WorksheetsEEOC Scenarios
Total questions: 14
Worksheet time: 42mins
Wanda, who is African-American, works in the storeroom at a grocery store.
On Wanda's first day, one of the delivery men, who is White, was very rude to her.
Since then, this delivery man has attached negative jokes or cartoons about African-Americans
to packages he leaves with Wanda. What should Wanda do?
Wanda should do nothing. The delivery man does not work for the grocery store, so the store can’t be held responsible for his conduct.
Wanda should tell the delivery man that his behavior is offensive,
and that it must stop immediately.
Wanda should tell her supervisor or any other store supervisor or manager responsible for handling harassment and discrimination complaints about the delivery man's conduct.
Both B and C are correct.
Tim and Angie, who is the team leader, work at a local amusement park.
They recently broke up after dating for several months.
Angie begins following Tim at work and begs him to give her another chance.
When Tim refuses, Angie changes Tim's schedule so she won’t have to work with him.
As a result, Tim’s hours are cut in half. Is Angie’s behavior sexual harassment?
Yes. It was illegal for Angie to reduce Tim’s hours because he refused to date her. Angie also should have stopped asking Tim out after they broke up.
No. Angie’s behavior is not sexual harassment because Angie has not kissed or hugged Tim. Angie reasonably tried to stay away from Tim after he refused to give her another chance.
No. Angie’s behavior is not sexual harassment because she and Tim used to date. It is impossible for people who used to be in a
relationship to sexually harass each other.
No. Angie’s behavior is not sexual harassment because only
women can be sexually harassed.
Jorge, a Honduran citizen living in the United States, accepted a summer job with a
landscaping company. On his first day, Jorge broke a lawn mower, prompting the customer
to yell at him. The customer called Jorge “stupid” and complained
that foreign kids like Jorge were stealing jobs from hard-working Americans.
Jorge did not see the customer again during the rest of the summer.
Is the customer’s treatment of Jorge illegal harassment?
No. Because the customer does not work for the landscaping
company, the company cannot be held legally responsible for
the customer’s conduct.
No. Although the customer’s conduct was offensive and was
directed at Jorge because of his national origin, it was not
sufficiently severe (very serious) or pervasive (frequent) to
establish illegal harassment.
No. Because Jorge is not an American citizen, he is not
protected by U.S. employment discrimination laws.
Yes. It is illegal to harass someone at work for any reason.
Andrew and Samantha went to an employment agency
to find temporary jobs for the summer.
The agency refers Samantha to a receptionist job at a law firm.
The agency tells Andrew that it cannot refer him for the receptionist job
because the law firm requested a young lady.
Did the employment agency discriminate against Andrew?
No. The laws only apply to employers and not employment
agencies that refer you to other companies.
No. Andrew is not protected from discrimination because he is
an applicant, not an employee.
No. The employment agency was only following the orders of the law firm, which refused to hire a man as a receptionist. The
law firm, and not the employment agency, is responsible for the
discrimination.
Yes. An employment agency cannot refuse to refer someone for a receptionist position because he is a male.
Jeanette was offered a job as a waitress at a local restaurant.
At the end of her interview, she mentioned that she was pregnant, but that she was
perfectly capable of performing her duties as a waitress.
When Jeanette called to get her start date, the manager said he had hired someone else. He said he was afraid that Jeanette would hurt her baby carrying heavy trays of food and that the customers might not like having a pregnant woman waiting on them.
He invited her to reapply after she had her baby. Is the manager’s decision illegal?
No. The manager did not discriminate against Jeanette because he invited her to reapply after she gave birth, and
refused to hire her only out of concern for the health and safety of Jeanette and her baby.
Yes. The manager discriminated against Jeanette when he refused to hire her because she is pregnant.
No. The manager can legally decide not to hire Jeanette
because restaurant customers may not want pregnant servers.
Yes. Once the manager offered Jeanette the job, he had no right to change his mind and hire someone else.
Quincy has worked at a clothing store for six months and has received good performance
reviews from his manager. Two weeks ago, Quincy’s girlfriend stopped by the store.
Since then, the manager has been watching Quincy closely.
Today, the manager fired Quincy, explaining that sales were down.
