New York Paralegal Blog

JONESBORO, Ark. – AT&T d/b/a Southwestern Bell Telephone Company (AT&T) violated federal law by discharging Antonnett Johnson because of her sex (female), race (black), and in retaliation for her complaints of discriminatory treatment by co-workers and customers, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit it filed today.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- New Prime, Inc., one the nation’s largest trucking companies, violated federal law by discriminating against female truck driver applicants when it required that they be trained by female trainers only, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit it filed today.

Director of Spiritual Care Terminated Black Female Employee While Giving Progressive Discipline to White Males, Federal Agency Says MILWAUKEE - Aurora Health Care, a not for profit health care provider operating facilities in eastern Wisconsin and northern Illinois, violated the law when it failed to meaningfully investigate an employee’s claims of harassment and race discrimination, retaliated against the employee for using the company’s internal complaint system, and ultimately fired the employee after she filed a charge of discrimination, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit filed today.

DETROIT - TSW Management, Inc, an owner of several Burger King restaurants in the Metro Detroit area, violated Title VII by subjected a class of female employees to pervasive sexual harassment and retaliation, 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 ...

WASHINGTON – The Justice Department today filed suit against Rawland Leon Sorensen, the owner and manager of more than 50 residential rental properties in Bakersfield, Calif., alleging a pattern or practice of sexual harassment in violation of the Fair Housing Act. The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, alleges that Sorensen sexually harassed female tenants by making unwelcome sexual comments and advances; exposing his genitals to female tenants; touching tenants without their consent; granting and denying housing benefits based on sex; and taking adverse action against women who refused his sexual advances. Sorensen has operated his rental business for more than 30 years.

WASHINGTON – The Justice Department announced that it has filed a lawsuit today against the commonwealth of Massachusetts and its Department of Corrections (MDOC), alleging that they engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination against female applicants for entry-level correctional officer positions, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended. Title VII is a federal statute that prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin and religion. The department’s complaint, filed in federal court in Boston, alleges that Massachusetts and the MDOC are using an unlawful physical abilities test (PAT) that disproportionately screens out female applicants for entry-level correctional officer jobs, resulting in a significant disparate impact against female applicants. According to the complaint, in 2007 and 2008, female applicants for the entry-level jobs of correctional officer and correctional program officer passed the PAT at...

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today announced a class litigation settlement under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act for one half million dollars and significant remedial relief in a case against Fire Mountain Restaurants LLC, doing business as Ryan’s Family Steakhouse (Ryan’s). According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, filed in September 2008 in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky, Paducah Division (Civil Action No. 5:08-cv-00160-TBR), Ryan’s subjected black and female employees to a sex-based and race-based hostile work environment, as well as adverse terms and conditions of employment. In some instances, black workers were terminated because of their race. The EEOC charged that white employees were also harassed because of their association with black coworkers and family members. The mistreatment included being referred to as “n----r lovers” and “race traitors” by white managers. The EEOC also asserted that female workers were harassed because o...

NEW YORK – The New York State Department of Correctional Services will pay nearly $1 million to settle a sex discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, the two offices announced today. The EEOC and the United States had charged the Corrections Department with violating federal law by providing inferior benefits to female employees on maternity leave. The EEOC suit, filed under the Equal Pay Act of 1963 (Case No. 07-CV-2587 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York), charged that the Corrections Department gave male employees with work-related injuries up to six months of paid workers’ compensation leave. Female employees could be granted the same leave, but pregnant employees on such leave were involuntarily switched to maternity leave at or around the time they gave birth. The Corrections Department’s maternity leave policy requires that women first use their a...