After a total of 29 employees of a hospital in Montrose, Colorado were either fired or forced to resign, the question of whether the hospital violated federal law was posed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). All of the employees who were terminated from employment or forced to resign were aged 40 and older, and many of them had worked for the hospital for 10 to 20 or
Over the past few years, the Missouri Department of Corrections has gobbled up headlines for being one of the most female-unfriendly places to work in the state. Now, yet another employee has come forward having filed a hostile work environment and sexual discrimination and harassment claim against the DoC. Tina Gallego is alleging that she was sexually harassed and poisoned by male guards at the Kansas City Re-Entry Center. Gallego
Jayla Tolliver and Taylissa Marriott, two black teens attending Swope Middle School, say that despite reporting several instances of racial abuse and harassment, school officials showed indifference toward their complaints and did not address their concerns in a helpful manner. Several lawsuits have set the precedent here that children in a school setting do not have their constitutional rights suspended simply because they are at school. The same laws and
Former neurosurgery resident, Rylan Brantl, is suing his former employer, the University of Missouri, for $50 million. Brantl alleges that the chief of neurosurgery, N. Scott Litofsky, harassed and fired him without good cause. He further alleges that Litofsky created a hostile work environment during the years that Brantl worked there, between 2008 and 2013. In the lawsuit, Brantl says he was forced to repeat a year of his residency
Former assistant track and field coach, Carjay Lyles, is sueing Mizzou over racial discrimination that he alleges he experienced during his time at the university. Carjay Lyles says he faced several instances of discrimination during his four years coaching at the university between 2013 and 2017. The lawsuit names head coach Brad Halter, associate director of compliance Mitzi Clayton, and the board of curators. Lyles says that Halter referred to black
The principal of an Illinois high school recently settled a lawsuit against the district alleging sex discrimination. Karen Gauen, who will retire after this school year ends, sued the school district, claiming that she was paid less money than her male predecessor. The $200,000 settlement was unanimously approved by the school board. Gauen, who expressed regret over suing the school district, had originally sought $1.5 million in damages. The district,
The popular casino chain, Dotty’s, was forced to settle a $3.5 million claim alleging disability discrimination earlier this month. The EEOC claimed the Dotty’s was in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Lawyers for the EEOC alleged that Dotty’s fired or forced employees to quit because they were considered disabled, had a record of disability, or were associated with someone else who had a disability. This constitutes a bizarre
After multiple incidents of African-American patrons having the police called on them at various Starbucks, the company took a day off from business to offer its employees “implicit bias training.” Implicit bias training is a controversial method of making individuals aware of their ingrained biases, prejudices, and negative reactions to others. The program, while notable because of Starbucks, has been used by corporate giants such as Google and Facebook for
As the average age of working adults has started to increase, so have the number of age-related discrimination claims. Incidents of ageism are not always overt, and many victims have a difficult time recognizing that they are being subjected to true discrimination. Unfortunately, one of the common consequences of workplace ageism is that victims become less confident in their ability to perform their job functions, causing them to quit. Many
A former Uber employee is suing the company for what she claims is a pay discrimination lawsuit. She is further alleging sexual harassment and racial discrimination against the company. Ingrid Avendaño worked as an Uber driver for three years beginning in 2014. Avendaño’s lawsuit alleges that Uber did not do enough to address complaints concerning sexual harassment. This came a week after Uber announced it would no longer force passengers
A new racial discrimination lawsuit against the Kansas City Fire Department is going to Federal Court. The case involves the interests of African-American firefighters in Kansas City who have been routinely passed up for promotions, despite the fact that these individuals appear to have the necessary qualifications for the job, the requisite experience, and the time served. Now, another case will be heard in front of a federal and not
The career of a firefighter is mentally stressful and filled with physical danger. Firefighters are at greater risk of developing heart disease, cancer, and certain types of chronic respiratory disorders. Currently, being a firefighter is one of the most dangerous jobs in the United States with high levels of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) reported, and some Colorado firefighters were forced to deal with the additional stress of racial discrimination. The
You are expecting. You have a baby bump, made arrangements for a baby shower, are busy shopping for a crib, checking out the latest in strollers, and are just plain excited. However, despite the excitement, you may be concerned with your job status. How will your employer accept your time off for maternity leave? How will your co-workers react to you missing substantial time in the office? Family Leave Act
The EEOC initiated a lawsuit against Albertsons Pharmacy for a policy that prohibits employees from speaking Spanish while on the job. The Albertsons in question is located in San Diego, but recently, other cases involving prohibitions on certain hairstyles have garnered national attention in the media. Recently, a judge ruled that while employers cannot discriminate against a person because of his or her race, they can discriminate against a person
In what some are calling a victory for the working disabled, The Hertz Corporation has agreed to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit filed against its Denver, Colorado car sales division. The initial lawsuit drew attention to a continuing problem throughout the United States – the inability of those with physical disabilities to gain employment. Though Hertz originally believed that their employee and location did not do anything discriminatory, the company
Norman Newton was actively recruited by Hertz for a sales position after they had spotted his resume online. Newton had over 10 years experience in car sales and Hertz appeared enthusiastic about scheduling him for an interview. When he got there, however, the manager who interviewed him expressed reservations about the fact that he required a cane to walk. Newton was passed up for the job and Hertz ended up
A black woman who had a job offer rescinded because she refused to change her hairstyle is hoping to take her case to the Supreme Court. Chastity Jones of Alabama was offered a job as a customer service representative in 2010. An HR manager later told Jones that dreadlocks “tend to get messy” and that she would need to change her hairstyle in order to be considered for the job.