A co-worker told Quincy that the manager was looking for a reason to fire Quincy because she disapproved of Quincy’s interracial relationship. Quincy is African-American and his girlfriend is White.
Is this treatment illegal?
Yes. The manager illegally discriminated against Quincy if she
fired him because of his interracial relationship.
No. The manager may have disapproved of Quincy’s interracial
relationship, but she did not fire him until two weeks after meeting his girlfriend. If the manager had fired Quincy the day after meeting his girlfriend, then the firing may have been illegal.
No. Sales are down, and the manager has the right to fire any employee she chooses.
Yes, but Quincy must hire a lawyer, and must pay EEOC to investigate and decide the case.
Naira, who is Native American, works part-time at a bowling alley.
She tries to register for the company’s manager training program, but her supervisor tells her that the class is full, commenting, “It's just as well. After all, you'll make a lot more money working at a casino on your people's reservation.” Two days later, the supervisor allows five of Naira's co-workers, none of whom are Native American,
to register for the training program. Is the supervisor’s conduct illegal?
No. Naira works part-time, and federal law does not protect
part-time workers from employment discrimination.
No. Federal employment law does not prohibit discrimination in
management training programs.
Yes. If the supervisor refused to allow Naira to register for the training program because of her race (because she is Native American), he has engaged in unlawful discrimination.
Yes. The supervisor discriminated against Naira because of her
race when he refused to allow her to register for the manager training program. In addition, the supervisor’s remark about
Naira working at a casino on “[her] people’s reservation” is illegal harassment based on Naira’s race.
Rosa spends her summers working on a fruit
farm. The farm owner docks her pay whenever
she is late for work, but allows Haitian workers
to make up the time at the end of the day. Rosa
believes the farm owner treats her differently
because she is from Mexico. A friend tells Rosa
to call the EEOC for help, but she is afraid
because she is an undocumented worker. Can
the EEOC help Rosa?
No. Undocumented workers are not protected by United States
anti-discrimination laws.
No. The farm owner has a right to dock Rosa's pay if she is late for
work.
No. Rosa is only a seasonal employee, so she is not protected by
the federal ant-discrimination laws.
Yes. Rosa may have been the victim of wage discrimination
because of her national origin. EEOC can help Rosa even if she is
an undocumented worker.
Amardeep, who is Sikh, wears a turban as required by his religion. His supervisor tells him that his turban makes his co-workers “uncomfortable” and asks him to remove it.
The supervisor also claims that employees are not allowed to wear hats or other head coverings at work. What should Amardeep do?
Amardeep should remove the turban so he doesn’t make his co-workers uncomfortable.
Amardeep should explain to his supervisor that he wears the turban as part of his religious beliefs. Amardeep also should ask
his employer to make an exception to the “no hats” rule so that he may wear his turban.
Amardeep should remove the turban because his supervisor is
trying to protect him from harassment by his co-workers.
Amardeep should remove the turban immediately because his employer doesn’t allow anyone to wear hats or other head
coverings at work.
Juanita recently graduated from high school and began work as a shift manager at a retail store that specializes in clothing for juniors.
She does not get along with an older employee (age 45) who works part-time.
At one staff meeting, Juanita gave the older employee a cane as a joke.
On another occasion, Juanita told the older employee to take the afternoon off and go home to take a nap. Juanita regularly refers to this older employee as “Grandma.”
After several months, Juanita decides to fire the older employee because she wants to hire someone younger. Juanita believes a younger employee will relate better to the store’s teen customers. Is this conduct illegal?
Yes. Federal law protects workers age 40 or older from job
discrimination and harassment based on their age.
No. The federal age discrimination law does not apply to teenage workers, so it is not illegal for Juanita to fire the older employee.
No. As a manager, Juanita has the authority to make decisions about hiring and firing employees.
No. Juanita did not discriminate against the older employee because it is important for a retail store that markets to teenagers to hire workers who are the same age as its customers.
Jamal, a cashier at a retail store, asks his Store Manager to order special
equipment for the cash register because he has low vision and cannot see the
number keys. The Store Manager agrees to Jamal’s request and orders the special
equipment. Later that day, the Store Manager tells one of Jamal’s co-workers
about the special equipment she ordered because Jamal has trouble seeing the number keys on the
cash register. The co-worker is surprised and says she didn’t know that Jamal was “blind as a bat.”
