Week 6 Final Project Written Assignment Rough Draft

Running head: CASE 1

Case Study on Religious Discrimination and Racial Harassment

Alexia Biscoe

Wilmington University

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CASE 2

Case Study on Religious Discrimination and Racial Harassment

Identify and describe the specific issues Maalick encountered in the workplace. Do the

actions of other workers at Treton represent discrimination and harassment? What elements of

law are important for Treton to consider?

Maalick, formerly known as MarShawn DeMur, experienced multiple instances of

discrimination and harassment based on his race and religion while working in his new position.

After his weeklong spiritual trip, Maalick came back to find his desk riddled with offensive

items. “When he entered his office, Maalick found it decorated with dolls with pins sticking out

of various body parts, witch hats and containers of incense. On the wall behind his desk was a

picture of Africa decorated with strange letterings and symbols,” [ CITATION Com09 \l 1033 ].

In addition, over the next few months Maalick continued to receive offensive materials based on

his religion and race. This included a series of notes left on his desk and car referencing black

cats, black magic, requests for palm readings and even notices about the disappearance of

MarShawn DeMur. He also found several sheets of what appeared to be chants with a title at the

top that read “Prayers for Black Folk” on his desk. Next to the pages was a book titled Mystical

Practices from the Negro Experience.

These instances show harassment based on his religion and even race based on the chants

and book left on his desk. I believe there is a clear indication of harassment based on the

treatment Maalick has received according to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. According to Title

VII, “Harassment is unwelcome conduct that is based on race, color, religion, sex (including

pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information. Harassment

becomes unlawful where 1) enduring the offensive conduct becomes a condition of continued

employment, or 2) the conduct is severe or pervasive enough to create a work environment that a

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CASE 3

reasonable person would consider intimidating, hostile, or abusive. Anti-discrimination laws also

prohibit harassment against individuals in retaliation for filing a discrimination charge, testifying,

or participating in any way in an investigation, proceeding, or lawsuit under these laws; or

opposing employment practices that they reasonably believe discriminate against individuals, in

violation of these laws,” [ CITATION Har \l 1033 ]. Maalick reported his concerns to Jenkins

expressing his clear displeasure of the acts as well as being intimidated to not speak up at all for

fear he would be seen as a “troublemaker”. This is a clear indication that Maalick was being

harassed at his place of employment.

The elements of law for Treton to consider would be their liability as the employer when

an employee is experiencing harassment in the workplace. According to the EEOC, “It is illegal

to harass a person because of his or her religion. Harassment can include, for example, offensive

remarks about a person’s religious beliefs or practices. Although the law doesn’t prohibit simple

teasing, offhand comments, or isolated incidents that aren’t very serious, harassment is illegal

when it is so frequent or severe that it creates a hostile or offensive work environment or when it

results in an adverse employment decision (such as the victim being fired or demoted). The

harasser can be the victim’s supervisor, a supervisor in another area, a co-worker, or someone

who is not an employee of the employer, such as a client or customer,” [CITATION The \l

1033 ]. When the employees teased, mocked, and otherwise made the job miserable for Maalick,

and after Ford was made known of the issues, the company was liable to act as defined by EEO

laws.

Evaluate the actions of the HR director, Marta Ford, in response to Maalick’s situation.

What could she have done to prevent the situation and what more could she do to ensure that this

type of situation would not occur in the future?

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CASE 4

Marta Ford did what was required of her as the HR director by calling department

meetings and sending an e-mail to all facility employees, reminding them of Treton’s policies

regarding discrimination and harassment and reiterating the penalties associated with such

actions. She also followed up with Maalick on multiple occasions to ensure that he was no longer

being harassed. While her actions were adequate in order to stop the situation after it had

occurred and prevented further harassment, there was much that could have been done

proactively to avoid this situation to begin with. I believe Ford should have spoken with

department heads to have a refresher course on their anti-discrimination policies once Maalick

changed his name and first advised her he received comments and questions regarding the

change.

In order to prevent further situations, I would recommend Ford implement mandatory

diversity training courses to not only the department heads but all of the employees as well.

