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News Related to Equal Employment Opportunity

EEO/iNews = News Related to Equal Employment Opportunity
Source: iNews © 2009 John D. Sargent, All Rights Reserved
__________________________________________

EEO/iNews provides weekly links to Internet news related to employment discrimination based on race, sex, color, religion, national origin, age, disability, retaliation, FRD and LGBT. Some links may have expired or require sign-up or subscription.

EEO/iNews is a free publication of EEO Services by John D. ?Jack? Sargent. Mr. Sargent retired as a Supervisory Trial Attorney from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in 2004. EEO/iNews is not a publication of the EEOC. Mr. Sargent is not associated with the EEOC. This is information, not legal advice. Please do not rely on EEO/iNews for analysis of any issue. We are not responsible for news content. Some links may have expired or require sign-up or subscription. Mr. Sargent is not compensated for news connected to a service or product. Mr. Sargent relies on free Internet sources for EEO/iNEWS. EEO/iNEWS contents do not necessarily reflect the views of Mr. Sargent.

Please direct corrections, comments, questions, subscription requests and inquiries to Mr. Sargent at eeoinews@yahoo.com. Corrections will be published as soon as practicable
Providing links to Internet news related to employment discrimination based on race, sex, color, religion, national origin, age, disability, retaliation, FRD and LGBT. Some links may have expired or require sign-up or subscription.

Links are sorted by
Ø U.S. Supreme Court
Ø Federal Appellate Court Decisions
Ø State Roundup
Ø Topical
Ø Articles/Reports/Books
Ø Foreign Spotlight

To begin, scan the link descriptions below and click.

U.S. Supreme Court

Ø Public Citizen?s most recent Sup Ct Watch list here
Ø SCOTUSblog?s most recent Petitions to Watch here
Ø Ross Runkel?s US Sup Ct Employment Law Cases ? Pending & decided here

Petition for Cert Granted:

Decided

Crawford v. Metro Gov't of Nashville & Davidson County, No. 06-1595
Title VII/retaliation: (From SCOTUSwiki): The Court unanimously concluded that the ordinary meaning of ?oppose? includes giving a ?disapproving account? of unlawful behavior, even if the employee takes no further action on her own to seek to stop or remedy the conduct. Accepting the rule set forth in the EEOC?s Compliance Manual, the Court concluded that ?When an employee communicates to her employer a belief that the employer has engaged in . . . a form of employment discrimination, that communication virtually always constitutes the employee?s opposition to the activity.? The Court held open the possibility of ?eccentric cases? in which the employee makes clear his approval of the conduct in conveying the information (for example, describing a racist joke as hilarious probably wouldn?t count as opposing the joke-telling).
Ø January 26, 2009 decision here
Ø SCOTUS docket here
Ø SCOTUSwiki here

14 Penn Plaza LLC v. Pyett, No. 07-581
Enforceability of collectively bargained arbitration clause
(From SCOTUSwiki): Justice Thomas?s majority opinion held that nothing in either the National Labor Relations Act, which controls collective bargaining agreements made on behalf of union members, or the ADEA forbids unions from mandating arbitration to resolve statutory discrimination claims. The majority touted the importance of allowing parties to bargain contractually for exchanges of rights and responsibilities, and it noted that courts should generally not interfere in this process. According to the majority, ?[t]he decision to fashion a [collective bargaining agreement] to require arbitration of employment-discrimination claims is no different from the many other decisions made by parties in designing grievance machinery.?
Ø April 1, 2009 decision here
Ø SCOTUS docket here
Ø SCOTUSwiki here
Ø Noted here: Business Insurance

Argued - Awaiting Decision

AT&T v. Hulteen, No. 07-543
Title VII/Denial of pre-?79 pregnancy leave service credits in computing pension
Ø December 10, 2008 Argument Transcript here
Ø SCOTUS docket here
Ø SCOTUSwiki here
Ø Noted here: Work Place Prof Blog and Ross Runkel, each noting post-argument briefs on the effect of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act on the case

Gross v. FBL Fin. Servs, No. 08-441
ADEA/Must a plaintiff present direct evidence of discrimination in order to obtain a mixed-motive instruction in a non-Title VII discrimination case?
Ø March 31, 2009 Argument Transcript here
Ø SCOTUS docket here
Ø SCOTUSwiki here

