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Bending the Gender Stereotypes
Oiler v. Winn-Dixie Louisiana, Inc., Questions, p. 157
1. Why did Oiler lose?
The court ruled that he was not fired because he failed to conform to a gender stereotype but
2. Dissenting opinion
Title VII prohibits discrimination based upon race, gender, religion, color, and national origin. A
dissenting opinion would not likely rely on the fact that the cross-dressing was done outside of
3. Gender Identity Scenarios
a. Transgendered faculty
Articles about this situation can be found here:
b. Male editor
c. Sales associate
Information on the Creed v. Family Express Corp. case may be found here:
4. Protection for transgendered persons
The Human Rights Campaign website is a comprehensive tool for finding legislation based on
WORK-LIFE BALANCE
Family and Medical Leave Act, Questions, p. 161 & 162
1. Is the FMLA well-crafted to respond to congressional findings?
The gist of the congressional finding seems to be that care-taking responsibilities fall
disproportionately on women, and that no one should be forced to choose between family and
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) Poster is available for download from the United States
2. Paid Leave
The provisions quoted do not require paid leave, but also do not forbid it. In Santiago v. New
York Police Department 2007 WL 4382752 (S.D.N.Y.)), the federal court held that the
3. FMLA policy and Windsor
In 2013 the FMLA policy was extended to same sex married couples. Information:
4. Are stereotypes addressed by Congress? Is the law responsive to changes in ideas about
family? Who benefits from/is hurt by the Act? Amendments?
According to the “Findings and Purposes” of the law, “the primary responsibility for family
Despite strong opposition from some business groups, employers do not appear to have been
As noted in Question 3, the FMLA Act was extended to same-sex married couples in 2013.
5. Research: Paid Family and Medical Leave
(a) Organizations for and against paid lead for all new mothers
The National Partnership for Women & Families supports the leave:
Not an organization, but an interesting article against extended leave is found here:
(b) Current status of state proposals
A good source of information by state is:
x
6. Research: Paid sick leave
(a) The Healthy Families Act
This act has been introduced a number of times over the years. Status on the most current
version may be found here:
(b) State paid sick leave
An Internet search should provide information about specific states. One article that
discusses several states is:
(c) Slate’s online map
The map is found here:
7. Research: State laws preempting city laws
An article that includes this issue is found here:
States may be concerned that allowing individual city laws may divide their cities or force the
states themselves to adopt statewide laws.
Reasonable Accommodation of Disabled Workers
Equal Opportunity for Individuals with Disabilities (Americans with Disabilities Act)
Questions, p. 164 & 165
1. Accommodation issues
(a) Morning sickness
For a discussion on this issue see:
(b) & (c) Lifting restrictions – male and pregnant airline ticket agents
For a general discussion on ADA regulations including lifting restrictions see:
2. Extent of changes required to accommodate the disabled
(a) Websites
In National Federation of the Blind v. Target Corporation, 452 F.Supp.2d 946 (N.D. Ca. 2006),
defendant Target contended that services did not occur on the premises of the retailer's stores
The nationwide class consists of all legally blind individuals in the United States who have
attempted to access Target.com and as a result have been denied access to the enjoyment of
In National Assn. of the Deaf v. Netflix, 869 F.Supp.2d 196 (D.Mass. 2012), defendant Netflix
argued that website-only businesses were not covered by the ADA. The motion was denied
and the Massachusetts court was the first in the county to hold that website-only businesses are
covered by the ADA. For more information see:
(b) ATM Access
This case has been ongoing for many years. A good recap of the entire case is found here:
(c) Kindles and the blind
The move to put Kindles in school was protested by the National Federation of the Blind
While the issue of Kindle accessibility has not been totally resolved, Amazon’s step towards
resolution via an app was applauded by the organization.
3. Redesigning Currency – Distinguishable by Blind/Visually Impaired
(a) Should the government do another redesign to address the needs of the blind or
visually impaired?
