What Are Susan Reed's Lawsuit Against Employee

While Susan Reed is considering taking legal action, she must consider the various angles she may take when going after her employer, Robert Pearson. There are three major avenues that she should consider when bringing a lawsuit against her employer. They include discrimination based on sex, discrimination based on age, and sexual harassment. None of these will guarantee that she win the case, but some may be easier to prove than others. To begin, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 states that an employer cannot discriminate based on any of 5 protected classes, one of which is sex. Therefore, because Big Ten Fitness has more than 15 people employed by them, they are subject to compliance with Title VII. According to the McDonnell Douglas

They hired someone who applied in the same period that Susan did. As a result, the burden of proof would remain on Susan. If she could prove that they continued seeking applications, then she could have had a stronger argument. Susan could have said that they were similarly qualified based on their education and work experience. She could even claim that she was more qualified because she has experience within the company and industry. As mentioned previously, it is unlikely that Susan could establish a Prima Facie case because she and the other candidate were probably in the same applicant pool. However, Susan could cite the disparate treatment that is occurring within the company. The case mentions that Robert Pearson did not usually bring women along when he took his managers out on recreational trips because he believed that women are uninterested and unable to keep up. This creates an interesting point, because Robert is not only treating his staff differently based on sex, he also is keeping them from joining him in health conscious behaviors, a trait that he believes is core to joining leadership in the organization. Another example of how discrimination could

However, their tactic would have to be very different in the case of sexual harassment. In the case of age or sex discrimination, they could simply provide reasons why the other man was a better hire than Susan, because she was probably unable to provide a prima facie case based on the McDonnell Douglas test. Therefore, Bob Jacobs could say that they chose the other candidate for many reasons that included, but are not limited to, his ability to work overtime, the fresh perspective he can bring to the company, his completed degree in Marketing, and possibly something as simple as a better fit based on personality. However, if she was able to create a prima facie case, Big Ten Fitness would have a much more difficult time defending their actions. They would have to provide some reason as to why Susan was not qualified or prove a bona fide occupational qualification that prevents women or older people from being able to perform the essential functions of the job. The latter of these two options would be next to impossible, given the nature of the job. Even proving that Susan was not qualified based on some other characteristic would be difficult, as she seemingly has the same qualifications as the other