Prospective home buyers may need to pony up more cash up front to secure a mortgage if they are looking to buy in one of hundreds of zip codes that lenders now consider “soft markets.” Countrywide and GMAC recently ranked over 1,000 zip codes on a risk scale of 1-5. Lenders to moderate risk zip codes, ranked 1-3, may require borrowers to pay an additional 5% down payment. Unlucky buyers in high risk zip codes, ranked 4 or 5, are now automatically required to put down the extra 5%.
discrimination
Do Coffee Shops Discriminate Against Women?
By 11.12.07
We’ll make this brief so we can jump right into the heated comments: an economist and her research assistants studied eight different Boston coffee shops and found that, on average, women had to wait about 20 seconds longer to be served. She controlled for drink types and the discrepancy remained. What’s more, “The delays facing women were larger when the coffee shop staff was all-male and almost vanished when the servers were all-female.”
Did Rite-Aid Kick Out A Gay Couple For Hugging?
By 11.2.07
Washington, D.C. is actually a pretty gay-friendly place—hell, even a few closeted types seem to find a way to make a living there. (Just a few.) But in early October a gay couple was thrown out of a Rite-Aid a few blocks away from the city’s traditional gay neighborhood for allegedly hugging each other in the store. According to them, while they were shopping, one of them hugged the other one from behind, and the store manager ran up and shouted, “Get out! Get out!” A few seconds later, the security guard told them they had to leave, although he said he didn’t know the reason why. The manager, Denny Getachew, won’t comment, and Rite Aid spokesperson told the local gay magazine, “We are looking into this matter, and we will take disciplinary action if need be.”
Jury Awards Walmart Pharmacist $2 Million In Sex-Discrimination Suit
By 6.21.07
A Massachusetts jury has awarded a former Walmart employee almost $2 million dollars after finding that the company underpaid her, then fired her as a result of gender discrimination, according to Reuters.
“We respect the jury’s decision but we feel that it did not reflect the facts in the case, so we are studying the decision and have not ruled out an appeal,” said Wal-Mart spokesman John Simley, in a phone interview on Wednesday. “Ms. Haddad was dismissed because of numerous violations of company policy.”
"Security Mostly Follows Black People" Disgruntled Target Worker Alleges
By 6.13.07
UPDATE: A current Target employee rebuts these statements, inside…
Religion On The Job
By 4.4.07
The law on this is Title VII of the U.S. Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits religious discrimination in the workplace. It requires employers to make “reasonable accommodations” for an employee’s religious beliefs — “reasonable” being anything that doesn’t create an “undue hardship” on the employer or on co-workers.
We think it’s great and wonderful and amazing that companies make these accommodations, but retailers should probably make sure there’s at least one friendly atheistic heathen-type cashier available at all times. Otherwise, at which register would we buy that gun that shoots pork-based birth control? —MEGHANN MARCO
NYC Mayor Bloomberg Calls For Boycott Of Shady Chinese Restaurant
By 3.1.07
The Chinese restaurant accused of discriminating in favor of customers who speak Chinese has irked Mayor Bloomberg. “If nobody goes to that restaurant, then they won’t make any money and they’ll go out of business,” Bloomberg told the Daily News.
Charged Extra For Not Speaking Chinese?
By 2.26.07
David Lopez, a visitor from Wisconsin, contacted the commission after eating at the restaurant with several friends last October.
Geico is a Snob?
By 3.22.06
GEICO was accused Monday of tying education and occupation to auto insurance rates, a policy that may discriminate against minorities and lower-income workers.
Victoria’s Secret to Customers: “Your Breasts Are Too Large To Shop Here”
By 1.23.06
This just in. Victoria’s Secret is launching a systematic attack of intimidation, isolation and humiliation… on women with enormous cans.
