Religious Discrimination and Racial Harassment
What Happened with DeMaris Robinson?
The diversity of the domestic and global workforce is increasing due to
the growing number of immigrants and the expansion of global
operations. The management of religious differences and the interface of
varying religious beliefs and management practices are profound
concerns for many organizations and human resource professionals.
Religious communities may be quite different in beliefs and practices, and
this can influence employee interaction with formal and informal work
practices and social norms. Additionally, response to religious differences
can sometimes be intertwined with racial biases and attitude
predispositions. This case will depicts a particular organizational situation
involving an employee’s religious beliefs and the resulting allegations of
racial harassment and religious discrimination.
(Note: The people and facts in this case are fictitious and do not represent
any known party, organization, religion or situation.)
Organizational Profile
Treton Communications, Inc. is a public giant in the telecommunications
industry. Headquartered in Eastern Michigan, Treton offers a range of
wireless and wireline communications services to consumers, businesses
and government users. In addition to its headquarters campus, Treton has
call centers and regional operations throughout the United States. The
company’s gross revenue was $20 billion in 2017, with 30,000 employees
worldwide. Two years ago, Treton expanded its operations with the
opening of its Midwest facility and plans to add two more facilities in
Southern and Northwestern locations in the United States. These new
facilities offer many Treton employees exciting opportunities for
advancement.
The Midwest facility is located in Chenworth, Kansas. It currently
employs 360 workers, with plans to reach a full workforce complement of
800 employees within three years. Chenworth’s demographics indicate a
population that is predominantly white, with 7 percent racial/ethnic
minorities. The demographics of the 360 employees of the Midwest facility
similarly reflect a 5 percent racial/ethnic minority representation.
Employee Relations
Treton takes pride in its non-union status and strives to develop policy
and implement programs that demonstrate its strong company culture of
employee development and empowerment, procedural and operational
integrity, and ethical decision-making. To sustain its culture and values,
Treton has policies, procedures and guidelines that articulate its
expectations of employee and employer behaviors. Promoting and
facilitating workforce diversity is a guiding principle for Treton. The
organization has written policies and directives regarding workforce
diversity, equal employment opportunity/nondiscrimination and
workplace harassment.
Principal Individuals
MarShawn (A.K.A Maalick) Robinson - Complainant
Bob Taylor – Facilities Director and Robinson’s Supervisor
Cara Rodriguez – Facilities HR Director
Claire Washington – Treton Vice President EEO and Diversity
The Situation
DeMaris Robinson has worked for Treton for six years. He started as a
management intern working summers while attending college. After
graduation, he was hired as a customer service supervisor overseeing
three technicians in one of the large customer service centers in Detroit,
Michigan.
Robinson was encouraged by a manager at the Michigan center to apply
for a promotion and transfer to the newly opened Midwest facility.
Robinson, who is African American, had questions about the
demographics of the location and the facility but decided to apply for an
operations manager position at the Kansas facility. The operations
manager position reported to the facility director, Bob Taylor. Robinson
was selected for an interview with Taylor. During the interview, Taylor
discussed company philosophy and his vision that the facility would
operate as “one big happy family.” Employees would be evaluated on
their strengths and productivity, and the benefits of diversity in all areas
would be maximized. Taylor assured Robinson that if hired, the
management team would help him with his transition.
The day after the interview, Taylor invited Robinson to attend his church
to meet new people and get acquainted with others in the city. He was
told that several facility employees were church members. Taylor invited
Robinson to his home for a casual dinner after church services. Most of the
dinner guests were church members, with a few other community people
in the mix. It was a pleasant affair where Robinson exchanged contact
information with several people and received pledges from others to look
out for him if he relocated. Robinson thought the new job would be a
good career change, especially with such a supportive group of people.
He was offered the position, accepted the job and moved to Kansas.
Robinson started his new position with enthusiasm. He interacted well
with co- workers and subordinates and demonstrated high technical
competence in his work. Taylor often complimented Robinson on his
ideas and work ethic. His first annual performance appraisal was superior
in all areas. Robinson liked his job and saw great potential for
advancement in the company.
Before he had accepted his new job and moved to Kansas, Robinson
decided to become a member of the Church of International Spirituality.
The existence of a small African-American congregation of
Internationalists in Chenworth, Kansas, influenced Robinson’s decision to
take the promotion and relocate. Although the Internationalist
congregation in Chenworth was comprised of only 80 people, they held
regular worship services and offered spiritual education classes. The
Internationalists were regarded as a new-age religious group. They
required members to commit to strict restrictions on diet, appearance,
methods of worship and other areas of conduct. Robinson was quite
committed to Internationalist beliefs. He was often found reading
Internationalist materials on his work breaks and during lunch period.
The final step to become an Internationalist was a five-day intensive
spiritual preparation and confirmation process. Participation in this
religious practice required Robinson to be away from work for a week. He
approached Taylor about this need and requested a week of vacation to
attend the final process for church membership. Taylor inquired about the
reason for the time off. He asked many questions about the
Internationalist religion and admitted that he was not familiar with the
religious group. He raised several questions about the authenticity of the
religion. During the conversation, Taylor told Robinson, “You know I am
a religious person, but what you describe sounds quite strange. I need
some information on this so-called religion before I can make a decision to
give you a week off. We are quite busy, you know! I have been
wondering about what I have seen you reading, and, frankly, some of
your workers have asked me about the pamphlets you leave around your
office.” Although Robinson was disturbed by the conversation, he
complied with the request for information. Taylor reluctantly granted the
time off.
