Sport Law: A managerial Approach-Chapter 6

Sport Law: A Managerial Approach- Chapter 6

Hiri

ng, P

rom

otio

n, Termination, Compensation, & Leave

By:  Alexandra  Sutter  for    Sport  Law  at  Endicott  College  

Chapter 6

§ Safeguarding  against  employment  discrimination  is  critical  for  human  resources  

§ Chapter  6  explores  hiring,  promoting,  and  terminating  employees  in  a  way  that  does  not  involve  intentional  discrimination  or  use  of  policies  that  can  put  an  entire  group  at  a  disadvantage  

Title VII

§  Part  of  Civil  Rights  Act  of  1964  §  Focuses  on  employment  discrimination    §  Only  applies  to  employers  that  impact  interstate  commerce  and  that  have  15  or  more  employees  who  work  at  least  20  calendar  weeks  in  a  given  year  

§  Only  protects  employees  based  on  race,  color,  religion,  sex,  and  national  origin  §  Does  not  cover  citizenship  or  sexual  orientation  

§  Equal  Employment  Opportunity  Commission  (EEOC)  administers  and  enforces  Title  VII  

§  Title  VII  outlines  remedies  for  when  the  law  is  violated  

Proof of Discrimination

§  Often  very  difTicult  to  prove  §  2  theories  of  liability  to  determine  Title  VII  cases  1.  Disparate  treatment  (Direct  evidence):  

an  employer  intentionally  discriminated  against  a  member  of  a  protected  class  

2.  Disparate  treatment  (Inference):  often  direct  evidence  is  hard  to  come  by  so  use  the  inferential  McDonnell  Douglas  test  

BFOQ Defense

§  One  type  of  defense  in  a  gender  discrimination  case  is  a  bona  Tide  occupational  qualiTication    

§  “The  employer  must  show  that  the  alleged  discrimination  was  justiTied  because  members  of  the  excluded,  protected  class  could  not  effectively  perform  the  essential  job  functions”  (Sharp  et  al.,  p.109)  

§  Viewed  narrowly  and  rarely  successful    §  Customer  preference  usually  does  not  count  but  religion  often  does    

Title IX-1972

“No  person  in  the  United  States  shall,  on  the  basis  of  sex,  be  excluded  from  

participation  in,  be  denied  the  bene9its  of,  or  be  

subjected  to  discrimination  under  any  educational  program  or  activity  

receiving  federal  9inancial  assistance.”  

Equal Protection Clause

§ Applicable  when  a  branch  of  the  state  or  federal  government  is  the  employer  

§ Applicable  only  when  the  government  PURPOSELY  deprives  someone  of  a  right  but  not  when  a  law  has  UNINTENDED  discriminatory  effects  

§  “Similarly  situated  people  must  be  treated  similarly  under  the  law  unless  there  is  a  constitutionally  permissible  reason  to  do  otherwise”  (Sharp  et  al.,  p.111)  

§  3  tests  to  determine  if  a  violation  of  clause  has  occurred:  strict  scrutiny  (race),  intermediate  scrutiny  (gender),  rational  basis  review  (group  classiTications)  

Age Discrimination

§  Becoming  more  problematic  as  companies  cut  costs  §  Older  employees  are  protected  by  the  Age  Discrimination  in  Employment  Act  (ADEA),  passed  in  1967  

§  Employees  over  the  age  of  40  are  protected  

§  No  upper  age  limit    §  ADEA  protects  older  workers  who  face  stereotypes  about  their  ability  or  willingness  to  perform    

§  ADEA  also  contains  good  cause  and  reasonable  factors  other  than  age  defenses  for  when  employers  have  a  legitimate  reason  for  letting  go  older  workers  

Discrimination based on Disability

§  About  22.9%  of  the  workforce  is  made  up  of  people  with  disabilities  (2009)  

