Articles on workplace-related issues from newspapers and Internet news sources around the country. We are unable to update this page at this time, but hope to resume updating it soon.
August 11, 2008
Book review: When companies get cheap, workers get unhappy
Source: Seth Brown, USA Today
Unions are good, and cost-cutting management is evil. That seems to be the thesis of David Kusnet's new book, Love the Work, Hate the Job. Kusnet treats protests in 1999 at the World Trade Organization summit in Seattle as a seminal moment for unions. Dissatisfied Seattle workers began speaking out. "Talking to these workers," Kusnet says, "I couldn't help but reach this conclusion: They love their work -- the careers they have chosen, the skills they have learned, the products they make, and the services they provide. But they are beginning to hate their jobs."
Boeing mum as appeals court says sexual harassment suit should go to trial
Source: Phoenix Business Journal
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Thursday reversed a lower court decision that concluded The Boeing Co. did not engage in unlawful sexual harassment or retaliation at its Mesa plant. The lawsuit, EEOC v. The Boeing Co., was remanded to a U.S. District Judge in Arizona for trial. Boeing had no comment. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission seeks relief on behalf of Kelley Miles, a female mechanic in Mesa who works on the Apache helicopter the Chicago-based firm manufactures for the U.S. Army.
Company rapped for allowing rapping at work
Source: Jack Maher, 9News.com
A major manufacturer of semiconductor production equipment will pay $168,000 to settle a racial harassment and retaliation lawsuit stemmed from rapping at work. Denver labor law attorney Kim Ryan says the EEOC had charged Novellus Systems, Inc. of Silicon Valley, California, with subjecting an African American worker to racial harassment because he had to listen on a regular basis to a 27-year-old Vietnamese American co-worker playing and rapping aloud to music lyrics that included anti-black racial epithets such as the N-word.
August 10, 2008
GM First Casualty of Off-Base EEOC Decision
Source: Thomas Flaherty, MetroWest Daily News
Sadly, General Motors has become the latest American company to eliminate health benefits for its retirees over the age of 65. This is just the first major casualty of the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's (EEOC) decision earlier this year to allow companies to discriminate against older retirees by treating them differently than younger retirees. GM has set a precedent that will likely lead to other employers doing the same.
Worst of 'Times' unveiled in lawsuit
Source: Scott Shifrel, New York Daily News
A lawsuit by a New York Times employee paints a disturbing portrait of a workplace rife with sexual harassment - including an alleged incident of office cubicle masturbation - and age discrimination. Charles Cretella, 57, who has worked for decades creating summaries of Times stories, is fighting back after he says he was falsely charged with sexually harassing a 33-year-old male co-worker.
August 8, 2008
Suit vs. Boeing ordered to trial
Source: Max Jarman, Arizona Republic
A 2003 sexual harassment suit against the Boeing Co. in Mesa is heading back to court. A U.S. appellate court has overturned a lower court decision that cleared Boeing of the charges and returned the case to Arizona for trial. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued Boeing in 2003 on behalf of Kelley Miles, a female mechanic at Boeing's Apache helicopter plant in Mesa.
NY court upholds firing worker over smoking breaks
Source: Associated Press, USA Today
A New York appeals court has upheld the firing of a worker who took smoking breaks despite a new policy by her employer. The court shows the woman, paralegal Karen Krindel of Rochester, was fired in November 2006 after 15 months on the job because she didn't comply with a new written policy that banned smoking breaks.
August 6, 2008
More Than One-Third of Female Workers Say They Are Paid Less Than Their Male Counterparts
Source: CareerBuilder.com
While some may say the "glass ceiling" in the office is being shattered, according to a new survey from CareerBuilder.com, the Battle of the Sexes continues in the workplace. Employers are increasingly introducing programs to promote equality, yet more than one-third (34 percent) of female workers say they feel they are paid less than their counterparts of the opposite sex with the same skills and qualifications -- relatively unchanged from 35 percent in 2006. Eleven percent of men say they feel they are paid less than their female counterparts. The CareerBuilder.com survey, "Workplace Equality," included 4,328 male workers and 3,632 female workers nationwide.
August 5, 2008
Hard times drive some mean bosses over edge
Source: Eve Tahmincioglu, MSNBC
It's hot. The economy stinks. And many bosses across the country seem to be caving under the pressure. That's bad news for workers like Mike, a senior-level employee for a communications company in the Northeast. Mike, who did not want his real name used for fear of reprimand, says his boss has always been a Machiavellian, arrogant and condescending jerk, but lately he's 10 times worse. Many workplace experts believe tough economic times and the constant drumbeat to do more with fewer people may be driving managers over to the dark side.
EEOC scales back goal for clearing discrimination cases
Source: Stephen Losey, Federal Times
A major goal of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has been to speed up work on private-sector discrimination cases. Specifically, it sought to wrap up work on at least 75 percent of its cases in 180 or fewer days by 2012. But due to a swelling workload and shrinking staff, the agency is now admitting it won't get there. The commission on July 28 approved a new strategic plan that dials that goal back -- from 75 percent to 54 percent of cases that will be resolved within the targeted 180 days.
Former Apple employee sues for violation of labor code
Source: Jim Dalrymple, Macworld.com
David Walsh, a former Network Engineer that worked at Apple from 1995 to 2007, is suing the company for violating California labor laws. Filed in the United States District Court, Southern District of California, the complaint focuses on the fact that employees were required to work more than 40 hours a week or eight hours in a workday. Walsh's suit says that Apple then denies the employees proper compensation for that work.
Associate's Sex Discrimination Claims Proceed Against Law Firm
Source: Anthony Lin, New York Law Journal
A federal judge in Manhattan has allowed sex discrimination claims to proceed against an intellectual property law firm that fired an associate two days after she complained in an e-mail to partners that the firm's women lawyers were being "relegated to non-partnership track support roles." In a 53-page opinion issued last week, Southern District of New York Judge Kimba M. Wood said Catriona Collins had established a prima facie cases of discrimination and retaliation against her former firm, Cohen Pontani Lieberman & Pavane.
Video Only settles harassment case
Source: Anne Saker, The Oregonian
Video Only, the home-electronics retailer based in Seattle, was ordered Monday by a judge in Portland to pay $630,000 to employees at its Jantzen Beach store who complained about racial and religious slurs, including a doll with face and hair painted black, hogtied and hung by a nail in a break room. U.S. District Judge Garr M. King signed the agreement between Video Only and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and between Video Only and two employees who sued separately.
