Human and Resource

Memorandum

To:Chief Executive Officer

CC:

From:Elementary Division Manager

Date:October 29, 2012

Re:EEOC charge of Discrimination under Constructive Discharge

In view of phenomenal growth in volumes expected this year, we revised our production schedules and shift break ups. These changes are summarized below:

Previously: 9 hour shifts from Monday to Friday (total 45 hours).

Now: 12 hour shifts any 4 continuous days from Monday to Sunday (total 48 hours).

These 4 days can occur on any 4 days of the week. This change was necessary to plan for the increase in production volume. Production workers are not allowed to take days off in the middle of their shift days. They get four days off at a stretch. It may be noted that office workers continue with a 5 day work week.

In view of the charge filed by the ex-employee with Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, I hereby present facts regarding the Civil Rights Act (1964), its Constructive Discharge Clause and an assessment of whether our company is in a default position. Since no charge has yet been filed by the ex-employee or the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, this memo is our chance to evaluate the facts and tell how we stand on the issue.

In this memo, I will present the facts, one by one as follows:

SECTION A - Constructive Discharge

Constructive Discharge may be defined as the xcreation of an environment by an employer whereby the person is forced to leave. The conditions in the work environment become unbearable in terms of harassment, negative feedbacks, non-work related task expectations, and discrimination. In an employment context, an employer may be believed to have "constructively discharged" an employee if a rational person would feel the compulsion to resign due to difficult or hostile working conditions it offers (Glazer, 2009).

Discriminatory practices under the Equal Employment Opportunity laws also include making the work environment so hostile that a reasonable person may not be able to continue to work and may be compelled to resign. This is constructive discharge (www.eeoc.gov, 2012).

The timing of a resignation is important. If a worker continues to work in stressful circumstances for a long period, it will be difficult for him to prove that the circumstances were so unbearable to cause a reasonable person to resign (Glazer, 2009).

Constructive discharge is relevant to our scenario because the new work shift does not take into account any religious holidays falling in an employee's work week. The work week may include one or more days of a religious holiday or festival, which may keep an employee from performing his rituals. However it may be noted that, not all employees who work in production department belong to the same religion. Our work shift policy does not require employees of a particular religion to work any specific 4 days in the week.

Constructive Discharge as it applies to our company is that the ex-employee resigned from his position because he was not able to perform his religious duties as he was at work. This situation was detrimental to his work. He was forced to the point ...