§  2  major  legislations  to  protect  these  people  1.  Section  504  of  the  Rehabilitation  Act  of  1973-­‐applies  only  to  

recipients  of  federal  funding  2.  Americans  with  Disabilities  Act  of  1990  (ADA)-­‐applies  to  the  

private  sector  

§  “These  laws  prohibit  discrimination  against  a  qualiTied  individual  with  a    physical  or  mental  impairment  that  substantially  limits  one  or  more  major  life  activities,  if  the  individual,  with  or  without  reasonable  accommodation,  can  perform  the  essential  duties  of  the  job”  (Sharp  et  al.,  p.  117)  

§  If  an  employee  requires  an  accommodation,  it  must  be  reasonable  in  scope  and  cost  and  not  impose  an  undue  hardship  on  the  employer  

§  Provisions  set  in  place  so  abuses  of  the  policy  are  aren’t  commonplace  

Elements of a disability claim

§  Plaintiff  has  a  covered  disability  §  The  disability  substantially  limits  a  major  life  activity  (caring  for  oneself,  hearing,  seeing,  eating,  etc.)  

§  Plaintiff  was  discriminated  against  on  the  basis  of  the  disability  (rather  than  other  factors)  

§  No  reasonable  accommodation  was  made  § most  necessary  accommodations  cost  employers  nothing  

Defending a disability claim

§  Employers  needs  to  demonstrate  that  their  actions  were  not  solely  based  on  the  plaintiff’s  disability-­‐rather  it  was  job  related  

§  Employers  can  also  show  that  the  action  was  due  to  the  inability  of  the  employee  to  meet  the  main  functions  of  the  position  

§  Employers  cannot  require  a  medical  examine  prior  to  hiring  an  employee  

§  If  employers  can  prove  that  the  employee  creates  an  undue  burden  on  them  or  that  the  disability  requires  a  fundamental  alteration  to  the  business,  they  have  grounds  to  defend  a  disability  claim  

Compensation Discrimination

§  Many  claims  result  from  gender  inequity  in  coaching  salaries    

§  Claims  fall  under  jurisdiction  of  Title  VII,  Title  IX,  and  the  Equal  Pay  Act  of  1963  

§  Equal  Pay  Act:  requires  women  to  receive  the  same  pay  as  men  for  doing  similar/equal  work  §  Equal  work  =  “equal  skill,  effort,  and  responsibility,  which  is  performed  under  similar  working  conditions”    

§  Coaching  skills  and  effort  generally  are  not  disputed  §  Cases  usually  arise  because  of  issues  regarding  differences  in  coaching  responsibilities  (ex.  revenue  generation,  public  speaking,  fund  raising,  etc.)  §  Stanley  v.  University  of  Southern  California    

Compensation Discrimination cont.

§  In  1997  EEOC  put  forth  the  Enforcement  Guidelines  on  Sex  Discrimination  in  the  Compensation  of  Sports  Coaches  in  Educational  Institutions    

§ These  are  not  laws  but  help  persuade  courts  to  follow  the  intent  of  compensation  discrimination  laws  

§ Guidelines  have  also  encouraged  many  universities  with  substantial  women’s  sports  programs  to  provide  equitable  salaries  for  female  coaches    

Employee Leave

§  1978:  Title  VII  was  amended  to  include  Pregnancy  Discrimination  Act  (PDA)  due  to  increasing  number  of  women  who  were  Tired  once  they  became  pregnant  

§  Maternity  leave  is  not  a  huge  issue  in  sport  organizations,  but  in  general  pregnancy  claims  increased  by  31%  from  1992-­‐2005  

§  PDA  states  that  employers  have  to  treat  maternity  leave  like  any  other  temporary  leave/inability  to  work  §  Must  also  allow  pregnant  women  to  take  leave  §  Does  not  allow  employers  to  use  pregnancy  as  a  reason  for  an    adverse  employment  action  

Family Leave

§ Family  and  Medical  Leave  Act  of  1993:  guarantees  12  weeks  of  unpaid  leave  per  year  

§ Leave  can  be  used  for  childbirth,  adoption,  or  to  care  for  a  sick  family  member  

§ Also  requires  employers  to  provide  the  same  job  or  an  equivalent  one  upon  the  employee’s  return