Religious Slurs May Amount to Hostile Workplace, N.J. High Court Says
Source: Michael Booth, New Jersey Law Journal
Workers taunted about their religion or ancestry are entitled to the same legal protection as the victims of sex, race and ethnic harassment, the New Jersey Supreme Court said in the case of a police officer whose colleagues called him a "dirty Jew." The unanimous court on July 31 reinstated a verdict against the Haddonfield Police Department and a number of its officers and patrolmen for directing anti-Semitic taunts, harassment and slurs at Patrolman Jason Cutler.
August 4, 2008
NJ high court: Annoying not harassment
Source: Tom Hester Jr., Associated Press
An annoying person isn't necessarily a sexual harasser, according to the New Jersey Supreme Court, which on Monday ruled two women who were students at the Princeton Theological Seminary cannot sue the school for harassment. The women claimed an alumnus in his late-60s who lived in seminary-owned housing harassed them with requests for dates in 1999 and 2000 and the seminary didn't act to stop him.
Lawyers and Employers Take The Fight to 'Workplace Bullies'
Source: Cari Tuna, Wall Street Journal
A recent U.S. court case and new research are focusing attention on "workplace bullying," prompting some employers to take steps to curb aggressive behavior. Experts define workplace bullying as subtle, persistent and often nondiscriminatory harassment of co-workers. Unlike sexual or racial harassment, workplace bullying isn't necessarily illegal. But bullying can contribute to absenteeism and turnover and escalate into illegal behavior if left unchecked, experts say.
August 1, 2008
Wal-Mart Warns of Democratic Win
Source: Ann Zimmerman & Kris Maher, Wall Street Journal
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is mobilizing its store managers and department supervisors around the country to warn that if Democrats win power in November, they'll likely change federal law to make it easier for workers to unionize companies -- including Wal-Mart. In recent weeks, thousands of Wal-Mart store managers and department heads have been summoned to mandatory meetings at which the retailer stresses the downside for workers if stores were to be unionized.
July 31, 2008
A Hidden Toll on Employment: Cut to Part Time
Source: Peter S. Goodman, New York Times
The number of Americans who have seen their full-time jobs chopped to part time because of weak business has swelled to more than 3.7 million -- the largest figure since the government began tracking such data more than half a century ago. The loss of pay has become a primary source of pain for millions of American families, reinforcing the downturn gripping the economy.
Bill would block last-minute Labor Dept rule
Source: Associated Press
A House committee chairman is trying to stop the Bush administration from implementing a late-term rule that could make it harder to limit worker exposure to dangerous chemicals in the workplace. Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., chairman of the Education and Labor Committee, said he's introduced legislation that would block the Labor Department from finalizing the draft rule, which came to light last week.
Sexual harassment will not go away on its own
Source: Gilbert Singer, Tallahassee Democrat
Forty-eight million, eight hundred thousand dollars. That is the total monetary compensation paid out in sexual harassment-related cases in 2006, according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Perhaps even more troubling is the damage that we cannot see: the emotionally damaged employees, the uncomfortable customers who have taken their business elsewhere and the shocked community members, to name a few.
July 30, 2008
New religious discrimination manual released
Source: Tim Murphy, USA Today
Citing changing demographics and a steady increase in complaints from people of faith, a federal agency last week released an updated compliance manual on religious discrimination in the workplace. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued the guidance after consultation with religious groups, employers, and labor organizations.
Jury Awards Former Tunnel Worker $735,000 in Discrimination Case
Source: John Eligon, New York Times
A federal jury has awarded more than $700,000 to a former Queens-Midtown Tunnel employee who said his bosses denied him a promotion and penalized him for taking sick days because he was Jewish, according to lawyers for the employee.
July 29, 2008
New discrimination lawsuit for Madison Square Garden
Source: Keith Herbert, New York Newsday
Madison Square Garden has been hit with another discrimination lawsuit, this one filed by a suite attendant who claims she was passed over for a position serving food to the Knicks and Rangers in their locker rooms while less experienced men were assigned the post.
Source: G.L. Hoffman, US News & World Report
Bad bosses ruin people. They are demanding, impolite, crude; they take too much credit and are adept at making our work lives a living hell. People can get "ruined"--OK, a bit melodramatic, that--because they start thinking that this how bosses operate. Bad bosses destroy value--in their companies and communities but mostly in their people.
Sexuality bias seen at Justice Department
Source: Richard B. Schmitt, Los Angeles Times
When Bush administration officials at the Justice Department dismissed nine U.S. attorneys in 2006, there were various theories as to why the prosecutors were being let go. They were too soft on the death penalty. They did not prosecute enough illegal immigrants. They did not go after enough Democrats. On Monday, the Justice Department's internal watchdog hinted at perhaps the most sensational justification yet -- perceived homosexuality.
July 28, 2008
More Men Filing Workplace Lawsuits
Source: Tresa Baldas, National Law Journal
The macho man image is dying in the workplace. Employment and family law attorneys say a growing number of men are filing a wide variety of workplace lawsuits, suing over everything from more leave time to care for their children to sexual harassment.
July 27, 2008
After Iowa Raid, Immigrants Fuel Labor Inquiries
Source: Julia Preston, New York Times
When federal immigration agents raided the kosher meatpacking plant here in May and rounded up 389 illegal immigrants, they found more than 20 under-age workers, some as young as 13. Now those young immigrants have begun to tell investigators about their jobs. Some said they worked shifts of 12 hours or more, wielding razor-edged knives and saws to slice freshly killed beef. Some worked through the night, sometimes six nights a week.
July 23, 2008
Minimum wage earners see new raise vanish
Source: Associated Press, MSNBC.com
About 2 million Americans get a raise Thursday as the federal minimum wage rises 70 cents. The bad news: Higher gas and food prices are swallowing it up, and some small businesses will pass the cost of the wage hike to consumers.
[Minneapolis], 5 black cops move closer to settlement
Source: David Chanen & Terry Collins, Minneapolis Star Tribune
Five high-ranking black police officers would share $2 million in a proposed settlement of their lawsuit alleging a long history of discrimination against black officers in the Minneapolis Police Department, sources familiar with the suit said Tuesday.
July 22, 2008
Economy's stuck, but business is booming at therapists' offices
Source: Marilyn Elias, USA Today
The struggling economy is hurting many Americans' mental health: Anxiety, depression, sleep problems and money-rooted marital conflicts are growing, experts around the USA say. Requests for therapists increased 15% to 20% in the past three months, "primarily driven by concerns about the financial situation," says Richard Chaifetz, chairman and CEO of ComPsych in Chicago, the nation's largest employee-assistance mental health program.
