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Title: Gender Discrimination Lawsuit against Nike

The unfair treatment to employees grounded on their gender differences is referred to as gender discrimination. Discrimination based on gender, race, and color is strictly prohibited by state and federal laws; besides employers engaging in such activities face penalties. Gender discrimination is not limited to women ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"H0BtBSpb","properties":{"formattedCitation":"({\\i{}Sex / Gender Discrimination - Workplace Fairness})","plainCitation":"(Sex / Gender Discrimination - Workplace Fairness)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":224,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/rhLtY1cq/items/TTX7UQJ4"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/rhLtY1cq/items/TTX7UQJ4"],"itemData":{"id":224,"type":"webpage","title":"Sex / Gender Discrimination - Workplace Fairness","URL":"https://www.workplacefairness.org/sexual-gender-discrimination","accessed":{"date-parts":[["2019",12,14]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Sex / Gender Discrimination - Workplace Fairness). Men can also be victims as can people who are discriminated against based on their sexual orientation or transgender status. This paper seeks to explore a legal challenge faced by Nike recently for gender discrimination; the case is called Cahill v. Nike Inc., U.S. District Court, District of Oregon.

Nike, the global sports apparel company recently faced a lawsuit as four women employed in the corporate headquarters filed a lawsuit against the company at the federal court in Oregon. These female employees claimed that Nike violated the Equal Pay Act by ignoring the reported cases of harassment and engaging in the discrimination in compensations. According to the plaintiffs, they are not paid equally like their male employees for the same work done. Besides, they are given fewer bonuses and are less likely to be promoted in comparison with their male colleagues. A New York Times publication unearthed Nike as a toxic place for women. The lawsuit was the outcome of the internal survey after three high-level employees left the company. The survey was about sexual harassment in the company. The allegations on the company are serious enough that the top employees are looking forward to leaving the company.

Kelly Cahill had been the former brand director of Marketing, who argued that she has been paid less, compared to the male employees at the company. After putting several complaints about this matter, Cahill left the job in 2017 ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"w5Qjl4MW","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Campbell)","plainCitation":"(Campbell)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":222,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/rhLtY1cq/items/Z3YTGKA7"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/rhLtY1cq/items/Z3YTGKA7"],"itemData":{"id":222,"type":"webpage","abstract":"Women who worked at Nike are suing over pay discrimination. Their demands are critical in a broader fight.","container-title":"Vox","language":"en","title":"Why the gender discrimination lawsuit against Nike is so significant","URL":"https://www.vox.com/2018/8/15/17683484/nike-women-gender-pay-discrimination-lawsuit","author":[{"family":"Campbell","given":"Alexia Fernández"}],"accessed":{"date-parts":[["2019",12,14]]},"issued":{"date-parts":[["2018",8,15]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Campbell). Like Cahill, Sarah Johnston who was working in another department in the same company, for the past six years, left the job since she refused sexual advances from male co-workers. She believed that after rejecting these sexual advances, her career suffered, as she had to leave the position of business system analyst. She left the company after forwarding more than six complaints, in which she raised questions on the company’s ability to police itself ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"FmXlW45A","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Campbell)","plainCitation":"(Campbell)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":222,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/rhLtY1cq/items/Z3YTGKA7"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/rhLtY1cq/items/Z3YTGKA7"],"itemData":{"id":222,"type":"webpage","abstract":"Women who worked at Nike are suing over pay discrimination. Their demands are critical in a broader fight.","container-title":"Vox","language":"en","title":"Why the gender discrimination lawsuit against Nike is so significant","URL":"https://www.vox.com/2018/8/15/17683484/nike-women-gender-pay-discrimination-lawsuit","author":[{"family":"Campbell","given":"Alexia Fernández"}],"accessed":{"date-parts":[["2019",12,14]]},"issued":{"date-parts":[["2018",8,15]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Campbell). The plaintiffs look for unspecified monetary damages by Nike and a court order that demands Nike to develop and create validated, reliable and job-related standards for hiring and promotion decisions at the company. These allegations on the company have also been confirmed by many other employees. This lawsuit has now grown to seven plaintiffs.

The company claims that they have created a mandatory training for the managers that include the significance of inclusion, respect, and accountability. In addition, it claims that they have increased the investment in leadership and managerial training, and on employee diversity and inclusion and employee-focused training. Nike also declined any comment on the lawsuit. Besides, the company also announced that they are going to review their pay structure that will result in an increase in pay of about 7,400 workers globally. The company also fails to provide specific facts and filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit saying, "The named plaintiff's inconsistent theories ... highlight the untenable nature of this alleged class action". It also highlighted that among the seven plaintiff women, one was having an equal salary to the male employee.

In my opinion, the court must order Nike to revise their compensation, recruitment and training policies to ensure they align with the Equal Pay Act Oregon Equal Pay Act and other laws that prohibit any segregation ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"bMehvW97","properties":{"formattedCitation":"({\\i{}The Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA)})","plainCitation":"(The Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA))","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":227,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/rhLtY1cq/items/5GI6FPWR"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/rhLtY1cq/items/5GI6FPWR"],"itemData":{"id":227,"type":"webpage","title":"The Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA)","URL":"https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/statutes/epa.cfm","accessed":{"date-parts":[["2019",12,14]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (The Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA)). Numerous examples of companies exist that face lawsuits due to violations of the Equal Pay Act. Since Nike did not ask the court to dismiss the claims reveals failings from the company’s side.

Works Cited

ADDIN ZOTERO_BIBL {"uncited":[],"omitted":[],"custom":[]} CSL_BIBLIOGRAPHY Campbell, Alexia Fernández. “Why the Gender Discrimination Lawsuit against Nike Is so Significant.” Vox, 15 Aug. 2018, https://www.vox.com/2018/8/15/17683484/nike-women-gender-pay-discrimination-lawsuit.

Sex / Gender Discrimination - Workplace Fairness. https://www.workplacefairness.org/sexual-gender-discrimination. Accessed 14 Dec. 2019.

The Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA). https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/statutes/epa.cfm. Accessed 14 Dec. 2019.