Big Bank Case Study

Arthur Miller has worked for Big Bank for six years. He started as a management intern working summers while attending college. After graduation, he was hired as a customer service supervisor overseeing three technicians in one of the large customer service centers.Miller was encouraged by a manager at the service center to apply for a promotion and transfer to the newly opened Montana facility.Miller, who is African American, had questions about the demographics of the location and the facility but decided to apply for an operations manager position at the Montana facility. The operations manager position reported to the facility director, Ben Steeler, who is Caucasian.Miller was selected for an interview with Steeler. During the interview, Steeler discussed company philosophy and his vision that the facility would operate as "one big happy family." Employees would be evaluated on their strengths and productivity, and the benefits of diversity in all areas would be maximized.

Miller was offered the position by Steeler and he accepted the job and moved to Montana.Miller started his new position with enthusiasm. He interacted well with coworkers and subordinates and demonstrated high technical competence in his work.Steeler often complimented Miller on his ideas and work ethic. His first annual performance appraisal was superior in all areas.About a six months into his new assignment in Montana, Miller submitted a DNA test to 23 and Me to find out his DNA and family's origins.Miller received the results that he was from Namibia. Just shy of his one year anniversary, Miller approached Steeler and told him that he wanted to take an extended vacation to Namibia to find his roots and that he was requesting two weeks' vacation time to be taken the next month.Steeler replied that while he understood Miller wanting to take a vacation, he "thought it was quite strange that Miller would want to travel all the way to Africa to spend time in a hut." Steeler told Miller he thought this was a waste of time and that it was difficult to approve that much vacation time all at once, but he would see what he could do. Steeler ultimately approved the vacation time

A few days before Miller was to leave for his vacation, several employees approached him and asked about his journey to "find his so-called roots." They told Miller that the Namibians were thought to practice voodoo and live on dirt floors and are uneducated.Miller countered these remarks by providing more correct information about Namibian tribal practices and the education system.He wondered about the source of his co-worker's perceptions.

Miller went to Namibia and had a fantastic trip. Miller was so connected to his family and heritage that he decided to take on a traditional African name: Kwame.Miller legally changed his name to Kwame when he returned to work and also decided to start wearing more traditional Namibian clothing.When he returned to work, he stopped by the HR department to complete the paperwork to formally change his name. He spoke with HR director, Cammy White, who is Caucasian, about the questions his co-workers asked him about his Namibian heritage.White assured him that his name change would be recognized and reflected in company records and told him not to worry about his co-workers.Kwame proceeded with his normal duties and began to sign correspondence with the name Kwame. When he entered his department the next day, he noticed strange looks from his co-workers. As he greeted them, they simply nodded their heads, laughed and immediately walked away. When he entered his office, Kwame 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. Kwame was astonished and immediately called Steeler and asked that he come to his office. When Steeler saw the office, he laughed and said, "Well Milleror shall I say KwameI must say you have some admirers. As an American with African roots, you should have expected some lighthearted ribbing.Even you must admit that they do some weird things in Africa." Kwame replied, "No, I must say that I did not expect this!" Steeler recognized that Kwame was angry and upset over the incident and promised to handle the situation. Over the next several months, Kwame received a series of notes left on his desk.When an employee's goat had gone missing from their farm, one coworker said "Look at Kwame's house, those Namibian's steal goats." Not wanting to cause any problems or be labeled as a troublemaker, Kwame ignored these incidents, thinking that people would tire of the pranks and things would die down. However, on one occasion, he found on his desk several sheets of what appeared to be chants with a title at the top that read "Prayers for Black Folk." Kwame immediately took the materials to the HR department and met with White and made a full report."This is not the type of behavior that is condoned at Big Bank. Don't worry, I will handle this immediately. I am so sorry about all of this," said White.White called Steeler, told him what she had heard from Kwame, including Steeler's comments, and told him to bring a stop to this conduct immediately.White told Steeler that he could be fired for permitting such conduct especially given the fact that he had been counseled the year before for having an affair with one of his subordinates- Jane Jones.

Jane had entered into a consensual relationship with Steeler that lasted several months. During that time, everything was fine, but when Jane broke it off with Steeler, he became irritable and possessive.Jane reported to White that Steeler was calling her at home late at night and would hang-up and would stop by her desk and linger.He also tried rubbing her shoulders one time (Jane had always asked Steeler to rub her shoulders when they were having their affair).As soon as Jane reported this conduct to White, White met with Steeler and he confessed to the affair.Steeler was placed on a final written warning for violating Big Bank's fraternization policy.White knew she had to do something so she moved Jane to a new department so that she would no longer be supervised by Steeler.White's wages remained the same, but her schedule changed from working 8 am to 5 pm to working noon to 8 pm. She didn't like the new schedule, but she figured it was better than having to work with Steeler.Jane, who has been with Big Bank for ten years, received great reviews from her new supervisor and received a performance bonus at the end of last year.

White periodically checked back-in with Kwame and he reported that nothing else had happened.On White's last visit, she took the opportunity to tell Kwame about a new systems manager opening that would be a promotion for Kwame.This position also reported to Steeler.After reviewing the systems manager job requirements, Kwame believed that he had more than a good chance at a promotion because he met the all of the qualifications and current employees were to be given preference for the position.One internal applicant also applied for the position- Jane Jones.One external applicant also applied for the position: Gary, who is Caucasian and has a Master's Degree in systems management, which while not a requirement for the position would be extremely useful to Big Bank.

Big Bank has an anti-harassment policy that is attached.

1- how to handle the decision of who is hired or promoted to the systems manager position.Who should be involved in the decision (White or Steeler or both) and in what way? What are the possible criteria that should be considered when making the decision? What information or documents would you want to see in order to make this decision and why? Explain how you would handle communicating the decision to the person who is hired/promoted and the persons who are not hired/promoted and what information you would provide to them about the decision, if any.

2- Assume that Kwame is not hired for systems manager position and you are his attorney.What claims might Kwame assert against Big Bank and why? (Be sure to go explain each element of each legal claim).What information or documents would you want to see from Big Bank?If Big Bank has any defenses to Kwame's claims, identify them and how you would address and counter those defenses.

3- Assume that Jane is not hired for the systems manager position and you are her attorney.What claims might Jane assert against Big Bank and why? (Be sure to go explain each element of each legal claim).What information or documents would you want to see from Big Bank?

4- What damages do Jane and Kwame have if they are successful?Does Big Bank has any defenses to Jane's claims? If so, identify them and how you would address and counter those defenses.

5- If you were White, what would you have done differently when Jane and Kwame came to you and told you about their treatment with Steeler and/or their coworkers?