When discrimination occurs in a systematic way and is directed toward a protected group within a company, it could result in a class action suit against that company. In the case of Google, female workers allege that the company has methodically discriminated against them, and they point to alleged pay disparities to make their point. Beyond the compensation issue, the women claim they were denied opportunities for growth within the
Over the last several months, the country has witnessed a change in the way people respond to sexual harassment and discrimination. The growing MeToo movement has encouraged victims of sexual assault and harassment to come forward while the Time’s Up movement draws attention to workplace harassment. Not only do these movements help increase public awareness, they also offer support to victims who are willing to confront the people or organizations
According to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, an individual may not be discriminated against in the workplace based on race, sex, nation of origin, religion, or disability. For instance, if an individual was being harassed at work, being called racial slurs or sexually derogatory names and management allowed this to continue without addressing the problem, then that individual would have cause to sue under anti-discrimination laws citing a
In the aftermath of a trial that saw Karen Ray, a Jefferson County High School journalism teacher, awarded $225,000 in punitive damages for sexual and age discrimination, two new trials emerged targeting the very same school district. The original suit filed by Ray alleged that she had been bullied out of her job and endured threats from the administration. She said this resulted in a hostile work environment. Among the
Mark Horton was working as the vice president of sales and marketing at Celtic Healthcare in Illinois when a recruiter hired by a Missouri firm, Midwest Geriatric Management thought he would be a good fit for an opening they had. Horton applied for the position and was well liked. He was offered the job. After accepting the position, the owners of MGM were enthusiastic about him taking the job. They
The United States is a country of immigrants; it has been since its founding over 200 years ago. This concept led to the country adopting the descriptor of “melting pot,” as people from all over the world have come to the US and now live together. The same principle applies to the Evergreen State, especially with respect to farm workers. According to a 2015 Pew study, statistics show that more
Tarshish Jones, a veteran Kansas City firefighter, won a $356,000 workplace discrimination settlement against the KC fire department in October of last year. The settlement came after Missouri legislators changed the law raising the standard of proof in discrimination cases. Beforehand, employees claiming workplace discrimination need only prove that discrimination played into an overall decision-making process that saw employees of a protected class passed up for promotions or fired. Under
Missouri workers’ right to sue their companies for workplace discrimination has been the subject of widespread tort reform over the past couple of years. The controversial SB 43 included measures that: Shield perpetrators of sexual misconduct from being directly sued by their victims. Make it easier for employers to discriminate against their employees. Limits punitive damages for retaliatory firings. Roll back protections for whistleblowers. Now, the Republican-controlled legislature is looking
Can a simple credit check provide a comprehensive understanding of a potential employee? Can such a check differentiate a bad employee from a good one? According to a good number of insights from ordinary employers, conducting a credit check is important in selecting the suitable candidate for a given job position. In fact, a significant number of such employers argue that conducting such checks is crucial towards character verification and
The 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the EEOC, which filed a lawsuit on behalf of Chastity Jones. Jones filed a discrimination lawsuit after having an offer of employment rescinded by Catastrophe Management Services located in Mobile, Alabama. They said her dreadlocks violated company policy on personal grooming. While it is true that dreadlocks are associated with African-American culture, the court ruled that because a hairstyle is not
Kevin Anderson, a former employee of Mercy Villa and Mercy Hospital, has filed a lawsuit against the hospital alleging that he was fired for reporting instances of workplace harassment. The lawsuit alleges that Anderson endured a hostile work environment in which other employees called him racial slurs. Anderson claims that staff referred to him as “boy” and told him that he was not allowed to wear a Mercy Villa t-shirt
In a case that pitted religious freedom against gender expression, the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled in favor of a transgender funeral director who was fired from her job because of her gender expression. She disclosed her intent to transition to her bosses, who then fired her, the complaint said. The court determined that a failure to conform to gender stereotypes was not a legal reason
