Turning the Other Cheek: Illegal Retaliation in the Workplace If someone went to your employer and said you were discriminating against them, wouldn’t you hold a grudge? Wouldn’t you want to get them fired, and if you couldn’t do that, at least make their lives more difficult? Of course you would (and if you honestly …
Turning the Other Cheek: Illegal Retaliation in the Workplace Read More »
Here are a few short takes about employment discrimination stories that made the news this past week: New Evidence Of Gender Pay Gap And Discrimination Against Mothers In Management Women made little progress in climbing into management positions according to a new report by the Government Accountability Office yesterday. As of 2007, the last year …
On August 5, 2010, the California Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision concerning the type of evidence a worker can rely upon to prove an employer discriminated against him or her. The Court’s decision concerns the so-called “stray remarks doctrine.” Justice Sandra Day O’Connor coined the term in a 1989 U.S. Supreme Court decision, writing …
Eight- or nine-figure settlements of gender discrimination class action lawsuits regularly make news. It seems like discrimination this pervasive – essentially, discrimination as corporate policy – should be a relic of the Mad Men past. To the contrary, in countless companies and even entire industries, discrimination against women is business as usual. The latest example …
Settling Gender Discrimination Class Actions (Part I) Read More »
Yesterday, President Obama released a statement endorsing the Paycheck Fairness Act and calling on the Senate to pass the legislation. In America today, women make up half of the workforce, and two-thirds of American families with children rely on a woman’s wages as a significant portion of their families’ income. Yet, even in 2010, women …
Is it legal to fire a front desk clerk for not being “pretty enough”? Not in Iowa. Last Monday, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a trial judge’s decision and ordered Lewis v. Heartland Inns of America to trial. Brenna Lewis was a front desk clerk at Heartland Inns in Ankeny, Iowa. She was …
Complaints To Supervisor/Harasser Are Sufficient To Overcome Affirmative Defense On Hostile Environment Claim There’s lots of meaty reading in the Second Circuit case of Gorzynski v JetBlue Airways Corporation decided this month. The 31 page opinion hits multiple issues including sexual harassment, age discrimination, race discrimination, and retaliation. The Federal District Court threw out the …
EEOC Settlement Shatters Glass Ceiling The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced a whopping 19 million dollar settlement of a class action “glass ceiling” lawsuit against Outback Steakhouse last week. The lawsuit involved a class of female employees who claimed that they were illegally denied: equal opportunity for advancement promotional opportunities to high level profit sharing …
Outback To Pay 19 Million For Sex Discrimination Case Read More »
Employee Terminated Because Of Bankruptcy Gets Right To Trial In Federal Court I must admit that I don’t ever remember seeing a case involving bankruptcy discrimination — so when I ran across a recent federal court case out of Florida on the subject, it struck me as one well worth talking about. The case, Myers …
Finding a manageable work/life balance is something many of us struggle with a great deal–and the stakes only get higher for Americans who work full-time and have caregiving responsibilities at home. Whether that means taking care of children, a sick partner, or an elderly loved one, holding down an ambitious career while still taking good …
New Report: Working Caregivers as a Protected Class? Read More »
Madeline Messa is a 3L at Syracuse University College of Law. She graduated from Penn State with a degree in journalism. With her legal research and writing for Workplace Fairness, she strives to equip people with the information they need to be their own best advocate.
