Cardigan History

The Cardigan family has made a name for themselves in the sweater industry whereby they have designed sweaters for a variety of uses and for a wide target audience ranging from toddlers to business professionals. Cassandra, whom everyone calls Cassie, is the CEO of CARDWARE Inc., Camoni is the spokesperson for the sweater line, and Candie models the lines in the professional sphere. They often use their mother, Camille, as a business consultant for input about various new ideas and marketing because she was the manager and agent of her son’s glove company. Cora and Caley, Camille’s two youngest daughters from her second failed marriage to Bo Jenkins, are co-office managers of their headquarters located in Silkadonia.

CARDWARE is growing by leaps and bounds. It has now opened 10 new stores nationwide under the name “The Sporty One.” It has been agreed by the Board of Directors at CARDWARE Inc. that each store shall have a general manager and assistant manager who both were to act as sales persons and one additional sales person. The slogan the store advertises its sports ware with is “You don’t have to be an athlete to look and feel like one.” The current sports ware that “The Sporty One” carries shows a clothing distribution of 60% for females and 40% of its line is for males. However, it would eventually like for it to be a 50/50 distribution. The Cardigans research has demonstrated that the trend has been more female than male shoppers. Further, following the marketing theory of many high end clothing stores, CARDWARE prefers slender, young employees to work for it, so that the clothing line can keep with the image of being sporty.

Petunia Rotunda, a middle aged, slightly plump woman saw an ad online for a salesperson for The Sporty One and applied for the position. The ad read as follows:

WANTED: Salesperson experienced in retail sales or marketing preferred, energetic, youthful, athletic, and able to “sport” the clothing lines of The Sporty One with style. The Sporty One is a division of CARDWARE Inc. and proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Petunia has had 5 years of retail experience working in a garden shop that did have some flannel shirts and aprons as well as gardening gloves for sale. Noah Dahl, a college graduate in marketing also saw the ad and applied for the salesperson position at The Sporty One. Noah, a slender racquetball player has not had any retail experience but has had customer service experience for an online gaming company.

After interviewing both applicants, CARDWARE’s General Manager, Chloe, one of the cousins of the Cardigan clan has decided to hire Noah. Petunia was outraged claiming that she should have been hired and that she has been discriminated against based on her age. CARDWARE contends that Noah was more qualified as per the advertisement as well as company image and future plans for the company; age had nothing to do with it.

Noah began work the following week. Still angry, Petunia visited The Sporty One. She began to harass Noah to the point where other customers started to leave the store. Having had enough insults, Noah grabbed Petunia by the arm and shoved her towards the door. She stumbled and ran into one of the clothing racks and thereafter knocked over 92-year-old Hetty Whitestone who was passing by the mall store. Hetty suffered a concussion and died.

Using the above facts given, please label with headings and discuss the following in this order:

PART I:

-Did CARDWARE have genuine BFOQs (Bona Fide Occupational Job Qualifications) in its ad?
-Do not forget to review the company’s slogan as given in the above facts.
-Be sure to discuss Petunia’s point of view as well as CARDWARE’s position and defenses.
-Use legal authority to support your position as well.

PART II:

-If Petunia brings a lawsuit based on negligence against CARDWARE and The -Sporty One, will CARDWARE be responsible for Noah’s behavior? If so, under what theory?
-What defenses might CARDWARE assert?
-If Hetty Whitestone’s estate claims that CARDWARE should be responsible for Hetty’s death, will it?
-What defenses might CARDWARE utilize?

ANSWER

Part 1

Did CARDWARE have genuine BFOQs (Bona Fide Occupational Job Qualifications) in its ad?

The company had a genuine BFOQ in its ad. This is since the ad was not discriminatory against sex, religion, and national origin. The ad is also legal in that it relates to the particular busyness of necessary operations and the functions of the specific job. The particular requirement of a youthful and energetic person is since it was in line with the job position and not biased against the old. The ad also reads that the employer is an equal opportunity employer, which proves its equality policy when employing.

The company slogan, on the other hand, “You don’t have to be an athlete to look and feel like one,” is in line with the goals and mission of the company. This is since it tries to market what the company offers. It also urges its customers to opt for their designer clothes since they make one look and feel like an athlete.

Petunia’s point of view and CARDWARE’s position and defenses.

Under the law, it is illegal to discriminate against someone based on their race, sexual orientation, sex, religion, and age (US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2021). However, based on Petunia’s point of view, it is manifest that she was not discriminated, but got outdone in the interview by Noah. The company ensured to abide by the anti-discrimination laws by ensuring that both individuals went through an interview and vetting process. The interview panelist concluded that Noah was best suited for the position and was hence hired. This did not mean that petunia was discriminated against, where she failed to meet the job requirement.

PART 2

If Petunia brings a lawsuit based on negligence against CARDWARE and The -Sporty One, will CARDWARE be responsible for Noah’s behavior? If so, under what theory?

If Petunia brings a lawsuit, it is unlikely that CARDWARE will be accused of negligence. It is, however, likely that Noah will be questioned. This is despite the fact that Petunia decided to bully Noah at his job just because she was not awarded the job.

What defenses might CARDWARE assert?

CARDWARE could use that the plaintiff was at fault for the accident that resulted in injuries. The jury could then reach a verdict of finding on liability. This is apportioning responsibility between the two parties and compensation for the damages on the plaintiff. The company and Noah could also file a counter lawsuit against Petunia, who they can blame for bringing harassment to the store in the first place.

If Hetty Whitestone’s estate claims that CARDWARE should be responsible for Hetty’s death, will it? 

In a wrongful death lawsuit, there are typically three players. This includes the decedent, the beneficiary, who has a legal standing to bring the claim, and the defendant.

The estate holder has every right to file a suit against CARDWARE. However, the estate holder has to have evidence that will prove there was negligence by the company. This means that the defendant will be accused of failing to provide the victim with a duty of care. This caused death, and the death caused the damages that the plaintiff will be trying to recover. However, Noah cannot be blamed for failing to have a duty of care for Ms. Hetty Whitestone.

What defenses might CARDWARE utilize?

The firm could use the superseding cause defense. This is since it can calm that Noah was not acting in the best of the company and decided to escort petunia out of the store forcefully. It could argue that Noah was working on his own. They hence would not be held accountable, since according to Miller (2013), “an agent is liable for his or her own crimes. A principal or employer is not liable for an agent’s “.

References

Miller, R. L. (2013). Fundamentals of Business Law: summarized cases (Ninth ed.)

US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (2021). Prohibited Employment Policies/Practices. Retrieved from https://www.eeoc.gov/prohibited-employment-policiespractices