Construction Workers in Bronx Split $1.23 Million in Back Pay
Source: Steven Greenhouse, New York Times
Two hundred and eighty-four construction workers in the Bronx will receive a total of $1.23 million in back pay as part of a settlement over unpaid overtime, Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo announced on Monday.
July 19, 2008
Politics Has Dissidents Talking to A.F.L.-C.I.O.
Source: Steven Greenhouse, New York Times
The presidents of several labor unions that quit the A.F.L.-C.I.O. three years ago have been quietly meeting with union presidents in the federation to coordinate their political operations and message for the fall election, a move that labor leaders say could lead to several of the unions rejoining the federation.
July 18, 2008
Source: Editorial, New York Times
It should surprise no one, at this point, that an arm of the Bush administration charged with protecting Americans' rights or safety is not doing its job. Even so, a government report and a Congressional hearing this week painted a disturbing picture of a Labor Department that simply is not standing up for workers.
July 15, 2008
Managers' remarks decide family-care discrimination cases
Source: Barbara Moss, The Tennessean
Family Responsibility Discrimination (FRD), discriminating against employees because of their need to care for children or elderly parents, is perhaps the fastest-growing set of claims against employers. Most often, the claim is based on an allegation that an employer discriminates against mothers of young children. At the heart of the problem is an assumption that a mother of children will act in a certain way or should act in a certain way.
July 14, 2008
Source: Keisha-Ann G. Gray
Do most of the labor laws apply to certain size firms? What about the major laws, such as FMLA, FLSA, ADA and others? Are there labor laws that apply to all firms?
July 12, 2008
Nearly $1 Million Award to Maids in Abuse Case
Source: Associated Press, New York Times
A federal judge has awarded almost $1 million in back wages to two Indonesian housekeepers who were virtually enslaved by a wealthy Long Island couple. The judge, Arthur D. Spatt of the Eastern District Court, said on Friday that the maids were entitled to double their unpaid wages because they were abused while working around the clock for the couple, Varsha and Mahender Sabhnani.
July 8, 2008
Car Service at Issue in Age, Sex Discrimination Claim Against Skadden
Source: Anthony Lin, New York Law Journal
Along with summer associate lunches and the occasional country club outing, access to chauffeured Lincolns and Cadillacs is one of the most ubiquitous perks of big law firm life. But the proper use of car service is at the heart of a sex and age discrimination suit currently facing Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.
Award against Wal-Mart in disability bias case upheld
Source: Carrie Mason-Draffen, New York Newsday
Wal-Mart has lost its bid to overturn a 2005 Long Island jury verdict that found the nation's No. 1 retailer guilty of discrimination against a mentally disabled Centereach (NY) man. Two years ago, a federal jury in Central Islip awarded Patrick Brady $7.5 million in punitive and compensatory damages, which were later reduced to about $1 million because of statutory caps. Wal-Mart appealed the guilty verdict and sought a new trial. Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, affirmed the jury's finding of discrimination.
Stress for success: Harassment reports on rise at workplace
Source: Jacquelyn Ferguson, News-Press
Human Resources directors tell me that in times of heightened stress, such as exists today, both those who are likely to harass others are more likely to do so, and those who are more "sensitive" to disagreeable behavior are more likely to perceive it as intentional harassment. This becomes a headache for HR departments because even a verbal complaint about harassment (vs. a formal one) can mean many, many hours of investigative work to discern if the objectionable behavior constitutes either workplace or sexual harassment.
July 7, 2008
Cuts in paid sick days leave unhealthy employees stuck in the workplace
Source: Shari Roan, Los Angeles Times
Stay home if you're sick. That's the best way to stop the spread of contagious diseases, such as influenza, tuberculosis and gastrointestinal viruses. Besides, you can't do your job capably or safely if you don't feel well. But many Americans simply tough it out when ill, going to work with pain, cramps, headaches, fevers or worse. Often, they have no choice. As many as 43% of American workers in private industry don't have paid sick days, according to 2007 data from the federal government. If they call in sick, they lose their pay and, sometimes, their jobs.
July 6, 2008
Ex-worker on crusade against chemical plant
Source: Susan Sward, San Francisco Chronicle
It was the dead birds that set Rita Smith off. Her husband, Steve, had been ill for years, with oozing sores on his skin, shortness of breath and mental confusion. She suspected that it all was tied to a Mojave Desert chemical plant where they both had worked. Soon, Smith would begin an assault against the plant in a campaign reminiscent of those waged by crusaders Karen Silkwood and Erin Brockovich, whose battles against corporate giants in the 1970s and 1990s became subjects of Hollywood films.
Source: Editorial, New York Times
Judging from the jobs report for June, released last Thursday, the economy has shifted into reverse. For the sixth month in a row, the economy shed jobs, for a total loss of 438,000 jobs so far this year. About half of that came in the past three months, the worst second-quarter showing since 2003, when the nation was mired in joblessness from the previous recession. It appears that things will get worse before they get better.
July 2, 2008
To Hostess, a Dream Restaurant Was a Nightmare
Source: Steven Greenhouse, New York Times
Martha Nyakim Gatkuoth is a refugee from Ethiopia, 6 feet tall and runway-model slim. Her search for work took her to New York and then to a famed restaurant tucked within Central Park, where she found a job that seemed ideal, with health coverage and a glittering, festive atmosphere. But Ms. Gatkuoth said it became something far different, a place of daily dread where, she said, sexual and racial harassment was rife.
Tire dealer to pay $185,000 in harassment case
Source: Associated Press, Forbes.com
Les Schwab Tire Centers has agreed to pay $185,000 to settle a racial harassment lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on behalf of a former company employee in Kalispell, Mont. The case, filed in 2006, charged that Les Schwab failed to stop Earle Nevins' co-workers from calling him derogatory names and making insulting jokes about Native Americans.
July 1, 2008
Most state workers in Utah shifting to 4-day week
Source: Larry Copeland, USA Today
Utah this summer will become what experts say is the first state to institute a mandatory four-day work week for most state employees, joining local governments across the nation that are altering schedules to save money, energy and resources.
