Group Decision:
I believe that this
is a case of racial discrimination.
Since Chaline had been a successful disc jockey for previous companies,
then he should have the chance to be a disc jockey for this radio station as
well. Even though this radio station is
African American oriented, it is still on the “radio.” Therefore, his skin color should not really
matter. He could change his “voice” to
whatever they were looking for if they needed him to do so. However, even that would still be considered
a form of racial discrimination as well.
There is no legitimate excuse for KCOH to terminate his employment.
Chaline v. KCOH,Inc.:
Chaline brought the action of racial discrimination to the
United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas under the Civil
Rights Act of 1866, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1981 (1976).
Following a bench trial, the district court found that Chaline was well
qualified to be a KCOH disc jockey based upon his experience and demonstrated
ability, and that Don Samuels (the African American man who eventually got the
job as disc jockey) was not more qualified than Chaline to fill the dual
position of production manager and part-time disc jockey. Accordingly, the
court concluded that Chaline's employment was terminated because he was white.
In response to the appellants' suggestion that Chaline lacked the black
"voice" and the sensitivity to black listening tastes necessary for
the job, the court determined that this asserted justification for Chaline's
termination was merely pretextual. Based on these findings, the court awarded
Chaline back pay of $6000 and reinstatement as production manager. KCOH tried to appeal this decision by stating
that Chaline failed to establish a prima facie case of racial discrimination
because he was not qualified for the position as part-time disc jockey. They also contended that legitimate, nondiscriminatory
business reasons prompted Chaline's dismissal.
However, their appeal was unsuccessful.
The appellate court found in favor of Chaline as well.
I think that this is a tough one because KCOH was obviously acting on racial grounds, but, at the same time, their radio business caters to their marketed audience, African Americans. However discriminatory, KCOH, in my opinion, was acting out of true business interests. Could a black "voice" be a business necessity for this kind of organization? I think it could be potentially, but the idea that Chaline wouldn't be sensitive to the listening tastes of the African American audience is a discriminatory insult of a different degree. Chaline was well-qualified for the position of production manager and disc jockey, but ended up being terminated because of his race. Like many cases, both sides have reasonable arguments.
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