The question is somewhat mute based on the court decision (see part b.). A recent article
that addresses the issue is found here:
(b) American Council of the Blind v. Paulson
In this case, 581 F.Supp.2d 1 (D.D.C. 2008), the court ruled that the Treasury
Department must redesign the currency so that it is more accessible to the visually
impaired. See the following site for more information:
4. Research: United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
The full document is found here:
Testimony before the United States Senate Committee of Foreign Relations regarding ratification
of the Convention is found here:
As of the time of this writing (February 2014) the Convention has not been ratified by the United
States.
It appears that the provisions of the Convention are much broader than the ADA. Many of the
GENDER INEQUITY: A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE
The Feminization of Farming, Olivier De Schutter, Questions, p. 166
1. “Gender norms” that keep women down
Women face discrimination, low social status, lack of educational opportunities and the burden
of having to play the role of cook, maid and caregiver to their families. While the United States
has advanced in gender equality and may be way ahead of developing nations, there are arguably
still gender norm issues in many places in this country.
2. Role United States can play in making freedom from hunger a reality
This is a good question for class discussion and should include suggestions related to what can
be done in this country and what can be done to help other countries discussed in the article.
CHAPTER PROBLEMS
1. Ethical theory and Dreamers
This is a great classroom group question. As it impacts people who are of similar age, students
may be able to identify with their plight as they evaluate the various ethical theories.
2. Research: Equal Pay
(a) National Committee for Pay Equity
The website is: http://pay-equity.org/
Information about pay gaps in the various states is also found here:
http://www.aauw.org/resource/gender-pay-gap-by-state-and-congressional-district/
(b) Fair Pay Act and Paycheck Fairness Act
Information on both acts is found here: http://www.pay-equity.org/info-leg.html
As of February 2014, the Fair Pay Act has been referred to the Subcommittee on Workforce
Protection. More information may be found here:
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d113:h.r.438:
The Payroll Fairness Act has also been referred to committee:
http://beta.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/senate-bill/84
A discussion of the pros and cons of these Acts should include different types of jobs as well
as the impact of skill and education levels.
3. Family-related leave
(a) Federal law
The Family and Medical Leave Act: Current Legislative Activity, February 2011 includes a
discussion of expanded leave and a bill to allow for “parental involvement” and “family
wellness” leave is mentioned on page 14:
http://assets.opencrs.com/rpts/RL31760_20110214.pdf
Since that time, three different bills have been introduced and the latest (H.R. 3999) has been
referred to committee:
https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/hr3999#overview
(b) State laws
An Internet search should provide information about your state. An article discussing state
laws as of 2009 may be found here:
http://www.epspros.com/NewsResources/Newsletters?find=13502
(c) Leave Policies
This is another interesting class discussion and should include pros and cons for all
stakeholders, not just the employees who would benefit from extended family leave.
4. Research: Glass Ceilings
These articles may help start a class discussion on the glass ceiling and how to change it
http://debatewise.org/debates/514-does-the-glass-ceiling-still-exist/
http://multiculturaladvantage.com/leader/workplace-leadership/Getting-To-The-Top-Strategies-f
or-Breaking-Through-The-Glass-Ceiling.asp
5. Research: EU and women as corporate directors
(a) & (b) Pros and cons / should the USA adopt a similar rule?
This topic could lead to another good class discussion. Pros and cons should consider the
benefits to having more women in corporate director roles and the impact of jobs not being
available to all potential applications. Views on whether or not the USA should adopt a
similar rule will likely vary.
(c) Has the proposal been adopted?
In November 2013 the European Parliament voted in favor of the draft laws:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-11-20/eu-plan-for-40-percent-quota-of-women-on-bo
ards-gets-win.html
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/news-room/content/20131118IPR25532/html/40-of-s
eats-on-company-boards-for-women
To become law, the approval of EU state members is needed.