Source: H.J. Cummins, Minneapolis Star-Tribune
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. broke Minnesota labor law more than 2 million times over six years, routinely forcing some employees to work off the clock through lunch and rest breaks, a Dakota County judge has ruled. The violations were willful, said District Judge Robert King in a ruling Monday in Hastings. They could bring a penalty of up to $1,000 per violation, which could mean a $2 billion fine for the world's largest retailer.
Age Is as Age Does: Making the Generation Gap Work for You
Source: Erin White, Wall Street Journal
Companies world-wide are grappling with generational differences in their work forces. Managers and consultants say they see new workplace problems arising from differing mindsets and communication styles of workers born in different eras. The frictions are aggravated by new technology and work patterns that mix workers of different ages in ever-changing teams.
June 30, 2008
10 workplace trends of the future
Source: Hanah Cho, Baltimore Sun
To say the 9-to-5 job is an old concept like the rotary phone is an understatement. Emerging technology, globalization and demographic changes have been changing how and where we work for years now. And these factors will continue to contribute to the evolution of the workplace during the next two decades, says John A. Challenger, chief executive of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a Chicago outplacement firm.
June 15, 2008
Wal-Mart Agrees to Pay $250,000 to Disabled Ex-Employee
Source: Occupational Health & Safety
Retail giant Wal-Mart will pay $250,000 and furnish significant injunctive relief to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced recently. EEOC had charged that Wal-Mart failed to accommodate and then fired a long-time pharmacy technician who suffered a disability resulting from a gunshot wound.
Age Becomes the New Race and Gender
Source: Adam Nagourney, New York Times
This year’s campaign for president has provided an extended test of attitudes toward race and gender, two powerful and volatile forces in politics. Now a third is about to join that list: age.
June 13, 2008
Support for flexible work legislation firming up
Source: Jessica Marquez, Financial Week
Discussions about flexible work arrangements are gaining momentum on Capitol Hill, and some say lawmakers may pass a bill on the matter in the next several months. The U.S. is behind the majority of developed nations when it comes to having statutes in place to allow for flexible work arrangements, according to a study published in May by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research and the Center for WorkLife Law at the University of California Hastings College of Law.
June 11, 2008
Harassment suit against NY radio personality Wendy Williams
Source: Associated Press, Newsday
A sexual-harassment lawsuit filed Wednesday against national radio personality Wendy Williams claims the disc jockey's husband dominated her workplace, physically abused her and repeatedly propositioned an employee.
Glassdoor.com:TripAdvisor for the Workplace
Source: Rob Hof , Business Week
If you’ve ever wondered what your officemates really make, Glassdoor.com may be what you’re looking for. The free Web site, which bills itself as a "career and workplace community where anyone can find and anonymously share real-time reviews, ratings, and salary details about specific jobs for specific employers," launches a public beta Wednesday morning. In other words, TripAdvisor for the workplace.
Former official sues NASCAR for sexual, racial harassment
Source: Rachel Shuster, USA Today
Mauricia Grant, a former official of NASCAR who traveled to races as a "technical inspector," filed a $250 million lawsuit against the circuit Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York alleging racial and sexual harassment. In a 40-page filing, Grant, 32, alleges she was terminated in November for complaining about her treatment, which included, she says, NASCAR officials referring to her as "nappy headed Mo," "Mohammed" and "Al Qaeda" and some exposing their penises in her presence.
June 10, 2008
Justices Reject 'Class of One' Argument
Source: Linda Greenhouse, New York Times
Government employees who are singled out for arbitrary, irrational or even vindictive treatment by their supervisors will find no relief in the Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection, the Supreme Court ruled on Monday, unless the mistreatment is due to discrimination on the basis of race, sex or another protected category.
June 7, 2008
Young people need new lessons about labor unions
Source: Donald P. Russo, The Morning Call
According to Wikipedia, ''A trade union or labor union is an organization of workers who have banded together to achieve common goals in key areas such as wages, hours, and working conditions.'' I feel it is necessary to re-acquaint everyone with what a union is, because after decades of Republican rule in Washington, going back to Ronald Reagan's election in 1980, ''union'' has become a dirty word.
June 5, 2008
Requests for religious time off can be tricky
Source: Associated Press, CNN.com
Growing diversity in the workplace has led to a spike in religious discrimination filings with the federal government, according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Wal-Mart's Detractors Come In From the Cold
Source: Michael Barbaro, New York Times
After waging an aggressive public relations campaign against Wal-Mart for three years, the company’s full-time, union-backed critics, who once vowed never to let up, are putting down their cudgels. Shrill condemnations and embarrassing leaked documents are giving way to acknowledgments of progress �" and, in the case of Wal-Mart Watch, free advice.
June 3, 2008
Five percent of Mass. taxpayers uninsured, some fined
Source: Associated Press, USA Today
Nearly 100,000 Massachusetts taxpayers have been fined for failing to obtain health insurance, even as a major survey concludes the effort to create near-universal coverage in the state is meeting key goals.
N.Y. Landmark Pays $2M to Settle Sex Claims
Source: Alice Gomstyn , ABC News
One of New York City's most famous restaurants will pay $2.2 million to settle a lawsuit over sexual harassment and racism allegations. Tavern on the Green, the 74-year-old café overlooking Manhattan's Central Park, is accused of "severe and pervasive harassment," including one manager's grabbing of an employee's breasts and buttocks and his repeated use of racial slurs and lewd sexual references.
June 1, 2008
Parental leave becoming a hot workplace issue
Source: Eve Tahmincioglu, MSNBC.com
Up until last month, California and Washington State were the only states with any type of family leave legislation on the books. New Jersey passed a paid leave bill in late May. New Jersey and Washington’s programs take effect in 2009.
May 30, 2008
Layoffs trump bad bosses as reason for job change
Source: Julie Forster, Pioneer Press
What's the top reason people change jobs? Nope, it's not an ineffective boss. That's No. 3. The top reason is they've been laid off.
May 29, 2008
Fox News Employee Claims Bedbugs Invaded Her Workplace
Source: NY1 News
A Fox News employee filed a lawsuit Thursday against the owner of the building she works in and the maintenance company who cleans it after she says she was bitten by bedbugs at work.
May 28, 2008
Lawsuit: 'Pattern of Discrimination' at Secret Service
Source: Pierre Thomas, Talesha Reynolds, Jack Date and Theresa Cook, ABC News
They are the stoic men and women of the Secret Service. Guarding presidents and dignitaries, keeping them safe, even if duty calls one of them to do as he or she is trained and step in front of a bullet. But now that pristine image is being challenged by a lawsuit filed on behalf of more than 100 current and former black agents which alleges they were discriminated against in promotions.
