Religious Discrimination?

GoldenRivet · 03-26-13, 08:29 PM

Hypothetical scenario based on a discussion with a friend of mine... looking for outside opinions

---

Two supervisor positions becomes available for hiring from within the company any interested applicant must apply and interview with the hiring supervisor.

Employee A, B, C, D and E apply for the position

Employee A - 30 days experience with the company, is a temp to hire, no prior supervisory experience

Employee B - 5 years experience with the company, is in management and trainer position at this time

Employee C - 3 years experience with the company, is a trainer and section manager

Employee D - 1 years experience with the company, no experience as trainer or manager, is a good employee and applying for the interview experience

Employee E - 1 year experience with the company, is a trainer and section manager

after a lengthy interview process the positions are filled

Employee A and B are given the jobs, the remainder are rejected and return to their stations

on the date of the posting of the hired persons, it comes to light that the hiring supervisor, employee A and B all are Mormon and attend the same church in the small community.

none of the rejected individuals are mormon (or are of no denomination)

seeing as employee A is obviously under-qualified for the position that was filled... were the applicants who were qualified for the position discriminated against based upon their religion?

Armistead · 03-26-13, 08:34 PM

They're many other possible factors involved, so hard to know for sure, but seems fishy to me.

Kptlt. Neuerburg · 03-26-13, 08:38 PM

Yeah it could happen, as could someone not being hired because one of the other applicants was a friend of someone in the company hypothetically of course.

Red October1984 · 03-26-13, 08:42 PM

This really depends on how you look at it. There are two sides to every story.

razark · 03-26-13, 09:06 PM

Not enough information to say for sure. Employee B is understandable.

It's Employee A that should raise eyebrows in HR, and the fact that A was chosen over other potentially better candidates should provoke a review of the hiring process by someone in the company. Even if it is not a case of discrimination, and A was the best candidate, it still looks extremely odd, and it would be in the company's best interest to be ready to defend the hiring if some formal complaint was filed.

Stealhead · 03-26-13, 09:19 PM

Hard to say for sure really if they all go to the same church that can help because they know the person an known face always has a harder time to an unknown.

Also giving an under qualified person a position is not uncommon.Sometimes they do this because they want a person that is fresh and maybe they feel that they can mold.Sometimes it is a good risk other times it is a bad one.

Also unless they expressly asked during the interview religious information you can not prove that they discriminated even if they did.Hypothetically speaking.

There needs to be a "not enough information" option.

Aramike · 03-26-13, 10:44 PM

This is why discrimination is nearly impossible to prove ... how were the interviews? How do you prove the intent of the hiring manager? There's nothing illegal to being a bad hiring manager or going with a known quantity. Sure, maybe they are all mormons and if you could prove THAT as the reason one got the job over the other.

But what if the underqualified one was hiring simply because he was a friend? That isn't illegal.

August · 03-26-13, 09:17 PM

While one could possibly make a case against Employee A, it's apparent that Employee B has the best qualifications of the lot, at least if you count seniority.

But as folks have pointed out there could be other aspects of this.

First Employee D is a non starter. Not only does he have no qualifications he isn't seriously going for the job. As the hiring manager I might even be inclined to see his interview as an unwelcome waste of my time.

As for the other two there could be personality conflicts. The hiring manager has a right to hire people he can get along with. Compatibility among team members, especially at management levels, can be more important for success than professional qualifications. The last thing a boss needs is conflict in his team.

Simmy · 03-27-13, 12:32 AM

Quote:

seeing as employee A is obviously under-qualified for the position that was filled... were the applicants who were qualified for the position discriminated against based upon their religion?

NO, they were discriminated against based on their lack of religion.

Get more done with Mormons...

