Marble Industries Hired Virtually All of Its Employees from Union

question 20

Essay

Marble Industries hired virtually all of its employees from Union High School, which was overwhelmingly white in its racial makeup. Accordingly, there were virtually no nonwhite employees employed by Marble Industries. The work these employees performed was work that any reasonably capable high school graduate could do. When organizations representing nonwhites questioned the policy, the personnel director indicated that Union High School graduates were hired because they had worked successfully for the company and because the president of the company had graduated from that school. There was no evidence that there was any plan or intention to discriminate against nonwhites. Discuss the possibility that this policy may violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

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Definitions:

Codetermination

A German system of worker participation that allows workers to help formulate overall business strategy. German workers’ councils review and influence management policies on a wide range of issues, including when and where new plants should be built and how capital should be invested in technological innovation.

Workers' Councils

Bodies formed by workers in various sectors to represent their interests, often in the context of self-management or industrial democracy.

Labor Recruitment

The process by which companies identify and screen candidates to fill job vacancies.

Internal Labor Markets

Employment markets within a company that prioritize the hiring and promotion of existing employees over external candidates.