You Are the Judge Hearing a Motion for Summary Judgment

question 15

Multiple Choice

You are the judge hearing a Motion for Summary judgment filed by an employer in the case of an employee who has been terminated. The employee was the sole African-American customer service representative at the firm, who had a lengthy record of good evaluations. However, she received more negative evaluations over a period of three years after a new supervisor was hired, though the more stringent requirements applied to her were not applied to white employees. After 3 years, the employee was then selected for termination in a downsizing based on the previous 3 years evaluations. Based on this evidence, what should you decide?

• A) you should grant summary judgment for the employer because the termination was based on performance appraisals rather than race
• B) you should grant summary judgment for the employer because a discrimination claim based on performance appraisals going back three years was no longer timely
• C) you should allow the employee to go to trial because African-Americans disproportionately received low performance ratings in this company
• D) you should allow the employee to go to trial because the termination was based on performance appraisals that were tainted by consideration of the employee s race
• E) none of the above

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Definitions:

Opportunity Cost

The lost benefit that could have been enjoyed if the chosen option had not been taken, implying the trade-off of forgoing the next best alternative.

Efficient Production Process

A method of production that uses the least amount of resources to achieve the maximum output.

Resources And Technology

The combination of natural resources, human resources, and technology that firms use to produce goods and services.

Opportunity Cost

The cost of an alternative that must be forgone in order to pursue a certain action; the benefits you could have received by taking an alternative action.