View Poll Results: Religious Discrimination?
Yes, the applicants who were rejected were discriminated against	4	30.77%
No, the applicants who were rejected were not discriminated against	1	7.69%
I'm not sure	8	61.54%
Voters: 13. You may not vote on this poll

03-26-13, 08:29 PM	#1
GoldenRivet Subsim Aviator Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Texas Posts: 8,726 Downloads: 146 Uploads: 0	Religious Discrimination? Hypothetical scenario based on a discussion with a friend of mine... looking for outside opinions --- Two supervisor positions becomes available for hiring from within the company any interested applicant must apply and interview with the hiring supervisor. Employee A, B, C, D and E apply for the position Employee A - 30 days experience with the company, is a temp to hire, no prior supervisory experience Employee B - 5 years experience with the company, is in management and trainer position at this time Employee C - 3 years experience with the company, is a trainer and section manager Employee D - 1 years experience with the company, no experience as trainer or manager, is a good employee and applying for the interview experience Employee E - 1 year experience with the company, is a trainer and section manager after a lengthy interview process the positions are filled Employee A and B are given the jobs, the remainder are rejected and return to their stations on the date of the posting of the hired persons, it comes to light that the hiring supervisor, employee A and B all are Mormon and attend the same church in the small community. none of the rejected individuals are mormon (or are of no denomination) seeing as employee A is obviously under-qualified for the position that was filled... were the applicants who were qualified for the position discriminated against based upon their religion? __________________

03-26-13, 08:34 PM	#2
Armistead Rear Admiral Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: on the Dan Posts: 10,880 Downloads: 364 Uploads: 0	They're many other possible factors involved, so hard to know for sure, but seems fishy to me. __________________ You see my dog don't like people laughing. He gets the crazy idea you're laughing at him. Now if you apologize like I know you're going to, I might convince him that you really didn't mean it.

03-26-13, 08:38 PM	#3
Kptlt. Neuerburg Admiral Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Florida Posts: 2,279 Downloads: 54 Uploads: 0	Yeah it could happen, as could someone not being hired because one of the other applicants was a friend of someone in the company hypothetically of course. __________________ "When you're born into this world, you're given a ticket to the freak show. If you're born in America you get a front row seat." - George Carlin

03-26-13, 08:42 PM	#4
Red October1984 Airplane Nerd Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Texas Posts: 6,243 Downloads: 115 Uploads: 0	This really depends on how you look at it. There are two sides to every story. __________________

03-26-13, 09:06 PM	#5
razark Ocean Warrior Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 2,731 Downloads: 393 Uploads: 12	Not enough information to say for sure. Employee B is understandable. It's Employee A that should raise eyebrows in HR, and the fact that A was chosen over other potentially better candidates should provoke a review of the hiring process by someone in the company. Even if it is not a case of discrimination, and A was the best candidate, it still looks extremely odd, and it would be in the company's best interest to be ready to defend the hiring if some formal complaint was filed. __________________ "Never ask a World War II history buff for a 'final solution' to your problem!"

03-26-13, 09:19 PM	#6
Stealhead Navy Seal Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Kentucky Posts: 5,421 Downloads: 85 Uploads: 0	Hard to say for sure really if they all go to the same church that can help because they know the person an known face always has a harder time to an unknown. Also giving an under qualified person a position is not uncommon.Sometimes they do this because they want a person that is fresh and maybe they feel that they can mold.Sometimes it is a good risk other times it is a bad one. Also unless they expressly asked during the interview religious information you can not prove that they discriminated even if they did.Hypothetically speaking. There needs to be a "not enough information" option.

03-26-13, 10:44 PM	#7
Aramike Ocean Warrior Best of SUBSIM Chairman Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Milwaukee, WI Posts: 3,207 Downloads: 59 Uploads: 0	This is why discrimination is nearly impossible to prove ... how were the interviews? How do you prove the intent of the hiring manager? There's nothing illegal to being a bad hiring manager or going with a known quantity. Sure, maybe they are all mormons and if you could prove THAT as the reason one got the job over the other. But what if the underqualified one was hiring simply because he was a friend? That isn't illegal.

03-26-13, 09:17 PM	#8
August Wayfaring Stranger Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 23,197 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	While one could possibly make a case against Employee A, it's apparent that Employee B has the best qualifications of the lot, at least if you count seniority. But as folks have pointed out there could be other aspects of this. First Employee D is a non starter. Not only does he have no qualifications he isn't seriously going for the job. As the hiring manager I might even be inclined to see his interview as an unwelcome waste of my time. As for the other two there could be personality conflicts. The hiring manager has a right to hire people he can get along with. Compatibility among team members, especially at management levels, can be more important for success than professional qualifications. The last thing a boss needs is conflict in his team. __________________ Flanked by life and the funeral pyre. Putting on a show for you to see.