Reference no: EM132264747

READING: Shirley, successful career as a sales rep for National Computer Systems suddenly changed.

1. She almost felt as though she had committed a crime in having a child.

2. Her supervisor constantly reminded everyone that she was a new mother, and when she fainted at work one day and ended up in the hospital,

3. the next day back at work her supervisor came into her cube and said, "You'd better not be pregnant again."

Shirley quit after 16 months, sued NCS in Federal court, and won more than $600,000. NCS is appealing the verdict, and denies it discriminated against her, saying she misinterpreted or misunderstood her supervisor.

Firing or demoting a pregnant woman at any company with 15 or more employees has been illegal since 1978, but this kind of discrimination can be subtle and hard to prove, creating a new barrier for women in the workplace.

Have you or anyone you know experienced discrimination in the workplace for who they are or for other non-job-related characteristics? Do you feel that this discrimination was unjust or illegitimate? Why or why not?

Are there ways in which an employer might be justified in treating pregnant female employees differently from male and non-pregnant female employees? What kinds of differential treatment, in your opinion, would constitute immoral (or illegal) discrimination?

Review the three criteria of job discrimination in the reading. For each criterion listed, how does Shirley's experience fulfill it? Are there any places where her experience, as described in the reading, depart from this definition? Are there any specific aspects of discrimination against pregnant women that distinguish it from other types of discrimination?