Background / Case

Sylvie Witt, an African American woman, took a job as a scriptwriter's assistant at Samson Television Productions working for writers of the TV showFrenemies, a popular adult-oriented TV series. One of her essential duties was to type detailed notes for the scriptwriters during brainstorming sessions in which they discussed jokes, dialogue, and story lines. The writers then went through Witt's notes after the meetings for script material. During these meetings, the three male scriptwriters told lewd and vulgar jokes and made sexually explicit comments and gestures. They often talked about their personal sexual experiences and fantasies, and some of these conversations were then used in episodes ofFrenemies. Witt never complained that she found the writers' conduct offensive. After six months, she was fired because she could not type fast enough to keep up with the writers' conversations during the meetings. She filed a lawsuit against Samson, alleging sexual harassment, and claiming that her termination was based on racial discrimination.

Questions :

1. Would Witt's claim for racial discrimination most likely be for intentional (disparate treatment) discrimination, or for unintentional (disparate impact) discrimination? Explain.

2. Witt was told when she was hired that typing speed was extremely important to her position, and that the job required that she be able to type at least 75 words per minute. At the time, she maintained that she could type 80 words per minute, so she was not given a typing test. After her termination, it was discovered that Witt could type only 50 words per minute. What impact might this fact have on Witt's lawsuit? Explain.

3. What type of sexual harassment is alleged to have occurred here? What possible defense might Samson raise to this claim? Fully Explain.

4. What is your position on this statement: Members of minority groups and women have made enough economic progress in the last several decades that special legislation is no longer needed to protect their employment rights. Explain.