Reference no: EM133098586

Acme Services Inc. is a 350-employee financial services consulting company that has been in business for 50 years. Because they have government contracts, they are both an EEO and affirmative action company. They are very proactive in their employment policies, doing EEO/affirmative action/harassment training every year, and handling complaints in a timely manner and taking appropriate actions to correct any problems. Their policies talk to multi reporting sources if employees have issues including HR and the president of the company. The company has never had an EEO complaint or lawsuit.

John Smith and Jane Doe have each been employed at Acme for about 5 years and were friends as well as co-workers until they had a falling out a couple of years ago over money that Jane loaned to John. The two have had an uneasy working relationship since. About six months ago Jane was promoted to supervisor, and immediately began giving John a hard time. She finds fault with his work (which the previous supervisor said was acceptable), cracks about his race, and has threatened to tell John's wife that he is having an affair. John suffered in silence for about three months, but then finally quit in disgust, and has now filed an EEOC claim against Acme.

What would have been a better course of action for John?

What claims can John make to the EEOC?

Using only the facts presented here, outline two strong arguments that the company can use in its defense.

Who should HR talk to when investigating what happened?

What would be the same & different if John had been an independent contractor?

What preventive actions should the company do to reduce their liability for future claims?