Please read the following scenario and answer the questions at the end: On Janua

Question

Please read the following scenario and answer the questions at the end:

On January 13, 2016, at 4:20 p.m., at the Plymouth Meeting office, I got a call from a customer named “Carl.” Carl asked for “Paul.” By mistake, I told “Paul Swenson” instead of “Paul Winthrop” to take the call. (He was sitting at Karen Carr’s desk and talking to Erika Green). When I asked Paul Swenson to get the call he started quizzing me about whom the customer was, why he was calling, and telling me in a loud voice, very frustrated that he doesn’t know the customer. He kept asking me the name of the customer. After repeating the name to him more than five times, Paul Swenson said, “I don’t even understand what you are saying.” He then asked me with frustration to get a message from the customer. When I spoke to the customer, I realized that the customer had asked for “Paul” without a last name; when I asked, the customer said that he thought it was “Winters.” I quickly realized that the customer meant Paul Winthrop.

Unfortunately, Paul Swenson continued to insult me as he got up from the desk in the presence of three other colleagues, Lou Sorrento, Ann Forman, and Erika Green.   He told me “Next time speak English. We have to get you to learn how to pronounce the our names” and then added “We’ll fix that.”

The way that Paul Swenson approached me in front of everyone was very unprofessional and insulting. It got everyone’s attention to the point that Ann Forman immediately asked me if I was “ok.” Then she apologized for Paul Swenson’s ignorance. I stayed as calm as possible and thought about the best way to approach this issue. I was not scheduled at Plymouth Meeting office until January 20, 2016. When I came into the office that day, there was a note clipped to my time card. The note was from Paul Swenson asking me to talk with him at 5:00 p.m. for a few minutes. Seeing the note upset me; my resolve to “forgive and forget” by just ignoring him went away.

I decided to meet with Paul Swenson. He told me that he had a meeting on Tuesday with the Branch Manager Aaron Jones and Ann Forman. The Branch Manager asked Ann Forman to tell what happened to me on January 13. Apparently, Ann told the story just as I remembered it. But Paul Swenson told me that he “…couldn’t imagine he would say something like that to anyone.” He said he doesn’t really recall what he said to me but he did not mean to offend me if he did!   Paul Swenson also added that he would react the same way to anyone else, not just me. He said he was frustrated with so many calls from Paul Winthrop’s customers.   He mumbled something about “women being scatter brained” but when I asked him to repeat what he said, the only reply I got was “oh, nothing important.”

At the end of the meeting, I told Paul Swenson that his apology was not acceptable. He was not sincere – I cannot believe he did not remember what he said! He told to me that he had already talked to other employees, Ann Forman, and Erika Green regarding to this issue and made everything clear to everyone. (He did not explain how he made everything clear to them.) Paul Swenson said he would talk to Lou Sorrento as well (because he witnessed the incident).

I was born in the United States but I grew up in Iran until I was 12, returning to the U.S. to continue my education, build my career, and live my life. I believe I have the same right as other U.S. citizens and would not accept any unprofessional behavior from anyone. As I have learned in my employment law class, this situation creates a “hostile environment” for me to work in.

I believe that Paul Swenson has discriminated against me because of my ethnicity, and sex/gender. He would never treat a male employee with so much rudeness. Paul Swenson’s approach was completely unprofessional.

I believe that Paul Swenson feels to insult me because he sees me as a woman with an accent (although none of my other coworkers or professors have told me that they cannot understand me). He sees me as a woman with dark hair and eyes that he assumes is an Arab because I am from the Middle East. Based on his remark about “women being scatter brained,” I think he has a low opinion of women in general. In short, Paul Swenson sees me someone whom it is “ok” to treat badly.

I love my job and the Bank, but I need help with this situation. Paul Swenson is going to treat someone else this way again – maybe me!

Sincerely yours,

/s/ Michelle Faroush

1. What legal issues, if any, does this situation create?

2. What can Michelle Faroush say about the Bank and these legal issues if she decides to file a claim with the EEOC at this time?

3. What are the HR issues that may impact the employees in this situation on a day-to-day basis? Can Green take some HR action that will encourage Michelle Faroush to feel good about working for the bank now and in the future? What shouldn’t he do?

4. What are your recommendations to solve the legal and HR issues? Please make sure that you bullet point the recommendations and write a short justification for each.

Explanation / Answer

1. What legal issues, if any, does this situation create?

Harassment is unwelcome conduct that is based on race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information. Harassment becomes unlawful where

1) enduring the offensive conduct becomes a condition of continued employment, or

2) the conduct is severe or pervasive enough to create a work environment that a reasonable person would consider intimidating, hostile, or abusive. Anti-discrimination laws also prohibit harassment against individuals in retaliation for filing a discrimination charge, testifying, or participating in any way in an investigation, proceeding, or lawsuit under these laws; or opposing employment practices that they reasonably believe discriminate against individuals, in violation of these laws.

When investigating allegations of harassment, the EEOC looks at the entire record: including the nature of the conduct, and the context in which the alleged incidents occurred. A determination of whether harassment is severe or pervasive enough to be illegal is made on a case-by-case basis.

It means that Michelle Faroush can go to EEOC and complain there wit all the prrofs she had.

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