May 24, 2008
EEOC Settles Sex Bias Case with State Corrections Department for Almost $1 Million
Source: EEOC
The New York State Department of Correctional Services will pay nearly $1 million to settle a sex discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, the two offices announced today. The EEOC and the United States had charged the Corrections Department with violating federal law by providing inferior benefits to female employees on maternity leave.
May 22, 2008
Bill bans bias over genetic testing
Source: Suzanne Hoholik, The Columbus Dispatch
Some people don't want to know if they carry a gene that increases the risk of disease. And others are afraid that if they undergo genetic testing, they might lose their jobs or health insurance. Yesterday, President Bush signed into law a bill designed to put such fears to rest.
May 21, 2008
Out of a job and out of luck at 54
Source: Tami Luhby, CNNMoney.com
Too young to retire, too old to get a new job. That's how many older workers are feeling these days. While it's not easy to land a job in this weak economy, older workers are in a particularly tough spot.
May 20, 2008
Weight discrimination could be as common as racial bias
Source: Svetlana Shkolnikova, USA Today
Weight discrimination, especially against women, is increasing in U.S. society and is almost as common as racial discrimination, two studies suggest. Reported discrimination based on weight has increased 66% in the past decade, up from about 7% to 12% of U.S. adults, says one study, in the journal Obesity.
May 19, 2008
Series of failures on gender fairness should be issue in presidential campaign
Source: The Morning Call
Who should protect an individual from corporate mistreatment? To ''form a more perfect Union,'' our Constitution requires the three branches of government to make laws, interpret laws, and enforce laws that serve its citizens. Yet, all three branches of government failed Lilly Ledbetter, who sought redress under title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
May 6, 2008
Many bosses simply don't 'get it'
Source: Dale Dauten, Arizona Daily Star
The indicator I told my children to use when looking for a job was to check the employees' parking lot to see what type of cars the employees could afford to drive. That sage fatherly advice is from Dan Uhles of Du Quoin, Ill., responding to what I'd written about how everything a business does affects hiring.
May 5, 2008
Conectiv, others will pay $1.65M to settle racial suit
Source: JoAnn Loviglio, Forbes.com
Conectiv Energy and three subcontractors will pay $1.65 million to settle a discrimination lawsuit filed by four black workers who said they were subjected to racial slurs, Ku Klux Klan graffiti and a noose that was left hanging for more than a week.
Talking politics at the office
Source: Maureen Milford, The News Journal
The uniqueness of this election cycle -- with no incumbent running and a diverse slate of candidates -- has workplaces buzzing with passionate political talk, said Frank Kenna III, chief executive of The Marlin Co. in Wallingford, Conn., a workplace communication expert.
Bias suit faces fight to be heard
Source: Yonat Shimron, The News & Observer
The Rev. Derrick Gomez alleges that in his job with the North Carolina Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America he was subjected to an intolerable pattern of racial discrimination that ultimately led him to resign. It's not clear whether the allegations -- contained in a lawsuit in federal court -- have merit. And it may not matter.
May 2, 2008
New Jersey governor signs paid family leave bill
Source: Jerry Geisel, Business Insurance
New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine on May 2 signed legislation that will entitle employees in the state to take up to six weeks of paid leave per year after the birth or adoption of a child or to take care of a seriously ill relative.
Congress Passes Bill to Bar Bias Based on Genes
Source: Amy Harmon, New York Times
A bill that would prohibit discrimination by health insurers and employers based on the information that people carry in their genes won final approval in Congress on May 1 by an overwhelming vote.
March 30, 2008
Salary caps can be perfectly legal
Source: Carrie Mason-Draffen, The Morning Call
Salary caps, per se, aren't illegal, according to Elizabeth Grossman, an attorney at the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which enforces the Age Discrimination in Employment Act protecting workers 40 and older. ''An employer may have legitimate financial reasons for doing so,'' Grossman said.
March 24, 2008
Bill proposed to ban discrimination against height and weight in Massachusetts
Source: WHDH-TV News
A proposed bill could ban discrimination against height and weight in Massachusetts. The Boston Herald reports state Representative Byron Rushing wants the state to offer legal protection based on body size.
March 23, 2008
A workplace blunder requires fast action to protect your reputation
Source: Melissa Rayworth, Associated Press
How many Americans quietly shuddered while watching Eliot Spitzer's stellar career disintegrate? Even for those with far lesser embarrassments, word of a big mistake -- an affair between married co-workers, perhaps -- often spreads at lightning speed.
March 21, 2008
Does tax code send U.S. jobs offshore?
Source: David J. Lynch, USA Today
Democratic presidential contenders Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama have cast it as an outrage that should be a key target for the next president: a tax break they say encourages employers to ship American jobs abroad. The charge could be dismissed as typical campaign-trail exaggeration during a Democratic primary season marked by populism, except for one thing. Many analysts say it's true.
California Court Awards Starbucks Baristas $105 Million in Tip Dispute
Source: Vikas Bajaj, New York Times
A court in California awarded baristas at Starbucks cafes in California $105 million on Thursday, ruling that the company had wrongly allowed supervisors to share in tips. The judgment by Judge Patricia Y. Cowett of California Superior Court in San Diego could have broader ramifications for the restaurant industry in California and around the country.
Title VII bias claim based on "familial status" not actionable
Source: CCH
A husband, wife and daughter could not assert a prima facie case of sex discrimination under Title VII based on "familial status" after they were discharged from a nonprofit agency in part because the father's hiring and direct supervision of the wife and daughter "were ill-advised under the company's discretionary anti-nepotism policy," the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled. (Adamson v Multi Cmty Diversified Servs, Inc, 10thCir, 90 EPD ¶43,109)
March 20, 2008
Appeals court upholds Wal-Mart's right to fire worker
Source: Charlie Frago, Arkansas Democrat Gazette
The Arkansas Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday that a former Wal-Mart employee wasn't wrongfully terminated after he reported inhumane workplace conditions at Costa Rican suppliers.
March 17, 2008
Businesses Face Cut in Immigrant Work Force
Source: Katie Zazima, New York Times
For years, William Zammer Jr. has relied on 100 seasonal foreign employees to turn down beds, boil lobsters and serve cocktails at the restaurants, golf course and inn he owns on Cape Cod and in nearby Plymouth. This summer, however, the foreign workers will not be returning, and Mr. Zammer, like other seasonal employers across the nation, is scrambling to find replacements.
