DENNIS HAS A BAD WEEK

Characters:

Dennisa 52-year-old African American man and an employee in the production department at ABC Manufacturing

Rosaa Hispanic woman and a long-time employee in the production department at ABC Manufacturing

JimmyDennis's friend who works in a similar position to Dennis at Core Enterprises

BryceDennis's boss at ABC Manufacturing

Brad Hoffathe union representative for the International Federation of People Who Work

Katea female employee in the shipping department at ABC Manufacturing

Penelope Palmera local employment law attorney

Carlosa Hispanic employee in the production department at ABC Manufacturing

Henrya white employee in the production department at ABC Manufacturing

Saraa female employee in the production department at ABC Manufacturing

DAY ONE: MONDAY

10:00 a.m.

In the workroom at ABC Manufacturing, Dennis, a 52-year-old African American employee, has the following conversation with a Hispanic coworker, Rosa, and his boss, Bryce:

DENNIS: Hey, Rosa, you know my friend, Jimmy, who works over at Core Enterprises?

ROSA: Yes, he's the guy who does the same job we do.

DENNIS: Yes, he has exactly the same job. Well, he and I were talking shop and he let slip how much money he makes. You wanna guess?

ROSA: No.

DENNIS: $50,000!

ROSA: Dollars?!

DENNIS: No, shekels! Yes, dollars. Plus, he gets three weeks' paid vacation. Plus, bonus potential of five grand, and their health insurance rocks!

ROSA: What?! We are wasting our time. We need to look at forming a union.

DENNIS: Tell me about it. When I told Jimmy how much money I make, he laughed so hard I thought his beer would come out of his nose. He said we are getting slave wages and if we were at any other company, we would be making a ton more money.

BRYCE: Hi, guys, what are you talking about?

DENNIS: Nothing, Bryce. Just politics.

BRYCE: Listen, you know I don't like you talking about pay. It stirs up trouble, and it's against our policy.

1:00 p.m.

On his lunch break, Dennis checks his company email, where he finds an email from Jimmy. Attached to the email is a picture of a naked woman with a funny caption. Dennis forwards it to his male buddies in ABC's shipping department. An "adults-only" email exchange ensues among the email recipients. This kind of activity is not new to Dennis. During his break, Dennis also makes a telephone call to Brad Hoffa, the union representative for the International Federation of People Who Work, inquiring about possible union elections at ABC Manufacturing.

DAY TWO: TUESDAY

11:30 a.m.

During a staff meeting on production quotas, which includes Bryce, Rosa, and other workers, Dennis brings up the issue of wages. The following conversation ensues:

DENNIS: Bryce, I've got a friend who works at Core Enterprises. You know them?

BRYCE: Of course, they're our stiffest competition.

DENNIS: Right. So, this friend of mine does basically the same job I do, and he let slip how much money he makes. All of us here deserve a raise!

BRYCE: Well, Dennis, I don't think this is the appropriate time to discuss that. So, moving on, if anyone can look at column 3 on the board . . .

DENNIS: Rosa, how much do you make?

ROSA: $38,000.

DENNIS: Ha, too bad. Me and the guys make $42,000, and that's still slave wages. Rosa, you even have seniority on us. What do you have to say to that, Bryce? You really are a Nazi!

BRYCE: Hold it, Dennis, you know talking about pay is against our policy. If you really want to discuss wages, we need to do it later in private, not during a company production meeting. Ok, everyone back to the board. Look at column 3's numbers.

3:30 p.m.

Kate, a female worker from shipping, is inadvertently sent Dennis's provocative email and forwards it directly to Bryce with a complaint. Bryce becomes very angry, as he has reprimanded Dennis in the past for using the company's computer system to send "not suitable for work" emails.

Bryce is holding performance reviews that week for each employee he oversees, so he decides to review Dennis that afternoon. In the performance review, he begins by harshly scolding Dennis for sending the email. He then gives Dennis poor ratings on most aspects of his performance and sends him back to work.

4:30 p.m.

Bryce holds a performance review with Carlos, a Hispanic employee from manufacturing with a history of inadequate performance. During the performance review, Bryce tells Carlos that his performance is good and to keep up the hard work in order to avoid conflict, even though Carlos's performance has been terrible.

After conducting performance reviews that afternoon, Bryce realized he forgot to use the performance appraisal rubric provided by ABC Manufacturing, but he decided it wasn't a big deal.

8:00 p.m.

At home after work, Dennis logs in to the ABC Manufacturing email system. Dennis fears that Bryce is setting him up for termination, and so he emails a local employment law attorney, Penelope Palmer, and seeks her advice about what he should do to protect his job.

DAY THREE: WEDNESDAY

9:30 a.m.

