Reference no: EM131776979

Bruce, age thirty-seven, was a shy, unmarried accountant at Nojik Co. Bruce liked to wear unpolished shoes and dressed in an uninspired manner. His boss, Nina wanted to improve the accounting department's image in the 1,500 employee firm by improving service and acting promptly to respond to inquiries into the department. Nina believed a "positive attitude" was a key to success. She encouraged her staff to "look good" and act "hip and intelligent" to avoid the "green eyeshade" stereotype of accountants. She encouraged her staff to meet for lunch together and to get a drink together after work on Fridays. Nina often encouraged Bruce to "get cool, modernize your outfits, lose some of that paunch and get a 'sexy' haircut". When Bruce refused, he was harassed by other employees. He would get copies of cartoons featuring stereotypical depictions of accountants as boring individuals. During meetings and in e-mail messages, other employees would refer to Bruce as "the old man", "Gay Bruce", and "Mr. No Sex". His colleagues would encourage attractive women employees from outside of the department to flirt with Bruce and make suggestive comments to him. This always embarrassed him and he would complain to his colleagues about the sexually charged atmosphere. Last March, when the annual reviews were given, Nina told Bruce that he would "not get a raise, because you are not improving our department's image in the company and are "a guy who is 'too old' and 'too green eyeshade' to be a strong asset in my department." Bruce then filed a complaint with the Human Resources Department but the HR assistant told him he had no valid complaint and that Nina was correct in her assessment. Bruce now files a claim for discrimination on the basis of age discrimination and sexual harassment. Please discuss his rights under these facts.