March 16, 2008
How to dig out from the information avalanche
Source: Eve Tahmincioglu, MSNBC.com
Seven out of 10 office workers in the United States feel overwhelmed by information in the workplace, and more than two in five say they are headed for a data "breaking point," according to a recently released Workplace Productivity Survey, commissioned by LexisNexis -- a provider of business information solutions.
March 14, 2008
Paterson denies firing photographer in 2003 because he was white
Source: Brian Kates, New York Daily News
Just as he's about to become the state's first black governor, David Paterson faces allegations he fostered reverse discrimination as state Senate Democratic leader. Paterson is battling a federal suit by a white staff photographer who says he was fired in 2003 so his job could be given to a black man.
March 12, 2008
Back pay due for workers of Bay View castings company
Source: Rich Rovito, The Business Journal of Milwaukee
Nearly 400 current and former employees of Aluminum Casting & Engineering Co. are eligible for back wages stemming from the withholding of pay raises during a 1995 union organizing campaign. Employees of the company, also known as Ace Co., are eligible to collect as much as $1,250 each in back pay, according to the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers union, which led the organizing campaign.
Airport workers agree to $1.9 million in race bias suit
Source: Miguel Bustillo, Los Angeles Times
Fifteen black and Latino airport workers in Dallas who alleged that white co-workers intimidated them with swastikas, nooses and other racist symbols have settled a lawsuit for nearly $1.9 million, their lawyer and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced last week.
March 11, 2008
Workers from India sue, charging 'modern-day slavery'
Source: Associated Press, CNN.com
A group of workers from India who claim they were duped into taking jobs at Gulf Coast shipyards and subjected to abusive living conditions are suing the company that hired them. A class-action lawsuit filed Friday in federal court accuses Signal International, an oil rig construction and repair company, of exploiting and defrauding more than 500 Indian nationals who worked at its facilities in Pascagoula, Mississippi, and Orange, Texas.
March 10, 2008
Picky Chinese Workers Spell End Of Cheap Labor
Source: Reuters, New York Times
For decades, China's massive workforce of factory hands and construction workers had little choice but to work long hours in often poor conditions for pitifully low salaries. But a mushrooming of factories, even in the country's sluggish interior, mean that these days workers have more clout than ever when hunting for jobs. Wages are being pushed up and firms' margins are being squeezed.
Sick days, vacation all the same in 'time-off' banks
Source: Hanah Cho , Baltimore Sun
Taking a sick day is not that easy for some workers. Leonard, a reader from Baltimore, argues that sick workers whose employers offer a "paid-time off" or PTO bank -- where vacation, sick and personal days are lumped together -- show up for their job because this increasingly popular system encourages the practice called presenteeism.
March 9, 2008
Job bias complaints surge in '07
Source: Jennifer C. Kerr (Associated Press), Journal Gazette
Federal job discrimination complaints filed by workers against private employers shot up 9 percent last year, the biggest annual increase since the early 1990s.
Bullying More Harmful Than Sexual Harassment On The Job, Say Researchers
Source: ScienceDaily
Workplace bullying, such as belittling comments, persistent criticism of work and withholding resources, appears to inflict more harm on employees than sexual harassment, say researchers who presented their findings at a recent conference.
March 8, 2008
Job-bias complaints against private firms jump
Source: Jennifer Kerr (Associated Press), Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Federal job-discrimination complaints by workers against private employers rose by 9 percent last year, the biggest annual increase since the early 1990s. The data released Wednesday by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission show that allegations of discrimination based on race, retaliation and sex were the most frequent.
Pilots in a position to make or break deal
Source: Liz Fedor, Minneapolis Star-Tribune
With a merger agreement between Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines hanging in the balance, the highest stakes may have switched from management to the leaders of the two companies' pilot unions who have been unable to combine seniority lists. Northwest pilot chairman Dave Stevens and Delta pilot chairman Lee Moak both insisted that the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) be brought into merger talks at the front end of any deal.
The Supreme Court Takes a Broad Approach in Interpreting the Age Discrimination in Employment Act
Source: Joanna Grossman, Findlaw.com
Last week, the Supreme Court issued an important Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) opinion, Federal Express Corp. v. Holowecki. Specifically, the Court considered whether a plaintiff had complied with the necessary procedural formalities required under the ADEA before filing a lawsuit. The opinion is quite significant in that it departs both in tone and substance from recent anti-plaintiff rulings in employment discrimination cases. It is thus a welcome sign of at least a modicum of commitment on the Court's part to enforcing the civil rights laws.
Bright spots for workers in a shaky economy
Source: Hanah Cho, Baltimore Sun
Whether the economy is in a recession right now or not, workers are starting to feel wary about job security and professional prospects. But there is a sliver of good news.
March 6, 2008
Jury awards $1 million for sexual harassment
Source: Sonia Boin, Frederick News-Post
A Montgomery County (MD) Circuit Court jury awarded a Frederick woman $1 million for sexual harassment against an auto dealership.
The verdict reached Feb. 29 in a retrial came down on the side of Gail Sterling in a case against Atlantic Automotive Corp., where she worked from May 2001 until she was fired in March 2002.
March 4, 2008
Your boss is a sexist bonehead
Source: Stanley Bing, Fortune Magazine
He's nice to you in private, but berates and ignores you in front of clients. Time to get manipulative.
New Jersey Senate Votes for Leave to Care for Kin
Source: David W. Chen, New York Times
After an unusually emotional debate bursting with political indignation and personal anguish, the State Senate narrowly approved legislation Monday that would make New Jersey the third state in the nation to give employees the right to take paid leave to care for a newborn or a sick relative.
March 3, 2008
Lack of sleep catches up with today's workforce
Source: Stephanie Armour, USA Today
U.S. workers are silently suffering from a dramatic lack of sleep, costing companies billions of dollars in lost productivity, says a new study. Nearly three in 10 workers have become very sleepy, or even fallen asleep, at work in the past month, according to a first-ever study on sleep and the workplace by the non-profit National Sleep Foundation.
Source: Karen Mracek, Des Moines Register
According to the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, the number who express their love for their mom, their boyfriends and their Harleys on their bodies is increasing. In 2006, nearly one-quarter of Americans had one or more tattoos, compared with only 1 percent 30 years ago, the group says.
