Group 1 - Aaren O'Connor - Chapter 6, #12 (Chambers v. Omaha Girls Club)

Ch. 6, #12 Chambers v. Omaha Girls Club

Can you suggest a theory under which Chambers could challenge her discharge based on race discrimination?

-          If Chambers can somehow prove disparate impact, or show that the proportion of discharged  unmarried black female employees  to discharged unmarried white female employees is less than 80%, then she could challenge her discharge based on race discrimination

Can the Girls Club articulate a bona fide business reason sufficient to overcome a finding of race discrimination?

-          Yes, the Girls Club can articulate a BFOQ because the employees are supposed to be role models for the girls in the Girls Club, and the Girls Club had already put a Negative Role Model Policy in place, so Chambers’ discharge was reasonable.

Court decision:

-          The court ruled that the discharge was justified by a BFOQ - Omaha Girls Club won.

“Religious institutions may lawfully discriminate based on the religious entities exception so long as the discrimination is consistent with the religion in question (Corp. of the Presiding Bishop v. Amos, 1987). For example, many religious schools take the position that employees are role models for students and forbid sex outside of marriage for all employees and discipline them for any infringements, including termination of employment.

As long as it is equally applied to both sexes as in Boyd v. Harding Academy, there is no Civil Rights violation…

This defense has been extended to organizations such as the Girls Club, which has as its fundamental mission setting a proper role model for young women (Chambers v. The Omaha Girls Club, 1987). In Chambers v. The Omaha Girls Club, a female employee of the Girls Club who was single and pregnant was discharged because it sent a message to teenage girls that was contrary to the Girls Club’s mission. Helping young girls maximize life opportunities, the Eighth Circuit of Appeals upheld the termination as a BFOQ and a justified business necessity (Chambers v. The Omaha Girls Club, 1987).”

http://asbbs.org/files/2010/ASBBS2010v1/PDF/F/Findley.pdf

“Recently, in Chambers v. Omaha Girls Club, Inc., the Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit held that the employer’s challenged business practice, specifically, the “role model rule,” did not violate Title VII under the disparate impact or disparate treatment theories since it was justified by a business necessity. Moreover, it was upheld as a bona fide occupational qualification (BFOQ).”

http://scholarship.law.stjohns.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1641&context=jcred