. Investors and creditors rely on the company’s financial information to be consistent and reliable in order to achieve projected results. I think engaging in earning management or fraudulent reporting would result in the same misleading of information, and thus both should be avoided. 3. Were the actions taken by WorldCom managers not detected earlier? What process or systems...
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...CASE 4: ACCOUNTING FRAUD AT WORLDCOM Betty Vinson: victim or villain? Should criminal fraud charges have been brought to her? How should employees react when ordered by their employer to do something they do not believe in or feel uncomfortable doing? In discussing whether Vinson should been charged with criminal fraud, it can be analyzed from ethical perspective which can truly judge whether she was morally responsible for the wrong or not. In order to determine whether Vinson was morally responsible for the fraud, these three criteria should be fulfilled first: causality, knowledge and freedom. The causality criteria can be referred as whether that individual caused or helped cause the wrong, or failed to prevent it when she could and should have. The knowledge criteria then requires the individual to did so knowing what she is doing while freedom criteria requires the individual did so own her free will before being morally responsible for causing the wrong. Examining the cause of the fraudulent activities, Vinson initially been pressured by Yates, Myers and Sullivan to aid in painting the financial result of the company only one time and assured by Sullivan that he would take full responsibility for the action. Being a senior manager worked under them and believing in Sullivan’s words, Vinson did as told accordingly. However, she decided against quitting when been asked to continually carry out the wrong as she justified herself as the main supporter of her family. Moreover...
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