Is This Unlawful Discrimination

Is this Unlawful Discrimination

During World War II large numbers of American women had to work to support the war effort, employers were urged to voluntarily make adjustments to female wages and salaries to equal their male counterparts. Most employers failed to submit to the request of the National War Labor Board to voluntarily increase female wages in fact by war’s end many of these women were pushed out of the workforce allowing returning war veterans to take their jobs. "Congress sought to eliminate pay discrimination against women when it enacted the Equal Pay Act nearly 50 years ago, but unfortunately the significant pay disparity between men and women still exists today," says Roberta D. Liebenberg, who chairs the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession. Until the 60’s, job listing for men and women were published separately in the newspaper. Job posting were classified according to gender, higher level jobs were categorized as male only jobs. Women earn an average of 60 cent on every dollar their male equivalent made. The Equal Pay Act was passed into law on June 10, 1963. On June 11, 1964 the law became effective making it illegal for employers to lower the compensation for females because of their sex. Further legislation was instituted to ensure women are given the same opportunity as men the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972 mandated by the federal Equal Employment Opportunity program. The Act was designed to ensure equal treatment for all segments of society without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, or sex to ensure all employees are treated fairly. The law made discrimination in employment illegal. Both of these legislative acts have validity in the case study of Thelma Jones. The most important law covering gender discrimination on the job is the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This Act specifically, Title VII of the act strictly forbids any form of discrimination or basis due to race, color, religion, sex, or national origin in all aspects of employment. Thelma Jones sue is covered under this act.

Discuss the issues that the court must decide on in this case. The court must decide if Thelma Jones was not promoted to partner based on her gender. Although she was praised her outstanding work performance, she was also criticized for being sometimes overly aggressive, unduly harsh, difficult to work with, and impatient with staff. The most damaging aspect of her case is the fact she was advised to be less macho and more feminine. If the court rules Thelma Jones was denied partnership base on her gender the court is mandated by federal law to rule in her favor. The court must determine if the company promotes male employees to partner over female employees based on gender. Thelma