March 2, 2008
Workplace flu causes push for paid sick days
Source: Christine Vestal, Stateline.org
With this year's flu epidemic in full swing, nearly half of all U.S. workers who fall ill or have sick kids must decide whether to stay home and lose wages or go to work sick and expose others, a choice many say no one should have to make. Advocates for making paid sick days a basic labor standard say the United States should follow all other developed countries and require businesses to let ill or injured employees miss work without docking their pay or threatening their employment.
March 1, 2008
Paper Is Penalized for Labor Violations
Source: Rebecca Cathcart, New York Times
One of Los Angeles' largest Chinese-language newspapers was ordered by a federal judge here Friday to pay millions of dollars to 200 employees who were denied years of overtime pay and subjected to other labor law violations. The $5.19 million award, to the employees of The Chinese Daily News, included penalties for violating labor laws as well as 10 percent interest on the original award of $2.5 million, which was granted by a jury in 2007.
February 29, 2008
Former Covad GC's Derivative Suit Settles for $7 Million
Source: Zusha Elinson, The Recorder
Covad Communications and its ex-general counsel have finally laid to rest a sordid, six-year saga of allegations of self-dealing directors, sexual harassment and retaliatory firing. Covad directors agreed to pay the company $7 million to settle a long-running derivative suit originally filed by former GC and co-founder Dhruv Khanna, the San Jose, Calif., telecom company detailed in its annual report.
February 28, 2008
Supreme Court Alters Tone in Discrimination Case
Source: Linda Greenhouse, New York Times
The failure to file the proper form to complain about job-related age discrimination does not deprive an employee of the ability to go into court later with a discrimination lawsuit, the Supreme Court ruled Wednesday. In its relaxed approach to formalities, the 7-to-2 decision marked a decided change in tone for the Roberts court compared with one of the signature decisions of the previous term.
February 8, 2008
District judge upholds employer-sanctions law
Source: Mary Jo Pitzl, The Arizona Republic
A federal judge upheld the merits of Arizona's landmark employer-sanctions law Thursday, saying it does not overstep the federal government's authority to regulate illegal immigration. U.S. District Judge Neil Wake dismissed arguments by a coalition of business and Latino civil-rights groups that the law unconstitutionally gives the state controls over immigration. Wake noted that the state law controls business licenses and does not determine who should be admitted into the United States.
February 7, 2008
Romance issues touchy for employers
Source: Carol Marshall, Oakland Business Review
When men and women get together, be it for cocktails, bowling, or even for work, it's only a matter of time before love is in the air. But when Cupid visits the workplace, "love" can also wind up on company-issued Blackberry units, laptops and office voicemail. And then, unfortunately, it can wind up in court.
The Supreme Court Agrees to Review a Sixth Circuit Ruling that Narrowly Construes Title VII's Protection Against Retaliation
Source: Joanna Grossman and Deborah Brake, Findlaw.com
The Supreme Court recently granted certiorari in Crawford v. Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County. In that case, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit severely undercut protection against retaliation for employees who cooperate in an employer's internal investigation of discrimination by providing information that supports the discrimination complaints of other employees. Though making predictions about the Supreme Court's intentions is always risky, one can only hope the Court has taken this case in order to reverse the Sixth Circuit. It should do so in order to ensure that employees cooperating with internal investigations receive the protection they need in order to be able to tell the truth without fear of the consequences.
February 6, 2008
Employers cannot let disability perceptions limit hiring choices
Source: Linda Potter, Port Huron Times-Herald
One of Pepsi's Super Bowl ads provides a humorous take on two deaf men who cannot find the Super Bowl party at a friend's house. The ad was devised, written and acted by PepsiCo. employees with disabilities, and it illustrates how the company values its workers with disabilities. People with disabilities want to work. Employment is key to independence.
February 5, 2008
Supreme Court Age-Bias Ruling Win, Lose or Draw for Older Workers?
Source: John Mossheim, Examiner.com
Thanks to a recent US Supreme Court decision on a landmark age-bias case, workers can sue employers whose policies discriminate on the basis of age -- even if the policy isn't discriminatory on its face. At the same time, the decision says employers can prevail in defending those same suits simply by demonstrating a legitimate business reason for the policies that have the effect of treating older workers less favorably.
Racial harassment cases rise sharply
Source: Marisol Bello, USA Today
Cases of racial harassment filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission increased 24% last year, a time of racial turmoil that included the Jena Six controversy and an outbreak of noose displays. At the same time, state and city lawmakers have stepped up efforts to make it a crime to intimidate someone with a noose.
Business advocacy group opposes paid family leave, minimum wage increases
Source: The Business Review (Albany)
New York members of the National Federation of Independent Business voiced near unanimous opposition to bills enacting paid family leave mandates and raising the minimum wage beyond the federal level, a new survey shows. In it, 92 percent of respondents opposed bills mandating that all businesses annually provide up to 12 weeks of paid family leave for employees. More than 80 percent also opposed the idea of increasing the state's minimum wage beyond the federal level.
February 4, 2008
Divided loyalties: kids and work
Source: Carolyn Kepcher, New York Daily News
Help!" the e-mail pleaded. "I value my job, but work for a boss who makes no bones about the fact that work comes first. He lives to work, and assumes that, to work for him, every subordinate needs to comply to the same philosophy. I don't, and can't. I have a family, a home to run, a life outside of work I value very much. How do I continue to do the job I love, yet set boundaries my boss can respect?" Sadly, it's common for me to receive e-mails like this, from frustrated women and men struggling to achieve balance between their work and personal lives.
Source: Joseph A. Slobodzian , Human Resource Executive Online
Could the U.S. Supreme Court be preparing for a major re-examination of key laws governing the workplace? Court watchers have their antennae up after the high court accepted almost a dozen new employment-discrimination cases for review this term. The new cases -- most of which involve age discrimination claims and allegations of retaliation -- could pose new hurdles for employers conducting internal investigations and add new protections for workers who are not the target of such workplace probes.
February 3, 2008
'Bully boss' legislation may return
Source: Robert L. Bowman, Knoxville News Sentinel
This protracted campaign season serves as a daily reminder to Americans that we will have a new president in January 2009. Business leaders and labor and employment attorneys will be closely watching to see what agenda accompanies our soon-to-be-inaugurated president. One policy initiative gaining steam is "bully boss" legislation. State lawmakers across the country are presenting bills to protect employees from bullying bosses. Although the definition of bully boss is unclear, it can be summarized in few words: bosses who are jerks.
