All over the country right now, working mothers of young children are in their offices, cubicles, break rooms, parked cars, or other spot in their workplace, pumping breast milk for later use. However, flight attendants for Frontier Airlines say they have been barred from pumping while on the clock. [More]
eeoc
Owner Of Zales, Jared, And Kay Jewelers Settles Charges It Discriminated Against Female Workers
By 5.5.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
While a class-action arbitration case involving hundreds of female workers against Sterling Jewelers is slated to go to trial this fall, the company has settled federal civil charges accusing it of sexual bias against female employees. [More]
Government Accuses Walmart Of Illegally Firing Worker With Down Syndrome
By 1.19.17
The federal government has accused Walmart of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act by firing an employee with Down Syndrome who could not adjust to having her schedule changed after 15 years on the job. [More]
World Cup Champ Women’s Soccer Players Accuse U.S. Soccer Federation Of Wage Discrimination
By 3.31.16
While the women on the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team have outshone the men’s team — winning three World Cup championships since 1991 and gold medals in all but one of the Summer Olympics since 1994 — they remain significantly underpaid than their underperforming male counterparts. Today, five members of that championship team filed an action with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, alleging that the U.S. Soccer Federation is unfairly discriminating against female players. [More]
Abercrombie & Fitch Lawsuit That Isn’t Really About Hijabs Presented To Supreme Court
By 2.26.15
Five years ago, a teen applied for a job at a store selling clothes for a children’s clothing store that is part of the Abercrombie & Fitch brand. She wore a hijab, a headcovering that many female Muslims wear, and said that she would continue to wear it to work. This week, her case is before the U.S. Supreme Court, asking an odd question: does a job applicant need to specify that they’re wearing a religious garment or accessory for religious reasons? [More]
Kmart To Pay $102K For Refusing To Hire Dialysis Patient Who Couldn’t Give Urine Sample
By 1.29.15
Kmart must pay $102,000 to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on behalf of a Maryland man who says the company reneged on a job offer when he couldn’t provide a urine sample for a drug test because of his kidney disease and dialysis. [More]
EEOC Lawsuit Accuses Papa John’s Pizza Of Firing Worker With Down Syndrome
By 9.29.14
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says it’s filed a lawsuit against Papa John’s Pizza, accusing the company of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act after firing a worker in Utah with Down syndrome. [More]
DSW Will Pay $900,000 Former Workers To Settle Age Discrimination Lawsuit
By 9.22.14
Shoe retailer DSW is on the line for $900,000 after agreeing to settle an age discrimination lawsuit brought by former employees, who said the company fired older workers just because of their ages. And if other employees refused to fire workers based on their age, the plaintiffs claimed DWS retaliated against them as well. [More]
How To Answer Rude (But Perfectly Legal) Personal Questions At A Job Interview
By 8.11.14
Job interviews are a nerve-wracking experience. And while we’re all prepared to answer, “What’s your biggest weakness?” or “Tell me about a time you made a mistake at work,” most of us aren’t expecting to hear, “Are you planning to become pregnant?” or “Where do you go to church?” or, “What country were your parents born in?” Such incredibly personal questions are often jarring and possible deal-breakers for some applicants. Many people think it’s illegal to be asked these kinds of questions, but in most cases it’s not against the law to ask — it’s just illegal to use that information as the deciding factor in whether or not to hire someone. So the next time you’re hunting for a job, here’s what you need to know about what your next boss can and can’t ask you — and what you can do about it if things get weird. [More]
EEOC Updates Rules Protecting Pregnant Workers For First Time In 30 Years
By 7.17.14
It’s been three decades since the last time the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission adjusted its rules protecting women in the workplace who are pregnant, might get pregnant in the future or have ever been pregnant in the past. This week the EEOC released updated rules against pregnancy discrimination, saying it’s against the law. [More]
Son Of McDonald’s Franchisee Says Dad Made Employee Send Texts To Prostitutes
By 10.10.13
In one of the more bizarre stories I’ve come across in recent memory, the son of a McDonald’s franchisee in Pennsylvania has accused his father of indulging in various forms of sexual harassment, including telling an employee to help him text prostitutes. [More]
Report: Employers Find Innovative Ways To Discriminate Against Pregnant Workers
By 6.19.13
Being pregnant isn’t a protected disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act, but a 1978 law does specifically prohibit discriminating against pregnant workers. Women generally aren’t forced out of their jobs once their pregnancy becomes visible like they were in past decades, but that doesn’t mean that no one ever loses her job (and her health insurance) right at a time when she really needs it. [More]
Turkey Plant Ordered To Pay Mentally Disabled Workers $240M After Years Of Awful Conditions
By 5.2.13
An Iowa jury recently handed down what could be the largest verdict in the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s history, including a judge’s order that a turkey plant must pay 32 mentally disabled men $240 million. The jury found that Henry’s Turkey Service had violated the Americans with Disabilities Act in paying the workers $0.41 an hour while reportedly making them live in awful conditions and subjecting them to physical abuse and neglect. [More]
EEOC Investigating Coffee Chain For Alleged 'Hot Chicks Only' Hiring Policy
By 5.29.12
A food-service business that only hires attractive young women for customer-facing jobs? Gasp! Who can imagine such a thing? But that’s what Boston-based chain Marylou’s Coffee has been accused of, and the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has taken notice. They’re conducting an investigation to see whether otherwise qualified uglies, oldies, and fatties are being passed over for jobs at Marylou’s. [More]
Diabetic Walgreens Staffer: I Was Fired For Eating A $1.39 Bag Of Chips Before I Paid For Them
By 9.12.11
A former San Francisco-area Walgreens worker with diabetes says she was fired from her job of nearly two decades because, feeling a hypoglycemic attacking coming, she chose to eat a $1.39 bag of potato chips before she had the chance to pay for them. [More]
Starbucks Pays $75,000 To Settle EEOC Lawsuit Over Barista With Dwarfism
By 8.18.11
Here’s an update to a story we brought you in May about a lawsuit brought against Starbucks by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on behalf of a former barista with dwarfism who claimed she was fired during her training period after she requested the use of a step-stool or stepladder because of her small stature. Starbucks announced today that it has agreed to pay $75,000 to settle the issue. [More]
