New York Paralegal Blog

Hey everyone, your New York Paralegal Blog is buzzing with some major legal news! French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte Macron, have officially filed a defamation lawsuit against American political commentator Candace Owens. What's This All About? The lawsuit, just filed in a Delaware state court, centers on claims Owens has repeatedly made, including in an eight-part podcast series, that Brigitte Macron was born biologically male. The Macrons allege that these statements are not only false but also part of a deliberate campaign by Owens to promote her platform, gain notoriety, and make money. Why Are They Suing Now? The Macrons claim that Owens' commentary has led to "relentless bullying on a worldwide scale" and caused them significant distress. Their legal team asserts that they repeatedly tried to get Owens to retract her statements, even providing evidence to disprove her claims, but she continued to spread the information. They are ...

TAMPA, Fla. – SunTrust Banks, Inc., one of the nation’s largest providers of financial services, violated federal law when a branch manager sexually harassed three female employees at its Sarasota, Fla., Gulf Gate Branch Office location, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit filed today.

NEW YORK – Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman and the City of New York today filed a lawsuit against the Bank of New York Mellon (BNY Mellon) for defrauding clients in foreign currency exchange transactions. The lawsuit seeks to recover the profits BNY Mellon illegally earned by deceiving its customer. The victims include both public and private pension funds, including those of the New York City Employee Retirement System (NYCERS) and the State University of New York.

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Bojangles’ Restaurants, Inc. violated federal law by subjecting female employees to a sexually hostile work environment at one of its corporate-owned restaurants, and by firing one woman who complained about the sexual harassment, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit filed today. The restaurant involved in the lawsuit is located in Greensboro, N.C.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A Gastonia, N.C., restaurant violated federal law by subjecting a female employee to a sexually hostile work environment that caused her to quit her job, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit filed today.

PORTLAND, ORE. – Fred Meyer Stores, Inc., a grocery chain employing more than 30,000, violated federal law when it failed to stop a customer from sexually harassing several female employees, the U.S Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit filed today. According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, female employees at Fred Meyer’s Oak Grove store in Milwaukie, Ore., were sexually harassed by a customer who visited the store almost daily, and often several times a day, since at least 2007. He would sit by the employee time clock in order to pull women onto his lap as they walked past to punch in. He would also rub up against female workers, giving unwanted hugs and groping their bodies, the EEOC said. When they protested, the customer would smirk or make comments such as, “That’s what they’re there for,” indicating the employee’s breasts. Despite numerous complaints by the staff, the EEOC said, Fred Meyer managers excused the customer’s offensive behavior ...

SAN DIEGO — Retail giant Target Corporation will pay $160,000 to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today. The EEOC had charged that Target refused to provide a reasonable accommodation for a cart attendant with cerebral palsy at its Foothill Ranch store in Orange County, Calif. According to the EEOC’s suit, Target hired Jeremy Schott in 2002 as a part-time stocker. By 2003, he was dubbed the “Target Hero of the Month” and transferred to a cart attendant position at his request, according to the EEOC. Schott suffers from cerebral palsy, limited intellectual functioning and a seizure disorder. His disabilities require that he be reminded to do certain tasks and that a job coach assist at times with his duties and job-related meetings. However, the EEOC said that Schott was able to perform the essential functions of the job with the accommodation of a job coach. The EEOC’s suit charged that...

WASHINGTON – The Justice Department announced today that it has sued the Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corporation (MGIC), the nation’s largest mortgage insurance company, and two of its underwriters, Elgina Cunningham and Kelly Kane, for violating the Fair Housing Act by discriminating against women on paid maternity leave.     The suit, filed on July 5, 2011, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, alleges that MGIC required women on paid maternity leave to return to work before the company would insure their mortgages. Most mortgage lenders require applicants seeking to borrow more than 80 percent of their home’s value to obtain mortgage insurance, meaning MGIC’s denials to women on maternity leave could cost those women the opportunity to obtain a home loan.   “No woman should be denied the opportunity to receive a mortgage loan simply because she has just given birth,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General ...

HOUSTON – Dillard’s, a major department store chain, violated federal law by firing a business manager as retaliation for filing a discrimination charge, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit it filed today. According to the EEOC’s suit, Shontel Mayfield worked at the Dillard’s store in the Central Mall in Port Arthur, Texas. In September 2008, Mayfield complied with a Jefferson County mandatory evacuation order and evacuated the area in advance of Hurricane Ike. Mayfield returned to Jefferson County consistent with the directives of the county’s “disaster declarations.” After Mayfield returned to work on Sept. 24, she was called into the store manager’s office the next day and advised by the store manager and the assistant store manager / operations manager that she was being fired for the stated reason of “excessive absenteeism.” On her termination paperwork, Mayfield was accused of having “failed to maintain verbal communication concerning ...

INDIANAPOLIS – WBS Broad Ripple, Inc., doing business as the Wild Beaver Saloon in Indianapolis, unlawfully fired a female bartender/server because of her pregnancy, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit it filed March 16, 2011. The suit, EEOC v. WBS Broad Ripple, Inc., d/b/a Wild Beaver Saloon, Civil Action No. 1:11-cv-00373-TWP-DML, filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis Division, charged that the company violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination based on sex, including pregnancy.

EEOC Obtains Restraining Order to Protect Witnesses YAKIMA, Wash. – One of the largest apple producers in the United States has been placed under a temporary restraining order (TRO) filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today. The federal agency was motivated by the immediate danger of “substantial and irreparable injury” to class members and potential witnesses in the EEOC’s sexual harassment suit against Cowiche, Wash.-based Evans Fruit Company, which was filed at the same time as the agency’s TRO request. U.S. District Court Judge Lonny R. Suko has ordered the company and all its agents to stop all retaliatory activity against those involved and those who may become involved in the lawsuit. Under the terms of the TRO, Evans Fruit supervisors -- including Juan Marin, Alberto “Camello” Sanchez, and Simon Ramirez -- must avoid further contact with class members and potential witnesses. They must immediately cease any attempts to in...

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Sterling Jewelers Inc., the largest specialty retail jeweler in the country, violated federal law by discriminating against a large class of female employees at stores nationwide, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charges in a systemic lawsuit filed yesterday under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. In its suit, the EEOC asserts that Sterling Jewelers pays its female retail sales employees less than male employees performing equal work and denies female employees promotional opportunities for which they are qualified. Sterling Jewelers intentionally discriminates against female retail sales employees by maintaining a system for making promotion and compensation decisions that is excessively subjective, and through which Sterling Jewelers has permitted or encouraged managers to deny female employees equal access to promotion opportunities and the same compensation paid to similarly situated male employees, the EEOC states in its suit. More...