February 2, 2008
First Job Losses in 4 Years Raise Recession Fears
Source: Louis Uchitelle and Michael M. Grynbaum, New York Times
The nation's employers eliminated 17,000 jobs in January, the government reported Friday, the first decline in the work force in more than four years, and the strongest signal yet that the United States may be in the early stages of a recession. The broad weakness in the job market, which affected many sectors, shows how the collapse of the housing bubble is rippling through the rest of the economy and suggests the likelihood of more pain for millions of American families in the months ahead from job losses, lower real wages and fewer working hours.
January 24, 2008
Politics don't stop at workplace door
Source: Marcia Heroux Pounds, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
With Florida's primary election Jan. 29 and presidential candidates constantly in the news, talking politics around the water cooler is inevitable. An employer should tread carefully. Discussing politics is more of a personal decision for employees, as long as it doesn't interfere with work.
Tiger urine, other reasons to miss work
Source: Anthony Balderrama, CNN.com
Did you hear the one about the woman who couldn't go to work because her chickens' feet were frozen to the driveway? It's not a joke -- it's an actual excuse given to a boss. Gone are the days when an employee called in sick and coughed a little to make the story believable. Today, workers give a variety of excuses when they stay home from the office. And they're doing it a lot.
January 23, 2008
Bill Would Protect Federal Whistleblowers
Source: Will Skowronski, Capital News Service
It was no coincidence Rep. Albert Wynn chose Tuesday to introduce a bill he dubbed the "second civil rights law of the century." Wynn's bill would improve an existing anti-discrimination and whistleblower-protection law for federal workers, and its introduction was held to coincide with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s holiday.
January 20, 2008
Most Diversity Training Ineffective, Study Finds
Source: Shankar Vedantam, Washington Post
Most diversity training efforts at American companies are ineffective and even counterproductive in increasing the number of women and minorities in managerial positions, according to an analysis that turns decades of conventional wisdom, government policy and court rulings on their head.
January 19, 2008
Justices Add More Cases on Job Discrimination
Source: Linda Greenhouse, New York Times
The Supreme Court added two new employment discrimination cases to a docket on which such cases are already well represented. One case concerns protection for employees against retaliation for reporting the discriminatory actions of a supervisor. The other involves age discrimination suits when the employer says that it took an action like laying off a worker for legitimate reasons not related to age.
Supreme Court will hear employee harassment case
Source: David Savage, Los Angeles Times
The Supreme Court agreed Friday to decide whether employees are protected from being fired or demoted if they cooperate with an internal investigation of a supervisor who is accused of discrimination.
January 18, 2008
Making the job fair for everyone
Source: Anna Gorman, Los Angeles Times
In August, a federal judge ordered Gardena-based Southern California Maid Service and Carpet Cleaning to pay nearly $3.5 million in back wages to 385 current and former workers. The case stemmed from a program launched in 2004 by the Labor Department, the Mexican Consulate in Los Angeles and other agencies to educate Spanish-speaking workers and employers about their rights and responsibilities, to encourage employees to report abuses and to investigate labor law violations by businesses.
January 17, 2008
Lawsuit has fashion mogul in spotlight
Source: Carla Hall, Los Angeles Times
Dov Charney, founder and chief executive of casual fashion giant American Apparel, acknowledges that he has appeared in his underwear many times in front of male and female employees. And yes, on a few occasions during work meetings, he donned a skimpy garment that barely covered his genitals. But those events, he said, have to be understood in the context of the fashion industry. Charney may soon find out how his explanations play in court, when trial starts in a lawsuit brought by a former employee alleging sexual harassment and wrongful termination.
January 16, 2008
Blue-Collar Jobs Disappear, Taking Families' Way of Life Along
Source: Erik Eckholm, New York Times
Middle-aged men moving in with parents, wives taking two jobs, veteran workers taking overnight shifts at half their former pay, families moving West -- these are signs of the turmoil and stresses emerging in the little towns and backwoods mobile homes of southeast Ohio, where dozens of factories and several coal mines have closed over the last decade, and small businesses are giving way to big-box retailers and fast-food outlets.
Settlement in Bias Suit That Stalled for 37 Years
Source: Steven Greenhouse, New York Times
A federal judge has approved a $6.2 million settlement for black and Hispanic sheet metal workers in a 37-year-old lawsuit against a union that critics have called one of the city's most notorious for racial discrimination, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced on Tuesday.
A Peaceful Revolution: Pay Discrimination
Source: Irma D. Herrera, Huffington Post
"There ought to be a law!" How many times have we heard or said those words ourselves when encountering some unfairness? Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said the same thing last year in the dissenting opinion in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire when she urged Congress to pass a law undoing the damage done by the conservative court majority when it severely limited workers' ability to seek redress in the courts for pay discrimination under Title VII. Now the time has come for Congress to do so, and YOU can help.
Domestic abuse becoming a workplace concern
Source: Joanne Kenen, Reuters
Domestic abuse may originate in the home but some prominent U.S. business leaders are backing a campaign to raise awareness about its toll in the workplace, which some estimate runs to billions of dollars.
Court Overturns $1.5M Spanking Verdict
Source: Associated Press
An appeals court overturned a $1.5 million verdict awarded to a woman who was spanked in front of co-workers in what her employer called a camaraderie-building exercise.
January 1, 2008
Hannaberry Electric settles age bias lawsuit
Source: Matt Birkbeck, The Morning Call
A Pennsylvania company alleged to have systematically fired older workers agreed to pay $156,000 to settle an age discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
December 31, 2007
Bullies can take toll on workers
Source: Contra Costa Times
Are you being persecuted by a workplace bully? You're not alone. A poll by the Employment Law Alliance, a labor and employment lawyers' group, finds that 44 percent of Americans say they have suffered abuse at the office.
December 28, 2007
Fourth prong of prima facie RIF age bias case unmet
Source: CCH
A 53-year-old employee who was discharged in a job elimination failed to meet the fourth-prong prima facie requirement for an age bias case in the context of a reduction in force (RIF), concluded the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Managers need to learn how to take a joke
Source: Des Moines Register, Lancaster Eagle-Gazette
It was probably one of the best-read stories in the country this past week: An Iowa casino worker was fired for posting a "Dilbert" comic strip on an office bulletin board. In the strip, Dilbert and another character have the following exchange: "Why does it seem as if most of the decisions in my workplace are made by drunken lemurs?"
Think your work e-mail is private? Think again.
Source: Dennis O'Reilly, CNet
A recent decision by the National Labor Relations Board allows companies to restrict the use of their e-mail systems for union activities by their employees.
December 27, 2007