1. Which body of law Federal law or California law offers more protection from employment discrimination for an employee?
2. Which kinds of employment discrimination are prohibited under one body of law, but are permitted under the other body of law?
3. Can College A(a publicly funded community college) discriminate in the hiring of instructors based upon religion? Can University A (a private, Catholic-affiliated university) do so?More generally, if an employer is sued for discrimination, what defenses against an allegation of discrimination does the employer have?
4. How might employers be proactive in avoiding employment discrimination claims? For instance, when Silicon Valley law firms lay off attorneys, they typically provide a cash severance payment, which is payable if and only if the laid-off employee waives any and all claims with respect to employment discrimination. Is this a good idea for the employer?Why or why not.
5. A friend of the instructors was laid off several years ago by a small Silicon Valley consulting firm and, as part of the lay off paperwork, he was asked to sign an employment discrimination waiver in exchangefor receipt of his final paycheck, but no additional severance payment was offered to the laid-off employee by the employer. On these facts, can you see a reason for why the waiver might be deemed invalid if the ex-employee decided to then sue the employer for employment discrimination?