While Dennis is working on the production line, Bryce goes to Dennis's locker and finds Dennis's cell phone. Bryce looks through the recent telephone call list and discovers that Dennis contacted Brad Hoffa, with whom Bryce is familiar. Bryce looks through Dennis's telephone and finds a stash of pornographic images. He also checks Dennis's email to see if Dennis is talking bad about ABC Manufacturing. He finds numerous emails to the company's employees complaining about the terms and conditions of employment. Bryce quickly writes down a list of the names of these "disloyal" employees. Bryce further learns that Dennis has been in contact with an attorney, Penelope Palmer. He reads all the correspondence between Dennis and the attorney. Bryce puts the telephone away and hurries back to work.

4:00 p.m.

Bryce meets Dennis in the hallway and confronts him about the pornographic email sent on the company's internal network. Dennis complains that it is just harmless banter and that he only sent it to guys "who can take a joke." Dennis laughs the whole thing off and tells Bryce that most of the women also send dirty pictures. Bryce counters that women at the company are more discrete, so it's not a problem. Bryce gets angry and threatens Dennis with termination. Dennis gives Bryce the middle finger and storms off.

6:00 p.m.

Bryce sets the manufacturing schedule for the coming week. He looks carefully at the list of employees he found who were in communication with Dennis about possible union formation and purposely places them on difficult shifts or limits their work hours. He includes Dennis in that process. Bryce also reviews the employee handbook and discovers that using the company's computer systems to access, retain, or send pornographic images is subject to discipline. The handbook also provides for progressive discipline, stating that an employee cannot be terminated for minor offenses unless he or she is given one oral and two written warnings.

DAY FOUR: THURSDAY

9:00 a.m.

After a production meeting, when Dennis and Bryce are alone, the following conversation ensues:

DENNIS: Bryce! We've got a problem here.

BRYCE: What is it?

DENNIS: My friend at Enterprises doing my exact same job makes $50,000. Plus, he gets three weeks' paid vacation and a bonus.

BRYCE: Just calm down. We are paying you fairly, if not generously.

DENNIS: Oh, you -----, Bryce! I am getting slave wages here.

BRYCE: You are getting what you deserve.

DENNIS: I am getting screwed. I want -----, Bryce!

BRYCE: You are going to get a letter of termination if you keep this up.

DENNIS: For what? Being used and grossly underpaid?

BRYCE: You can't talk to your boss like this!

DENNIS: -----, Bryce!

12:00 p.m.

Bryce holds another performance review with Henry, who is also from manufacturing. This time, Bryce remembers to use his performance appraisal rubric. The evaluation shows that Henry objectively has the best performance in his among his fellow employees, as he produces the most products, meeting the desired quality specifications.

5:00 p.m.

At the end of the workday, a few of the employees of ABC Manufacturing are chatting as they leave the building. Henry finds out from Dennis that Sara, an employee known for flirting with Bryce on a regular basis, has just received the position he had been after for years even though her performance, experience, and seniority at ABC are all less than his.

Carlos angrily waves a pink slip in the air, saying, "Oh yeah? At least you still have a job! I was terminated for 'poor performance,' even though I did great in my performance review."

Dennis remarked, "Who would want to work here anyway?"

DAY FIVE: FRIDAY

At the beginning of the workday, Bryce calls Dennis into his office and serves him with a termination letter. Dennis is escorted by security from the building. Later that day, after drinking several beers and calling his mother, Dennis calls his lawyer, Penelope Palmer.

A week later, Penelope files a wrongful termination claim in superior court and files complaints with both the National Labor Relations Board and the state equal opportunity in employment agency.

1) Rosa might have a claim against ABC Manufacturing for which type of discrimination?

• Gender only
• Age and gender
• Race and gender
• Gender

2) Bryce's review of Dennis's telephone was ____________.

• Unlawful, under the National Labor Relations Act
• Lawful, as a proper investigation of a poorly performing employee
• Lawful, because the telephone was on company property and Dennis has no right of privacy in the workplace
• Unlawful, as a breach of privacy under tort law

3) Bryce reviewed Dennis's emails regarding the sexually explicit content on the company email system. This was ____________.

• Lawful, as Dennis has no right of privacy to company emails
• Unlawful, as a violation of Dennis's privacy
• Lawful, because Dennis has no right to send inappropriate emails
• Unlawful, as an invasion of privacy

4) If Carlos were to submit a discrimination claim to the courts surrounding his dismissal, _____________.

• He would likely have a case because Bryce was aware of his poor performance and can testify against him
• He would likely not have a case due to the doctrine of at-will employment
• He would likely have a case because his most recent performance reviews would show that he is in good standing
• He would likely have a case because he did not receive a warning before termination, but a white employee did receive a warning