Ricci v. Destefano, No. 07-1428 and 08-328
Title VII/Whether municipalities may decline to certify results of an exam that would make disproportionately more white applicants eligible for promotion than minority applicants, due to fears that certifying the results would lead to charges of racial discrimination
Ø April 22, 2009 Argument Transcript here
Ø SCOTUS docket here
Ø SCOTUSwiki here
Ø Cornell Law School/LII here
Ø Noted here: SCOTUSblog (argument recap); Jackson Lewis; VDARE (time to abandon the 4/5ths rule); Jennifer Foster; George Will; Hartford Courant; Paragould Daily Press; Workforce Management; FindLaw; WSJ Blog; A DC Observer

Selected Cases Pending Cert:

Grubb v. Southwest Airlines, No. 08-873*
ADA
Ø SCOTUS docket here
> Petition Denied April 20, 2009

Lewis v. Chicago, No. 08-974
TVII - Timeliness
See issue description at Public Citizen
Ø SCOTUS docket here

Oakley v. City of Memphis, No. 08-744
T VII
See issue description at Public Citizen:
Ø SCOTUS docket here

Baxter v. Healthcare Corp., No. 08-960
TVII
See issue description at Public Citizen
Ø SCOTUS docket here

McKnight v. Gen. Motors Corp., No. 08-1113
ADA
See issue description at Public Citizen
Ø SCOTUS docket here

Adam v. Salazar, No. 08-1097
ADEA
See issue description at Public Citizen
Ø SCOTUS docket here

Federal Appellate Court Decisions

Ø Paul Mollica?s Daily Developments in EEO Law here

3rd Circuit
Ø Donlin v. Philips Elec. North America Corp., No. 07-4060 (3rd Cir. Apr. 23, 2009)
Affirming Jury?s finding of liability on fem?s gender/failure-to-hire claim; affirming denial of punitive damages; $164K+ in comps vacated and remanded

4th Circuit

Ø Townsend v. Shook, No.07-2188 (4th Cir. Apr. 24, 2009)(Unpub)
Affirming dismissal of fem Chief Deputy Sheriff?s T7 gender and harass/discharge claim because she fell under Title 7?s exclusion of protection for the personal staff of an elected official. [Ed.: Court notes that the decision is without prejudice to her right to pursue claims under GERA ? the Government Employee Rights Act of 1991; for more on GERA see 29 CFR 1603 here]

Ø Purchase v. Astrue, No. 08-1443 (4th Cir. Apr. 28, 2009)(Unpub)
Affirming dismissal of Black fem?s race-based training, discipline and termination claims

5th Circuit
Ø Parker v. St. of Louisiana DOE, No. 08-30984 (5th Cir. Apr.23, 2009)(Unpub)
Reversing dismissal of Black CI Special Ed Teacher?s race and retaliation/termination claim, but affirming dismissal of race-based HWE claim; award of atty fees to defendant reversed

6th Circuit
Ø Hollimon v. Shelby County, No. 08-6035 (6th Cir. Apr. 28, 2009)(Unpub)
Affirming bench verdict on minority fem cop?s pro se race and retaliation/discharge claim

Ø Hendricks v. Office of the Clermont County Sheriff, No. 06-4431 (6th Cir. Apr. 28, 2009)(Unpub)
Affirming JV for fem on her retaliation/discharge etc claim

9thCircuit
Ø Gerving v. Opbiz, LLC, No. 07-16822 (9th Cir. Apr. 29, 2009)(Unpub)
Stepmom flips dismissal of her gender, retaliation/discharge claim, citing supervisor?s statements of working mom animus
> Noted here: Alaska Employment Law

10th Circuit
Ø Turner v. Pub. Serv. Co. of Colo., No. 07-1396 (10th Cir. Apr. 28, 2009)
Affirming dismissal of fem applicant?s gender/failure-to-hire claim

Commentary on previously reported Federal Appellate Court decisions

> 1st Cir.
Ø When Working Parents Face Discrimination For Having ?Full Plates?
Ø Working Mother's "sex-plus" Nonpromotion Claim Is Viable
Chadwick v Wellpoint, Inc

> 7th Cir.
Ø Conditional Admission Of ?Cat?s Paw? Evidence Of Discrimination
Staub v. Proctor Hospital

> 8th Cir.
Ø Employee Who Has Cancer Is Not ?Qualified' for Job
Peyton v. Fred's Stores of Arkansas

> 10th Cir.
Ø Title VII v. the First Amendment
Avila v. Jostens Inc.