6. Research: Caretaking Culture
The Working Mother magazine’s 2013 most family friendly company list can be found here:
http://www.workingmother.com/best-companies/2013-working-mother-100-best-companies
While companies apply for this honor, it is still a fairly comprehensive list and will give the
students a good base to find a company to use to answer these questions.
7. Should employees have some voice in redefining qualities that make them valuable?
Another good question for group discussion, students need to consider qualities that go beyond
flexibility and availability. Given today’s high pressure work world, how do concepts like job
sharing and flex-time fit into this discussion?
8. Research: EEOC v. Houston Funding II, Ltd.
The Court of Appeals overturned the district court findings in this case, allowing the
discrimination lawsuit to go forward. See:
http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/release/5-31-13a.cfm
http://www.employmentlawblog.info/2013/05/eeoc-v-houston-funding-ii-no-12-20220-5th-cir-m
ay-30-2013.shtml
9. H-2B Program – who benefits and who is disadvantaged?
More information about the program may be found here:
http://www.uscis.gov/working-united-states/temporary-workers/h-2b-non-agricultural-workers/h-
2b-temporary-non-agricultural-workers
Obviously the employers who need and hire these workers benefit, as well as the workers
themselves. Any U.S. citizens or residents who are willing and available to take the jobs would
be disadvantaged. Working Americans in general may be disadvantaged if using these workers
leads to an overall reductions in wages paid.
10. Research: Farmworker lawsuits
In February 2014, the lawyers on both sides of the Stanley Farms case filed a joint motion
requesting a 60-day stay in the case. The motion says that there is going to be an attempt to
settle the case out of court:
http://www.southeastgeorgiatoday.com/index.php?
option=com_content&task=view&id=12435&Itemid=117
In the second lawsuit, Hamilton Growers insisted they did not violate any laws but agreed to pay
$500,000 to the plaintiffs:
http://www.employmentlawdaily.com/index.php/news/hamilton-growers-will-pay-500000-to-res
olve-eeoc-pattern-and-practice-suit-alleging-bias-against-american-seasonal-workers/
The United Farmworkers Union website provides a wealth of information about farmworkers:
http://www.ufw.org/
CHAPTER PROJECT
Cyberbullying
The text notes that this scenario is based on the events of Tyler Clementi, the Rutgers students
who committed suicide after his roommate uploaded videos of him engaging in sexual relations
with another man.
After Tyler’s death, the Tyler Clementi Higher Education and Anti-Harassment Act was
introduced in to both houses of Congress. Senator Lautenburg and Representative Holt, both
from New Jersey (location of Rutgers) introduced the Act which authorizes the Secretary of
Education to study the impact of bullying and harassment in institutions of higher education, to
issue reports on that impact and on best practices and to create a competitive grant program to
assist institutions in combating bullying and harassment.
For more information on that story and its aftermath, see
Emily Friedman, Victim of Secret Dorm Sex Tape Posts Facebook Goodbye, Jumps to His Death,
ABC News, September 29, 2010,
http://abcnews.go.com/US/victim-secret-dorm-sex-tape-commits-suicide/story?
id=11758716&tqkw=&tqshow=WN
Lisa Foderaro, Private Moment Made Public, Then a Fatal Jump, New York Times, September
28, 2010, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/30/nyregion/30suicide.html (detailing charges filed
against his roommate).
Jessica Strong, Tyler Clementi Act Introduced Into Congress, Includes Cyberbullying, Campus
Progress, November 23, 2010,
http://www.campusprogress.org/articles/tyler_clementi_act_introduced_into_congress_includes_
cyberbullying/
The It Gets Better Project (www.itgetsbetter.org) was created by gay activist Dan Savage in
response to Tyler Clementi’s death (and the deaths of other gay teens in the recent past). Savage
recruited a number of famous gay people to post videos sharing that they are living proof that
things get better. The project has expanded to include videos from unknown individuals who
have shared their stories. Those individuals include politicians, actors, employees from Fortune
500 companies and university presidents.
