You are a captain on a fire department and recently tested applicants for your volunteer force. Twenty of the 35 applicants passed the written and physical agility test. Ten of the remaining 20 satisfactorily completed the oral board interview. All evaluative processes were conducted in the same manner (i.e., written and physical agility tests were exactly the same for all applicants, and the oral board questions were identical for all applicants). A background check on all remaining applicants revealed that one person had an arrest for theft in the last 3 years. The disposition showed that a plea to a lesser offense was entered and the applicant just recently came off of a 6-month probation. This applicant was denied entry into the department as a volunteer.
You received notification that the applicant with the theft charge filed an EEOC complaint against the department citing that he felt he was denied due to his Hispanic background. Your fire chief has asked you to provide a report of your evaluation of this applicant and identify whether there were any possible discriminatory practices.
Assignment Guidelines
Although you were involved in the testing process, you are unaware of whether any of the allegations made by the applicant are truthful. It is extremely important to address these issues from a serious and professional standpoint.
Address the following in 2-3 pages:
How would you respond to this claim?
What would be your initial reaction? Why?
Briefly summarize what constitutes racial profiling from a legal standpoint, and identify any actions the department may have taken that could have resulted in such a claim.
What steps would you take to investigate this claim?
Where would you begin the investigation? Why?
Who would you be able to interrogate? Department staff? The applicant in question? Other recruit applicants? Explain.
Based on what you have learned about employment and labor relations laws, do you believe this was a discriminatory incident? Why or why not?
Be sure to reference all sources using APA style.