While the email sent out reminding employees of the policies is helpful, I would recommend a

training course that also requires each employee to sign an agreement form that they understand

the rules and organization’s policies. This signed form can be added to each employees file and

can serve as both a deterrent for future violations and an aid if an employee should be caught

violating these policies.

How would you characterize Clive Jenkins’ behavior and response to this situation?

I would characterize Clive Jenkins’ behavior as wildly inappropriate. We are first made

aware of Jenkins’ religious views as he invited Maalick to his church and made it a point to let

him know many employees were also members of his church. There were multiple inappropriate

comments regarding Maalick’s religious views, including calling them strange, referring to it as a

“so-called religion” and even stating “As an American with African roots, you should have

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CASE 5

expected some lighthearted ribbing about your conversion to that strange religion of yours. Even

you must admit that they do some weird things,” [ CITATION Com09 \l 1033 ]. I believe

Jenkins’ actions were unethical in response to Maalick’s complaints of the harassment. He did

not take the situation seriously and caused the work environment to become tense and hostile.

The less he acted the more the employees harassed Maalick. Jenkins’ also seemed to pass

Maalick over for a promotion and favored a church member. Thus, causing Maalick to pursue the

filing of the discrimination/harassment complaint. As a supervisor, this behavior is unacceptable

and should be reviewed for possible correction and/or discipline.

What resolution to this situation might Judith Dixon suggest?

First, I would recommend all hiring for the position of systems manager to be halted until

a proper investigation can be completed. If there was discrimination, Dixon must act on multiple

levels. Maalick should be assessed to ensure he is qualified for the position and if so, he should

be either offered that role or offered a transfer to a comparable role at another facility (if that

would make him more comfortable). Then, Jenkins and Ford should both be reviewed and

disciplined for their roles in this matter. Jenkins’ actions, as well as inactions, proved that he was

at the very minimum, a liability to the organization. He put the company at risk by not taking

Maalick’s concerns and acting appropriately as a supervisor. Additionally, Ford made some

missteps as well and should be educated and possibly disciplined. While being the HR director is

a busy job, she should have been knowledgeable enough to act at the first communication from

Maalick that he was receiving questions and comments about his religion and name change.

Investigating and identifying the harasser(s) also should have been done in order to ensure those

individuals were aware of the policy and were disciplined as necessary.

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CASE 6

What are the broader implications of this situation for Treton? What type of

organizational review might Dixon initiate or suggest from a corporate perspective?

The broader implications of this situation could affect Treton as a company. According to

the case, “Treton takes pride in its non-union status and strives to develop policy and implement

programs that demonstrate its strong company culture of employee development and

empowerment, procedural and operational integrity, and ethical decision-making. To sustain its

culture and values, Treton has policies, procedures and guidelines that articulate its expectations

of employee and employer behaviors. Promoting and facilitating workforce diversity is a guiding

principle for Treton. The organization has written policies and directives regarding workforce

diversity, equal employment opportunity/nondiscrimination and workplace harassment,”

[ CITATION Com09 \l 1033 ]. If word were to get out that Treton had a documented or even

potential discrimination and harassment case, they could lose their reputation, customers, and

trust from employees.

An informal organizational review should be conducted in order to make sure Treton’s

equal employment opportunity policies are in order in each department. In an informal review,

each department evaluates its organizational structure. This should include Treton’s EEO policies

and procedures, how they are implemented, how information is conveyed, and what the

repercussions are for violation of the policies. Once the review has been completed, the results

should be issued to the HR department for feedback and assistance in implementing any updates

needed, [ CITATION Bro19 \l 1033 ].

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CASE 7

References

Brown University. (2019). Organizational Reviews. Retrieved from University Human

Resources: https://www.brown.edu/about/administration/human-resources/organizational-

reviews

Combs, G. M. (2009). Religious Discrimination and Racial Harassment: What Ever Happened

to MarShawn DeMur? Retrieved from Society for Human Resource Management:

https://wilmu.blackboard.com/bbcswebdav/pid-13965741-dt-content-rid-

74350889_1/courses/30949.201930/Student%20Workbook_Religious_Racial_SW

%281%29.pdf

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (n.d.). Harassment. Retrieved from

https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/types/harassment.cfm

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (n.d.). Religious Discrimination.

Retrieved from https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/types/religion.cfm

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