New York Paralegal Blog

Insurance Company Fired Employee for Filling Out EEOC Questionnaire, Federal Agency Charged NEW YORK -- Sterling and Sterling, Inc., an insurance company on Long Island, New York, will pay $120,000 to settle a lawsuit for retaliation filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the agency announced today.

Power Supplier Fired Jehovah’s Witness for Wanting One Day Off to Attend Religious Convention, Federal Agency Charges FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Ozarks Electric Cooperative Corporation, an electric power supplier located in Fayetteville, Ark., violated federal law by firing an employee because of her religious practices, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit it filed today.

Despite Earlier Consent Decree Barring Religious Discrimination and Retaliation, Security Guard Fired After Complaining of Coworker’s Threat, Federal Agency Charges NEW YORK – Grand Central Partnership, Inc. (GCP), a not-for-profit developer of real estate, offices, and facilities around the Grand Central Terminal area in New York, violated a consent decree and committed new illegal acts when it fired a black Rastafarian security officer in retaliation for his complaints about threats of violence and racism, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit filed Friday.

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.

SAN FRANCISCO – Clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch violated federal law when it fired a Muslim employee for wearing a hijab (religious head scarf), the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a workplace discrimination lawsuit filed today. According to the EEOC’s suit, in October 2009, Umme-Hani Khan, a 19-year-old Muslim woman, started working at the Hollister store (an Abercrombie & Fitch brand targeting teenagers aged 14 through 18) at the Hillsdale Shopping Center in San Mateo, Calif. As an “impact associate,” she worked primarily in the stockroom. At first she was asked to wear headscarves in Hollister colors, which she agreed to do. However, in mid-February, she was informed that her hijab violated Abercrombie’s “look policy,” an internal dress code, and was told she would be taken off schedule unless she removed her headscarf while at work. According to the EEOC, Khan was fired on Feb. 23, 2010, for refusing to take off the hijab...

El Paso Café Refused Reasonable Accommodation and Fired Barista Due to Dwarfism, Federal Agency Charges EL PASO — Starbucks Coffee Company violated federal law by denying a reasonable accommodation to a barista with dwarfism at its El Paso café and then firing her because of her disability, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit it filed today. According to the EEOC’s suit, Elsa Sallard has a physical impairment, dwarfism. She was hired by Starbucks to work in a customer service position July 2009, but was only allowed to train for 3 days before she was fired. The job description for the barista position stated that no prior experience was required. Soon after being hired by Starbucks, Sallard asked to use a stool or small stepladder to perform the essential functions of preparing orders and serving customers at the counter. Starbucks disregarded Sallard’s request and refused to consider her use of a stool or stepladder, the EEOC said. On the s...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- A Frankfort, Ky., restaurant has settled a pregnancy discrimination lawsuit filed by the U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today. According to the EEOC’s suit, Jim’s Seafood Restaurant unlawfully fired a server because she was pregnant, and forced another pregnant server out of her job. Discrimination because of pregnancy violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended by the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, and Title I of the Civil Rights Act of 1991. The EEOC filed the suit (Civil Action No. 3:10-cv-00043) in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process. The parties negotiated a consent decree which provides the employees with back pay and provides for injuctive relief in the form of training and an agreement not to discriminate or retaliate further under Title VII and the Pregnancy Discrimination Act. ...

LOS ANGELES – Adam Brothers Farming, Inc., a farm in Santa Maria, Calif., that harvests and cans vegetables, will pay $27,500 and furnish other relief to settle a federal sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on behalf of a teen Latina female, the agency announced today. The victim, a former vegetable packer, initially worked for Adam Brothers without incident in 2004 and 2005, according to the EEOC. Upon return to work in 2006, a male supervisor immediately began sexually harassing the teen by brushing his body against her backside, making lewd gestures with his tongue, asking to perform oral sex on her, and ultimately grabbing her private parts, the EEOC said. The teen reported the harassment to a foreman and was subsequently transferred, disciplined and fired within two weeks of complaint in June 2006. The EEOC contends that the harasser also threatened other workers by stating that the victim’s friends would pay...

ATLANTA – Integrated Broadband Services, a provider of operational support software and back office services deployed by cable and broadband operators worldwide, will pay $60,000 to settle a race and national origin discrimination lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today. In its lawsuit, filed on Sept. 28, 2010, in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Division (Case No.: 1:10-CV-03106), the EEOC charged that a black Tanzanian network analyst was fired for leaving work 30 minutes early. However, a similarly situated white network analyst received only a written discipline after leaving work two hours early, twice in one week.

HOUSTON – Two Dallas/Fort Worth-area transportation brokerage companies will pay $50,000 and provide additional remedial relief to settle a discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today. The EEOC had charged that Joshua Male’s employer unlawfully retaliated against him by firing him because he had complained about workplace comments being made by two coworkers at the Sugar Land, Texas facility where they worked. The EEOC’s lawsuit (Civil Action No. 4:09cv03142, in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division) asserted that in July 2008, Male complained to the human resources manager about persistent inappropriate jokes about Mormons, as well as workplace comments allegedly disparaging a pregnant female co-worker, women in general, and an African American. The HR manager reported Male's complaints to the general manager of the facility, and Male was fired within less than 72 hours.

EEOC Says Class of Disabled Employees Fired After Taking Medical Leaves of Absence CHICAGO - In a major class lawsuit filed here in federal court, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged that Atlanta-based United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS), the world's largest package delivery company, violated federal law by rejecting an extension of medical leave as a reasonable accommodation for its employees with disabilities. The EEOC's administrative investigation, conducted prior to filing the lawsuit and supervised by Chicago District Director John Rowe, found that UPS violated the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA). According to Rowe, Trudi Momsen, an administrative assistant at UPS, took a 12-month leave of absence from work when she began experiencing symptoms of what was later diagnosed as multiple sclerosis. She returned to work for a few weeks, but soon thereafter needed additional time off after experiencing what she believed to be negative side eff...