Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint process

All workers in the United States who are members of a protected class due to age, ethnicity, race, national origin, disability, sex, or religion have the legal right not to be harassed under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Glaviano, 2017).  John does fall under the protected class due to his national origin and race since he identifies as Hispanic.  Since his supervisor has been calling him \"idiot\" and another inflammatory name John was right to take up the matter with the Human Resources Department.  However, the lack of assistance from the HR department allows him to file a discrimination and harassment case against the employer.  The elements of a hostile work environment that John faces include discrimination based on his race and national origin and offensive behavior from his supervisor.  The case of Johns as presented does satisfy the elements of a hostile work environment claim.  The claim could be filed against the employer and the supervisor since John did seek assistance from the HR department but he did not get any help.  Since the supervisor is employed by the organization and he or she has the right to demote or fire any employee who is under him or her, John has a strong case and the supervisor role fits the explanation given under the Vance v. Ball State case (Meyers, 2015).  The supervisor has been given tangible employment actions that he or she could take against the victim like demoting him or firing him.  Therefore, the harasser in this case is a supervisor and the employer is vicariously liable for a hostile work environment that has been created by the supervisor.

Employer Liability

The employer can defend himself for the supervisor's conduct by stating that there was no tangible action taken against the employee.  This means that the employee was neither demoted nor fired by the supervisor.  In this case, the employer is not liable for the harassment by the supervisor.  However, if the employee was fired or demoted, then the employer would be automatically liable.  In this case, John has to demonstrate that his work was affected and he was discriminated by the supervisor and the employer did not take any action after he reported the matter to the HR department.  The employer might still be liable if John can demonstrate that the employer did not take any reasonable care to correct the harassment by the supervisor.  After the report was filed, the HR department should have taken action to reprimand or to discipline the supervisor so that he does not repeat the same with other employees.  The employer has not provided any preventive or corrective opportunities that John could have taken to avoid harm from the supervisor.  This makes the employer liable for the actions of the supervisor.

Prima Facie Case

The possibility of John filing a Prima Facie Case is limited.  This is because there is no adverse action that has been taken against him by the supervisor or employer (Glaviano, 2017).  While there are circumstances that exist to support his inference of discrimination, proving these would be quite difficult.  The only way he can successfully file this case would be by showing that the supervisor does this intentionally to all Hispanic employees and the same is not done to the other employees.  However, demonstrating this in court would be a tall order since it would be his word against the word of the supervisor.  The employer would be able to rebut the claim as there is no tangible evidence to present.  Therefore, it would not be prudent for John to file a Prima Facie Case.

Filing a Formal Complaint

The first step that John should take is to contact an EEO Counselor if there is one at the company where he works.  This should be done within 45 days of the harassment happening.  John already contacted the HR department so his next step would be to file a formal complaint within 15 days of him receiving a notice from his EEO Counselor (EEOC, n.d).  John's complaint would be harassment and discrimination due to his race and national origin.  The name-calling by his supervisor id because he identifies as Hispanic.  Once the complaint is received, the agency will review it and decide whether the complaint would be dismissed or not.  In case the agency dismisses John's complaint he has 30 days from the day he received the dismissal to appeal.  The investigation by the agency should be done within 180 days of John filing his complaint (EEOC, n.d).  Once the EEOC closes the investigation, John will receive a Notice of Rights to Sue.  In case he decides to file a lawsuit before the investigation is completed, he can request a Notice of Rights to Sue from the EEOC.  John will then file a civil lawsuit against the employer and the supervisor.  John will file the complaint with the court and serve the defendants with a copy of the complaint.  The defendants will have a limited time period for them to file their written answer admitting or denying the claims made by the complainant.  The plaintiff and the defendants will exchange information on the case then the case is tried before a judge or jury.  Each side will have an opportunity to present opening and closing statements, cross and direct examination of witnesses, and introducing evidence.  The jury or judge will then make a decision based on the evidence and testimony presented.  The losing party may appeal the decision.  The dissatisfied party will file the appeal and the trial court will send the records to the Court of Appeal.  The appellate court will review the papers presented and determine if the decision made was correct.  The Court of Appeals judges will hear oral arguments from the attorneys before they make their decision.  A majority vote decides the case.  If they affirm the trial court decision then the dissatisfied party can proceed to the Supreme court.  The Supreme Court is similar to the Court of Appeals in that they review the papers presented and the attorneys present oral submissions.  A majority vote decides the case.  If they affirm the judgment of the lower court then the judgment is final.