After the NAACP issued a travel advisory warning non-white travelers that their safety and well-being may be at risk when flying American Airlines, the social justice advocacy group and the airline will be meeting to discuss numerous claims of racial mistreatment. [More]
discrimination
Farmers To Pay $390K For Charging Renters More Than Homeowners On Car Insurance
By 7.20.17
Last year, a Consumer Federation of America report found that home renters pay up to 47% more for car insurance than their peers who own their homes. Now, one state is doing something about this: Minnesota has fined insurance giant Farmers $390,000 for charging higher rates to renters. [More]
How Facebook Secretly Decides What Counts As Hate Speech
By 6.28.17
Facebook, like many social media platforms, wants to be a supporter of free expression without being seen as actively encouraging hate speech, threats, or harassment. Internally, Facebook has guidelines on what crosses that threshold, but a new investigation finds that these rules do not always make sense, nor do they tend to protect those who are most likely to be targeted. [More]
SCOTUS To Hear Case Of Bakery That Refused To Make Wedding Cake For Gay Couple
By 6.26.17
The owner of a Colorado bakery who refused to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple back in 2012 will have his day in the highest court in the land, after the U.S. Supreme Court agreed today to hear his appeal. [More]
Bay Area’s Disabled Say BART Still Filthy, Unusable After All These Years
By 4.5.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
Twenty years after a federal court ordered the Bay Area Rapid Transit system, serving San Francisco and Oakland to make trains — and their stations, entries, and elevators — cleaner and more accessible for people with mobility issues, disabled rights groups say BART has either failed to live up to its obligations or backslid, resulting in a system that is “effectively unusable” for some. [More]
5 Things We Learned About Sexual Harassment & Discrimination Claims Against Kay Jewelers, Jared
By 2.28.17
A year after Sterling Jewelers’ Kay Jewelers found itself on the receiving end of thousands of complaints from customers alleging the company swapped out their diamonds for fake ones, hundreds of employees are alleging they were victims of sexual harassment and discrimination at Kay and Jared the Galleria of Jewelry. [More]
State Supreme Court Rules Flower Shop Owner Discriminated Against Same-Sex Couple
By 2.16.17
Back in 2013, Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed a consumer protection lawsuit on behalf of a same-sex couple who claimed their longtime friend and florist refused to provide the flowers for their wedding because of their sexual orientation. Today, that case is being put to rest as the Washington state Supreme Court upheld a lower court’s decision that the florist’s actions violated state laws. [More]
Lawsuit Claims Jewel-Osco Discriminates Against Older Employees
By 1.19.17
Age is just a number, unless that number is used by an employer to discriminate against you, which is why four current and former employees of Jewel-Osco are suing the supermarket chain. [More]
Delta Air Lines To Provide Diversity Training To All Employees
By 1.17.17
Between removing unruly or disruptive passengers from flights to denying boarding to travelers with service animals, the way in which airline employees handle tense situations with consumers has come to the forefront. Today, Delta Air Lines announced it would better prepare its employees for these encounters with diversity training. [More]
Airbnb Updates Rental Policy In Effort To Fight Discrimination By Hosts
By 9.8.16
In an effort to ensure that anyone who wants to rent a place to stay through Airbnb can do so without fear of being rejected based on their race, religion, gender, ethnicity, age, or disability, the company has updated its short-term rental policy to add some new anti-discrimination measures. [More]
Study: The “Better” Walmarts Are In Higher-Income, Whiter Areas
By 8.31.16
All Walmarts are, bluntly, not created equal. Some have better customer service than others and are just plain more pleasant shopping experiences. And if you’ve felt like the Walmarts in richer ZIP codes are more likely to be the nicer ones, well, one study says you’re right. [More]
Fertility Patients Say NJ Insurance Law Discriminates Against Lesbian Couples
By 8.8.16
New Jersey is one of 15 states that requires health insurance plans to cover fertility treatment. However, the regulations say that a female patient is considered medically “infertile” only after one or two years of unprotected sexual intercourse, depending on her age. Otherwise, insurance won’t cover it. Same-sex couples say that this requirement is discriminatory, and two couples are suing their state’s commissioner of Banking and Insurance over the definition. [More]
Muslim Passengers Report Being Removed From Recent Delta, American Flights
By 8.5.16
Recently, two sets of Muslim American travelers have reported being removed from Delta Air Lines and American Airlines flights after flight crew in both incidents said they felt uncomfortable. [More]
Noodles & Company Apologizes After Police Officer Denied Service At DC-Area Restaurant
By 7.27.16
Noodles & Company has apologized after a uniformed police officer said she was denied service at a D.C.-area location, saying the company does not “tolerate any form of discrimination.” [More]
Airbnb Enlists Former U.S. Attorney General To Address Discrimination
By 7.21.16
Airbnb has a zero tolerance policy for discrimination of any kind, but that hasn’t stopped some hosts from refusing to rent their homes to consumers based on race or sexual orientation. In order to address these issues, Airbnb has now begun to review its policies, enlisting the help of former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder. [More]
Deaf Customer Sues Taco Bell For Discrimination, Claims She Was Denied Service
By 7.15.16
A New Jersey woman is suing Taco Bell for discrimination, claiming that she was denied service at two separate drive-thru locations because she’s deaf. [More]
Police: Uber Driver Arrested For Refusing To Transport Group Of Blind People With Service Dogs
By 7.7.16
Uber has been called out in the past by blind customers and advocacy groups for the blind for drivers who refused to transport service animals, settling a lawsuit over that issue in May with the company promising to take steps to prevent such discrimination. But it seems some drivers still don’t understand that they’re required to accept service animals, with police in Orlando arresting an Uber driver who allegedly drove away from blind passengers with guide dogs. [More]
Couple Claims Inn Wouldn’t Allow A Non-Religious Wedding Ceremony
By 5.25.16
We’ve heard of disputes alleging religious discrimination by businesses against customers, but often those situations involve the customer having a religious belief or view, instead of the absence of religion altogether. That’s the issue at hand in a charge leveled on behalf of a Wisconsin couple filed against an Illinois inn that they claim wouldn’t let them hold a non-religious wedding ceremony. [More]
