EEOC Complaint Process

Elements of a Hostile Work Environment Claim
According to the EEOC (2019), harassment is defined as “a form of employment discrimination that violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964,” which prohibits discrimination on the basis of, among other things, race. Hispanic is considered a “race” in US law, per Village of Freeport v Barrella (Cuthbertson, 2016).
Further, it is “unwelcome conduct that is based on race…” John is facing harassment as defined by the EEOC. Petty slights are not covered under this definition, but slurs and epithets are. The elements of a claim are the evidence that such an epithet or slur was uttered, and it helps to demonstrate that this a pattern of behavior that has resulted in an ongoing hostile environment. Furthermore, the claim should also demonstrate that the company did not respond to the allegations of harassment. If the company knows about harassment, it is obligated under law to take prompt and appropriate corrective action. Thus, the claim rests on demonstrating a pattern of behavior that would constitute harassment, and a lack of response from the company once it became aware of the issue.
John can potentially satisfy the different elements of the claim. One of the things he needs to do is be able to produce evidence that the slur or epithet was uttered, which probably involves producing a credible witness or voice recording. Further, John will help his case by showing that the slur was not a one-time thing, but representative of a pattern of behavior. The final element is that the hostility impedes John’s ability to perform his job, which is more a matter of him arguing that this is the case (Dolman, 2018). Further, he will need to show that he raised the issue with the human resources department, and ideally show that they did not respond with prompt and appropriate corrective action. If none of this is in writing, it will be much more difficult for John to satisfy the different elements of an EEOC hostile work environment claim. But if he has hard evidence of both major elements of the claim, then he may well be able to satisfy the legal requirements.
Employer Defense
In this situation, the employer will likely defend the case one of two ways. The first is that they might deny the allegations. If there is no physical evidence or witnesses, this denial could be enough for a successful defense, because John’s case will not be that strong. However, if there is physical evidence, say of John raising the issue with HR and HR responding weakly, then that might put the employer in a different situation. The other defense that makes sense here might be to admit that the supervisor used a slur, but that it was a one-time thing, and he regrets it. For a hostile work environment claim, the hostility needs to be a pattern that affects John’s ability to perform. A one-time, isolated event does not meet that standard. If all John has is this one event, then the company could mount a successful defense.
Alternately, a different approach could be that the company calls its own witnesses, and they counter John’s claims, for example saying that the slur was never uttered. Contradictory witnesses could be a defense that works, but it probably isn’t the best strategy.
Prima Facie Case
A prima facie means “on the face of it”, and in the legal sense refers to a case that is strong enough to go to trial, or where there is enough evidence to proceed (Kenton, 2018). In this situation, we do not actually know what physical evidence exists (i.e. if there is a witness to the slur, or any written statement from HR). If there is no physical evidence, John likely does not meet the criteria for prima facie. If there is evidence, then this case does meet the criteria for prima facie.
Thus, the question of whether or not prima facie would apply is going to depend on how much hard evidence that there is for John’s claims. He will need to support these claims. The onus is on John to demonstrate that a hostile work environment exists, and to do that he must be able to demonstrate conclusively the pattern of slurs, epithets and abuse, and that these are related to his being Hispanic. A history of being called an “idiot” might not get that done, especially if there was only the single time that a slur was used.
The Process
The complain process begins with the filing of a complaint with the EEOC. If the EEOC finds that there are grounds for a discrimination claim, then a right-to-sue letter will be issued, at which point the complainant will be able to seek legal redress via the civil litigation process. The basic steps of the civil litigation process are pleadings, discovery and trial. While most cases do not make it to trial, if this case makes it to trial, a ruling will be rendered. However, the ruling could be appealed by either party.
Once a ruling is issued at the trial court level, the next level is the appeals court. Either party can challenge the appeals court ruling, but at that point it will be subject to Supreme Court.
If the case continues to be challenged, the Supreme Court will evaluate it, and determine whether or not it wants to hear the case. If it does not, then the appeals court ruling will stand. If it does, then the Supreme Court ruling will stand. The Supreme Court will not typically here cases unless there is an apparent gap in the law or Constitution that needs to be addressed. For a case such as this, that is highly unlikely.
References

Cuthbertson, Law (2016) Second circuit holds Hispanic is a race under Title VII. Cuthbertson Law. Retrieved March 6, 2019 from http://www.cuthbertsonlaw.com/second_circuit_holds_hispanic_is_a_race_under_title_vii_and_1981

Dolman Law (2018) How does the EEOC identify a hostile work environment? Dolman Law Group. Retrieved March 6, 2019 from https://www.dolmanlaw.com/eeoc-identify-hostile-work-environment/

EEOC (2019) Harassment. US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Retrieved March 6, 2019 from https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/types/harassment.cfm

Kenton, W. (2018) Prima facie. Investopedia. Retrieved March 6, 2019 from https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/prima-facie.asp