Law 531

NewCorp Legal Issues

Albert Alverez

Business Law/LAW 531

September 7, 2005

Dr. Samuel L. Jacksonhole

NewCorp Legal Issues

The NewCorp legal issues involve a potential Title VII Civil Rights Act violation, a sexual harassment incident with possible pregnancy discrimination, and a worker’s compensation claim coupled with an Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) violation involving confined spaces. Within these situations, NewCorp has a responsibility to conduct business operations in an environment to protect employees from discriminating practices, abusive and controlling managers, and physically and mentally unsafe working conditions (University of Phoenix, n.d.).

Title VII Civil Rights Act

Pat is a NewCorp employee in Vermont, discharged within the first 30 days of employment. The cause of Pat’s discharge is unknown and there appeared to be no indication of poor performance prior to discharge. The NewCorp employee manual outlines a step process of for disciplinary action; however, in Pat’s discharge the step process is not followed (University of Phoenix, n.d.).

According to State of Vermont (2010), “The provisions of this section shall not be construed to limit the rights of employers to discharge employees for good cause shown” (§ 495. Unlawful employment practice, para (b)). Clearly under the Vermont Human Rights Commission, discharge for good cause is not prohibited under the Commission’s authority. However, if Pat is part of a protected class, NewCorp there is a potential for a violation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

According to Title VII, the act applies to “employers with 15 or more employees” and states “it shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer…(1) to discharge any individual … because such individual’s race, color, religion, sex, or national origin” (Cheeseman, 2010, p. 513). Moreover, the State of Vermont (2010) extends these protected classes to include sexual orientation, gender identity,...