State Roundup

AZ
Ø NEWS
· Booneville invited by EEOC to submit additional information regarding a complaint filed by former police department dispatcher

CA
Ø DECIDED
· [4-23] St Ct App: Affirming JV for terminated fem bakery truck driver on her gender/pregnancy + claims and $340K+ comps; $2M puns; $1M+ atty fees; noted here
Ø FILED
· [4-24] Lost fem crewmember sues ABC etc for sex harass by Henry Ian Cusick
· [4-27] Fem admin asst accepts Isleton City?s offer of $100K judgment in sex harass/retal/defamation suit
Ø NEWS
· Layoffs = increase in charges: Growing numbers of layoffs in Silicon Valley are driving a sharp increase in job discrimination charges.
· Newport Beach billed for $2.14M by attys for cop who earlier won $1.2M for promotion denial
· Transgender Discrimination Case Sets the Tone for Change

CO
Ø DECIDED
· [4-24] Jury Says: No to gender discrim but Yes to retaliation; awards $3M to ex-United fem ramp-services supervisor
Ø NEWS
· Playing Catch Up: Equal Pay Day in the Centennial State

CT
Ø DECIDED
· [4-27] Connecticut Supreme Court Dismisses Discrimination Claim (Yawn.)
Ø FILED
· White firefighters claim reverse discrim, sue Bridgeport; say that city rescored and reranked lieutenant promotion eligibility list to their detriment
Ø NEWS
· 3 fem cops? claims of sex harass and gender discrim vs New Britain PD pending before CHRO

DC
Ø DECIDED
· [4-29] Transgender woman, denied job at Library of Congress, awarded near $500K

FL
Ø NEWS
· Sex harass suit vs State Attorney?s Office left off ex-State Attorney Meadows for a good reason says Plaintiff?s attorney
· Equal Pay is Necessary: In Florida: In Florida, women's pay doesn't even measure up to the national average
· Recession, layoffs cause surge of workplace discrimination complaints
GA
Ø NEWS
· EEOC investigating McDuffie County sex harass/discrim charges

IL
Ø FILED
· [4-17] Fired Black Snapple worker sues for race discrimination
· McHenry Cnty asks for dismissal of ex-deputy?s disability (panic disorder)/discharge claim
· [4-24] Male student/employee sues Southern Illinois Univ for gender/discharge + retaliation; complaint here; more here
· Researcher Files Gender Discrimination Lawsuit Against University of Illinois at Chicago
Ø NEWS
· Illinois Supreme Court Applies Strict Liability To All Workplace Sexual Harassment By Supervisors
IN
Ø FILED
· [4-24] Black ex-Lake County Fairgrounds worker sues for race/failure-to-hire discrim; sez he was not re-hired in 2007 because of a "de facto policy" of discrimination against Black people

IA
Ø NEWS
· Guv signs legislation increasing damages that pay discrimination victims can receive from their employer.

LA
Ø NEWS
· [4-7] The ADA action shifts to reasonable accommodation; Picard v. St. Tammany Parish Hospital

ME
Ø FILED
· PharMerica sued by African immigrant pharmacy techs for discrim/harass/retal
Ø NEWS
· [4-17] Caregiver discrim bill gains committee approval

MD
Ø NEWS
· Judge Andre Davis tapped by Obama for 4th Cir. vacancy; ADA rights group opposed becuz he has a bias against workers with disabilities

MA
Ø DECIDED
· [4-24] Cambridge must pay $4.5M+ to Black fem frmr ee who was fired for complaining about race discrimination
Ø NEWS
· LGBT advocates fight back against ?bathroom bill? rhetoric
· MCAD Chairman Medley profiled
· Discrim suits by ex-fem associates are expected vs Bingham McCutchen and Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky & Popeo.

MI
Ø FILED
· [4-27] Detroit Councilwoman sued by White ex-ee for race discrim
Ø NEWS
· MI Democrats renew push for pay equity laws; more here
· Kalamazoo mulling protection for gays, lesbians, Transgenders; more here

MN
Ø DECIDED
· St Ct App: Trial court erred in certifying 3M age bias case

MS
Ø FILED
· Moss Point target of EEOC race discrim/retal charge by White cop denied promotions
Ø NEWS
· Black fem truck driver?s race/sex discrim + retal suit pends vs Yellow Roadway Express and Teamsters Local 891

NV
Ø DECIDED
· [4-27] Fem ex-Hard Rock ee takes $225K sex harass default vs Dennis Rodman; she settled earlier with the hotel

NH
Ø NEWS
· NH Senate votes not to add transgender bias to anti-discrimination law; more here

NJ
Ø NEWS
· [4-23] Senate panel votes NO on bill to expand Transgender rights; another view here

