Jill Johansen, age 28, is a recent college graduate from Stanford’s’ MBA program. She graduates first in a class of 80 students’ and ads to her honors, the academic distinction of Magna cum Laude, which enhances her ability for quick employment. She is bright, physically attractive and considers herself a prime candidate to be a model or movie Diva when opportunities . She applies with the St. Louis, Missouri, Firm of Momma Mia. The company has been thriving for ten years and has 1000 employees with branches in Chicago and Los Angeles. They are an advertising agency which specializes in image development and enhancement, and when required can rescue a clients poor public image. During the application the process, the Human resource manager, Mary Hartman, and the Vice President over Human Resources, Joe Adams have 40 applicants for the position of Public Relations Liaison. There are 24 women and 16 men from the ages of 23 to 50, and they require a photo test shoot to see how they look and appear on camera and in the media generally. This test will be a major point for employment consideration. They begin the process and check for resume spelling errors, and are careful to see the sir-names and addresses of applicants, for they want to make sure they hire the representative from the right side of the tracks. They want to hire a young MBA professional who can improve growth, their image from public appearances and influence clients and customers with charm and beauty, the emphasis being on beauty. The position would require the employee to travel and develop other professionals in the branch offices. The interview involves asking about qualifications, and future life goals and plans. They are concerned about image, so they ask her about her sexual preferences, who she dates, if she is married, and if she plans to marry in the near future? She will be required to have her work schedule, contacts, and social contacts approved with Human resources on a weekly basis. Management believes that their candidate should be single with no marriage ties, so that she can travel at a moment’s notice. She sparkles in the photo shoot test and the on-camera presentation. Jill is hired, and is told that she will be an Independent contractor, and in that capacity she will sign a written contract for $90,000.00 as year for five years. The contract contains an arbitration, mediations clause which requires her to complete this process if there is a contract dispute, and the results will be binding legally and she will waive her future rights in federal and state court to contest any employment violations.
Alternatively, she will use their computer and office facilities and may choose a secretary from the company pool.
She will be responsible to her own insurance, payment of quarter taxes, FICA and social security tax. She takes the position, and finds within two months that they will also require her to be the key member of a client escort service, and clients will come from all fifty states and throughout the world. She is not told of this job requirement during the selection process, and has very strong religious convictions, and contemplates what she must do. She blows the whistle on the companies’ service to the Justice department, and becomes a key witness. Once the company is indicted, they fire her immediately and refuse to honor her contract.
1. What laws and elements of proof must she prove?
2. What damages, remedies and may she seek and what remedies would you award her first in arbitration and later as a Federal Judge.