The next day, Jamal’s co-workers call him Batman and flap their arms and squint when they see him.
Jamal complains to the Store Manager about this behavior, and she immediately corrects the problem.
Jamal’s co-workers do not make any more comments about his vision. Did the Store Manager respond
correctly to Jamal’s requests?
No. The Store Manager should not have granted Jamal’s request for the special equipment because Jamal did not put his request in writing.
Yes. The Store Manager responded correctly to Jamal’s request for special equipment because of his low vision. She also acted
quickly to stop his co-workers from harassing him. The Store Manager had a responsibility to tell the co-worker about Jamal’s disability so the co-worker would understand why Jamal was using special equipment on the cash register.
No. The Store Manager responded correctly to Jamal’s request for special equipment due to his low vision and to his complaint
about co-worker harassment, but she should not have discussed Jamal’s disability or need for special equipment with
his co-workers.
Yes. The Store Manager was acting in Jamal’s best interest when she helped him obtain special equipment for the cash
register, mentioned his disability to a co-worker, and stopped the co-workers from teasing him. The Store Manager thinks
Jamal is a good employee and was only trying to protect him.
Maria applies to work as a summer intern at a radio station.
The interview goes well. A Human Resources employee conducts a background
check, which includes an Internet search of Maria’s name. Maria’s Facebook page appears in the Internet search results. The Facebook page, which is available for public viewing, features a picture of Maria standing next to a mile marker in a T-shirt imprinted with “My Aunt is My Hero” and a pink ribbon. Touched, the Human Resources employee conducts an Internet search for Maria’s name and “breast cancer” and learns that Maria’s aunt was diagnosed with breast cancer but is responding well to treatment. The Human Resources employee writes a note on the white board in his office: “Touch base with Maria: aunt’s cancer treatment.” The employee’s sister was recently diagnosed with breast cancer, and he is interested in learning more about successful treatments. Maria is hired.
Did the company discriminate against Maria?
No. The company did not discriminate against Maria; it hired her as a summer intern.
Yes. The company discriminated against Maria by viewing her Facebook page
Yes. The company discriminated against Maria by seeking out
information about her aunt’s breast cancer and posting a note in public about Maria and her aunt’s cancer treatment.
No. The Human Resources employee should not have conducted the Internet search for Maria’s name and “breast cancer” and
should not have written “Touch base with Maria: aunt’s cancer treatment” on his white board. However, the employee took these actions to help his sister, not to hurt Maria.
Daniel filed a charge of discrimination against the company he worked for last summer –
a swimming pool supply and service company. As part of the investigation, an EEOC investigator spoke
to one of Daniel’s co-workers, Brian, who agreed that the supervisor treated Daniel unfairly. As a result of the EEOC
investigation, the supervisor called both Daniel and Brian at home and yelled at them for talking to the EEOC.
The supervisor also gave them negative references. Prior to the EEOC investigation, the supervisor had no complaints about
Daniel or Brian’s job performance. Did the supervisor violate the law?
Yes. The supervisor illegally retaliated against Daniel by giving him a negative reference because he filed a charge of discrimination with the EEOC. It was also illegal for the supervisor to give Brian a negative reference because Brian participated in the EEOC investigation.
No. It was reasonable for the supervisor to yell at Daniel and Brian and give them negative references because the EEOC investigation was disruptive to the workplace.
No. The supervisor did not violate the law because he called Daniel and Brian at their homes, and not at work.
No. Federal law only protects current employees from
discrimination. Because Daniel and Brian were no longer employed by the company when they spoke to the EEOC, it was not illegal for the supervisor to yell at them and give them negative references.
I am interested in learning more about the EEOC.
I would also like to share information about student workers’ rights and responsibilities with my friends. How can I do this?
Visit the EEOC website at www.eeoc.gov for the
latest information on the Commission, relevant laws, recent news and lawsuits, and more.
Contact an editor or faculty advisor for your school newspaper and pitch an article idea about student workers and employment rights.
Encourage your school to invite an EEOC representative to discuss students’ rights and responsibilities on the job.
All of the above.