While certain forms of discrimination may be frowned upon in the media, they are not necessarily overtly illegal. For instance, sexual orientation is not considered a protected class in Missouri. If an employer fires someone because he or she is gay, a lawyer would have to argue that this is a form of gender or sex discrimination. The employee would not be able to argue that the employer discriminated against
File this one under the “sad but true” category. In a series of lawsuits that were borne out of the Jay Nixon governorship, Missouri’s Department of Labor was sued by multiple employees alleging age, gender, and disability discrimination. Matthew Vacca v. Missouri Department of Labor In 2012, Matthew Vacca filed a lawsuit against the department alleging that his superiors forced him out of his job because of his disability. Vacca
Drug testing of employees is not specifically addressed in Oregon’s civil rights laws. This does not mean that the employers have carte blanche in conducting drug testing in all situations. It is legal for all employers to conduct drug tests, but it is mandatory for them to proceed with the testing carefully. It can easily infringe on the common laws of an employee, which is considered the privacy rights of
In June of last year, Missouri governor Eric Greitens made it more difficult for workers to prove discrimination cases. In a battle that had waged between the Missouri Supreme Court and legislators, plaintiffs had to show that discrimination was a contributing factor in a case of wrongful termination. Now plaintiffs must prove that bias was the explicit reason for their termination. In the majority of cases, this is incredibly difficult
Women’s rights are consistently being threatened across the country, as vulnerable employees are forced to choose between keeping their jobs, or taking care of their pregnancies in a medically sound fashion. Women are speaking out more than even against the discriminatory actions of their employers, as evinced by the approximately 50% rise in lawsuits based on pregnancy discrimination over the past 15 years. A California Case of Note When her
In late December of 2017, Richard Dixson successfully sued the Missouri Department of corrections for $1.5 million dollars in lost wages and punitive damages. Dixson alleged that ongoing racial harassment subjected him to a hostile work environment. Dixson was then working for the Kansas City Re-Entry Center, which is a minimum-security prison. The majority of that settlement, a whopping $1.2 million, was awarded for punitive damages that stemmed from retaliation
Hostile work environment attorneys are those who specialize in discrimination and harassment cases. When an employee feels that the culture of the company he or she works for has produced an environment that is not only hostile to his or her career interests but hostile to the employee on a personal and emotional level, the employee may be entitled to sue the company for damages. In these instances, an employee
Experience is viewed as one of the key traits that every potential employee must have. However, there are times when too much experience is viewed not as an asset but as a hindrance when it comes to being hired. The chances of being contacted for an interview drop dramatically as a person goes from being a younger adult entering the workforce to a middle-aged American. Age discrimination researchers have found
In recent events, Tesla Inc. has been hit with multiple discrimination and workplace harassment lawsuits stemming from conduct committed by supervisors toward black workers at its Fremont factory in California. Both Nevada and California have similarly strict laws on employer conduct in the workplace. The claim was filed by Marcus Vaughn on behalf of a large class of black workers operating out of the Fremont plant. Vaughn alleges that black
In recent years the United States has focused on enforcing the Immigration and Nationality Act, preventing employers from discriminating against potential employees who are not United States citizens. As the debate around immigration continues, one Colorado-based company found itself in the unique position of being accused of discriminating against employees not because they were suspected of not being citizens of the United States, but because they were citizens authorized to
Case law placed an onus upon labor unions that is known as the Duty of Fair Representation. The Duty of Fair Representation originated in the 1944 United States Supreme Court case of Steele v. Louisville & Nashville Railroad, wherein a black employee sought to set aside a bargain-for-seniority system that discriminated based on race. The Supreme Court ruled that the Railway Labor Act implicity imposed a duty upon the union
Equal pay has become a hot topic for all lawmakers across the USA. Now, it is Oregon with HB 2500 equal pay legislation that ensures that every person gets equal pay for equal work. One of the rules they have put in place is that employers cannot check previous salary or ask about it during the interview. This is meant to prevent employers from paying new workers less than what
During the tumultuous decade of the 1960s, Congress passed landmark legislation known as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, or the Act. Specifically, Title VII of the Act prohibits workplace discrimination based on race, religion, color, sex, and national origin. (There is currently a push to include sexual orientation discrimination as a Title VII violation.) While Title VII prohibits discrimination based on national origin, it does not prohibit discrimination based
