Discrimination Based on Race. The hiring policy of Phillips ...

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Discrimination Based on Race. The hiring policy of Phillips Community College of the University of Arkansas (PCCUA) is to conduct an internal search for qualified applicants before advertising outside the college. Steven Jones, the university's chancellor, determines the appli-cation and appointment process for vacant positions, however, and is the ultimate authority in hiring decisions. Howard Lockridge, an African American, was PCCUA's Technical and Industrial Department Chair. Between 1988 and 1998, Lockridge applied for several different positions, some of which were unadvertised, some of which were unfilled for years, and some of which were filled with less qualified persons from outside the college. In 1998, when Jones advertised an opening for the position of Dean of Industrial Technology and Workforce Development, Lockridge did not apply for the job. Jones hired Tracy McGraw, a white male. Lockridge filed a suit in a federal district court against the university under Title VII. The university filed a motion for summary judgment in its favor. What are the elements of a prima facie case of disparate-treatment discrimination? Can Lockridge pass this test, or should the court issue a judgment in the university's favor? Explain.

Question 2

Actual authority involves powers given by the principal to the agent.
 a. True
  b. False
  Indicate whether the statement is true or false

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Answer to Question 1

Discrimination based on race
The court denied the motion, and the defendants appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, which affirmed the decision of the lower court before rehearing the case, reversing this ruling, and remanding for the entry of a judgment in the defendants' favor. The elements of a prima facie case are: a plaintiff must show (1) that he or she is a member of a protected group; (2) that he or she was qualified and applied for a position or a promotion for which an employer was seeking applicants; (3) that despite the plaintiff's qualifications, he or she was rejected; and (4) that a person with similar qualifications who was not a member of a protected group was hired for or promoted to the position. In this case, Lockridge, an African American, is a member of a protected group. He was not promoted to the vacant deanship, thus satisfying the third factor. The university hired a white man to fill the position, which meets the fourth requirement. The case thus turned on the second element. Lockridge claimed that it would have been futile for him to apply for the position, based on his previous experiences with job openings at PCCUA. The court said, t might be that an employee's proven experience with an employer could, in a proper case, furnish a reason for relaxing the requirement that an employee must apply for a position in order to make out a prima facie case that he was unlawfully discriminated against. But here, Mr. Lockridge seeks to rely on incidents some of which occurred at least a decade before the relevant employment decision, not all of which, moreover, included the same principal actors. In these particular circumstances, we are unable to conclude that Mr. Lockridge has made out a case on the question of whether it was futile for him to apply.

Answer to Question 2

TRUE