Midterm Exam — ABC Corporation
Adam Feisst
HRER-418 Human Resource Law
15 December 2016
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Introduction
Employment discrimination cases are challenging for both the employer and the
employee in question. In this situation, it initially appears that ABC Corporation’s former
employee Kareem was terminated because of the impact his religious practices had on his
performance. This is considered religious employment discrimination under the Civil Rights Act
of 1964, as religion is a protected class. However, the termination may have been conducted
without knowledge of the implications regarding religion, as the company’s management was
unaware that Kareem was a Muslim, and as such had no way of knowing that his religious
commitments were the reason for his decline in productivity. Although management should have
taken care to understand the situation before deciding to terminate, Kareem should have also
been proactive in informing management of this important aspect of his life and his need for
religious accommodation in his daily duties. This case exemplifies how important it is for HR
professionals—and management at all levels of an organization—to understand the basic
workings of employment discrimination law, and to set policies that ensure these situations are
avoided in the future.
Pertinent Facts
The fact pattern in the case begins with the corporate culture of ABC Corporation. As an
electronic device company, ABC Corporation conducts business in the highly competitive
technology industry. The organization differentiates itself by focusing on customer service, and
maintains the belief that “resolving customer issues in a timely fashion and to the customer’s
satisfaction” is the key to success (Byrne, 2016). Its eight call centers around the world are
compete with one another in order to succeed in the company’s reward structure—the center that
handles the most calls with the highest-rated customer service evaluations ends up winning the
most recognition. This creates an environment in which both management and employees are
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held to increasingly high standards, as each call center and respective manager is continuously
trying to improve productivity and performance in relation to the others.
There are a few individuals of importance in this case. The first, Thomas, is one of ABC
Corporation’s call center managers and has run the most productive center in the company for
years. It’s important to note that despite Thomas’ success, his style of management is more
focused on achieving his unusually high productivity standards, and less on maintaining the
customer service values for which the company is generally known. A second member of
management is Janet, one of 10 call center supervisors. As a long-term colleague of Thomas, she
understands his management style and tends to mimic his perspective and drive—evident
through her intense work ethic and dedication to the center.
Kareem, the newest representative, is a Muslim of Indian descent. He was hired for two
primary reasons: the first for his pleasant phone voice that would be comforting to customers,
and the second for his “desire to please the customer and represent the company well,” a quality
that perfectly aligns with the company’s mission to provide exceptional customer service (Byrne,
2016). Due to his religion, he is required to pray five times a day, which “involves a series of
movements and recitations from the Quran” (Byrne, 2016). As such, there are multiple instances
throughout the day in which he is unable to conduct his work and needs to leave his work station.
While this may not be as critical to success in other centers, it reflects poorly on Kareem in this
unit due to Thomas’ insistence on perfection and constant productivity. After only 8 months with
the company, Kareem was terminated by Thomas due to his unproductive work time, excessive
number of breaks throughout the work day, and inability to meet the productivity standards of
the center.
Beyond management and Kareem, other members of the call center include
representatives Michael and Kathy. Both representatives have been with ABC Corporation for a
few years, but at this call center for 2 years and 6 months, respectively. As such, Michael has a
greater understanding of the management style and corporate culture of this specific center—
which explains his knowledge of the dedication and effort necessary to succeed in this unit
compared to others in the company. He takes pride in his work despite the challenges of the
position, and the frustration he feels towards others that don’t meet the center’s expectations may
influence his opinion of them. The other representative, Kathy, is new to the branch. She
understands the differences this center has compared to others at the company due to her five–
year tenure. Kathy is also friends with Kareem, and is the only employee of ABC Corporation to
ask him why he was so often absent from his work station (primarily due to their close
relationship). Despite her previous successes, she’s fearful for her job due to this center’s
competitive and hostile environment—one that radiates from Thomas’ management techniques.
The chain of events that lead to Kareem’s termination are as follows. Janet, the