A few days before Robinson was to leave for his vacation, several
employees approached him and asked about his “so-called” religion. They
told Robinson that the members of his new congregation were considered
strange by others in the city. Many called them voodooists and partakers
of witchcraft and sorcery. Robinson countered these remarks by providing
more correct information about the Internationalist religion. He wondered
about the source of his co-worker’s perceptions. Despite this, Robinson left
to attend his week-long confirmation ceremony excited about meeting
other Internationalists.
Internationalists were required to change their names after confirmation
to reflect their changed position based on spiritual doctrine. Robinson was
given the spiritual name of Maalick and was required to use it at all times.
When Maalick returned to work, he stopped by the HR department to
complete the paperwork to formally change his name. He spoke with HR
director, Cara Rodriguez, about the questions his co-workers asked him
about his religious beliefs. Rodriguez assured him that his name change
would be recognized and reflected in company records and told him not
to worry about his co-workers. Maalick proceeded with his normal duties
and began to sign correspondence with the name Maalick.
When he entered his department the next day, he noticed strange looks
from his co-workers. As he greeted them, they simply nodded their heads,
laughed and immediately walked away. When he entered his office,
Maalick found it decorated with dolls with pins sticking out of various
body parts, witch hats and containers of incense. On the wall behind his
desk was a picture of Africa decorated with strange letterings and
symbols. Maalick was astonished and immediately called Taylor and
asked that he come to his office. When Taylor saw the office, he laughed
and said, “Well Robinson—or shall I say Maalick—I must say you have
some admirers. As an American withAfrican roots, you should have
expectedsome lighthearted ribbing about your conversion to that
strange religion of yours. Even you must admit that they do some weird
things.” Maalick replied, “No, I must say that I did not expect this!”
Taylorrecognized that Maalick was angry and upset overthe incident
and promised to handle the situation.
Over the next several months, Maalick received a series of notes left on his
desk and car referencing black cats, black magic, requests for palm
readings and notices about the disappearance of DeMaris Robinson. Not
wanting to cause any problems or be labeled as a troublemaker, Maalick
ignored these incidents, thinking that people would tire of the pranks and
things would die down. However, on one occasion, he found on his desk
several sheets of what appeared to be chants with a title at the top that
read “Prayers for Black Folk.” Next to the pages was a book titled Mystical
Practices from the Negro Experience. Maalick immediately took the materials
to the HR department and met with Rodriguez. Rodriguez told
Maalick, “I have been out of the office a lot helping with the staffing of
the new Northwestern facility and had no idea you were having these
kinds of problems. Do you have any idea who is responsible for these
actions?”
“No I don’t,” said Maalick.
“This is not the type of behavior that is condoned at Treton. Don’t worry,
I will handle this immediately. I am so sorry about all of this,” said
Rodriguez.
After Maalick left her office, Rodriguez called a meeting of all department
heads and informed them of the situation. Rodriguez immediately sent an
e-mail to all facility employees, reminding them of Treton’s policies
regarding discrimination and harassment and the penalties associated
with such actions. By the end of the day, all department heads met with
their employees with specific warnings and orders for the behaviors to
cease and desist. The days following were a bit tense in the office but
calm. Maalick was relieved to not find any more notes or messages.
Rodriguez visited with Maalick on several occasions to ensure that he was
not continuing to experience any problems. Maalick was happy to report
that, in his opinion, all was well. On Rodriguez’s last visit, Maalick took
the opportunity to ask about two new systems manager openings.
Promotion to a systems manager position would assist Maalick’s career
goals for advancement with Treton. Rodriguez sent Maalick the position
description and encouraged him to apply. After reviewing the systems
manager job requirements, Maalick believed that he had more than a good
chance at a promotion. He spoke with Taylor about the job duties and
requirements and expressed his interest in the position. Maalick was
informed that at that time, only one of the vacancies would be filled. The
second vacancy would be filled within the next six months. These
positions also reported to Taylor.
Maalick applied for the position and was interviewed by Taylor. The job
was given to an outside candidate, Charles Bartlett. Maalick later
discovered that Bartlett was a member of Taylor’ church. Given Maalick’s
perception of his qualifications and excellent performance record, he
wondered if there were factors other than qualification that influenced the
decision not to promote him. He also recalled Taylor’ conduct at the
company holiday party where he joked about Maalick’s conversion to the
Internationalist faith. Maalick filed a formal complaint with Rodriguez,
alleging religious discrimination and racial harassment. As required by
Treton policy, Rodriguez reported the particulars of the complaint to
Claire Washington, vice president for EEO and diversity, at the corporate
office. The next afternoon, Washington was at the Chenworth facility
meeting with Rodriguez and Taylor.
Questions to Answer
1. Identify and describe the specific issues (there are a total of 3 major
and 3 contributing) Maalick encountered in the workplace. Do the
actions of other workers at Treton represent discrimination and/or
harassment? Explain why or why not. What elements of law are
important for Treton to consider? Explain how they apply. (15 Points)
2. Evaluate the actions of the HR director, Cara Rodriguez, in response to
Maalick’s situation. What could she have done to prevent the situation
and what more could she do to ensure that this type of situation would
not occur in the future? (12 Points)
3. Evaluate how Maalick handled these situations. What could he have
done to increase his odds of success without conflict? (10 Points)
4. How would you characterize Bob Taylor’ behavior and response to this
situation? How would you coach him? (10 Points)
5. What resolution to this situation might Claire Washington suggest? (13 Points)
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