NY
Ø DECIDED
· [4-27] Fired Black fem atty loses her HWE + race/discharge claim vs State of NY; but First Amendment/retaliation claim survives for trial; decision here
Ø FILED
· [4-2] Ferguson v. Lander: Legitimate RIFs Do Not Insulate Employer from ADEA Liability
· Widow, 89, sues BJ's for age bias in firing
· [4-8] Laid off 58yo fem sues Cornell for age/gender discrim
Ø NEWS
· [4-23] Details Emerge in fem ex-Sheriff?s Exec Asst?s NYSDHR Sexual Harassment Case Against Tompkins County Sheriff; more here
· Fired fem Zales worker plans EEOC disability discrim charge; sez she was fired after disclosing need for aortic aneurysm surgery
· Wendy Williams, fem shock jock accused of sex harass, now suspended
· NY State Assembly Passes Transgender Antidiscrimination Bill
Ø SETTLED
· Report: Bear Stearns pays around $2M to settle sex harass claim vs Chair Greenberg

NC
Ø NEWS
· United Way of Central Carolinas? records subject of federal grand jury probe while EEOC race/sex/age/retaliation charge by ex-Chief pends
Ø SETTLED
· Tyndall Engineering and Design pays $10,250 to settle EEOC gender/discharge claim for fired fem

OH
Ø NEWS
· St Sup Ct to rule: Does pregnancy discrimination protect lactating women?
· Hearing underway in OSU Prof?s discrimination/denial-of-tenure claim

PA
Ø DECIDED
· [4-29] PHRC dismisses fem?s sex discrim + retal/discharge claims vs McDermitt Concrete Inc.
Ø FILED
· [4-28] Fired Black fem files multi-count suit vs Teletech claiming discrim in demotion/promotion/wages/discharge + failure to accommodate disability (claustrophobia)
Ø NEWS
· National Pay Equity Day, April 28: PHRC reminds PA employers that it is illegal to use race or gender as factors in determining what someone is paid.
· Antrim Township gets 30 extra days to reply to age/layoff discrim complaints filed w/ PHRC by 5 frmr ees

RI
Ø FILED
· [4-14] Fem Dunkin? Donuts ee files RICHR complaint; sez she was reprimanded for speaking Spanish w/her sister OTJ; owner apologizes here
Ø NEWS
· Fem sex harass victim wants to start non-profit to help others

TN
Ø FILED
· [4-21] St Ct App: Reporting supervisor's viewing of porn at work did not support retaliatory discharge claim; decision here
Ø NEWS
· Unsuccessful applicant settles pro-se Hispanic/failure- to-hire 3yo suit vs THP; writes book Politics vs. Prejudice in the Highway Patrol
Ø SETTLED
· [4-27] $70K settles EEOC religion discrim suit vs Southern Hills Medical Center for denying Muslim employee?s leave request for Mecca pilgrimage

TX
Ø DECIDED
· [4-27] Jury: No age or sex discrim in transfer of fem Dallas bomb squad head
Ø FILED
· [4-24] Highest ranking civilian fem sues Dallas Fire Rescue for outrageous, offensive and obscene HWE + retal; copy of 246 page lawsuit/ exhibits here; more here
· [4-24] Fired Black cousins sue A & L Industrial Services for race/wages + retaliation

UT
Ø DECIDED
· [4-24] St High Court: Workers' compensation cannot be reduced because of age; decision here
Ø NEWS
· Black frmr Utah Valley University police cadet alleges racial discrimination

VA
Ø DECIDED
· First application of Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act: Jackson State Univ fem Prof?s gender/denial-of-tenure claim is timely

WI
Ø NEWS
· [4-29] Legislature amends state law to add compensatory and punitive damages as remedies for employment discrim; more here

Topical

ADR
Ø Polls support Arbitration Fairness Act

Age
Ø Q&A: Employee suspects age discrimination in delay of job transfer
Ø What You Need to Know About Lawful Waivers of Age Discrimination Claims

Congress
Ø Pay equity bill pushed in Congress
Ø Lilly Ledbetter: Supports Paycheck Fairness Act in Senate
Ø Paycheck Fairness Act: Peaceful Revolution: Close the Wage Gap
Ø Senate must pass the Paycheck Fairness Act
Ø Joint Economic Committee of Congress: Equal Pay For Equal Work? New Evidence on the Persistence of the Gender Pay Gap

Disability ? Federally Supported Online Resources
Ø DBTAC: Disability and Business Technical Assistance Centers
§ 2008-09 ADA Employment Webinar Series
§ 2008-09 ADA Audio Conference Schedule
Ø JAN: Job Accommodation Network

Disability - General
Ø Restaurant Liable For Employees? harassment Of Co-Worker Because Of Disability
Ø Two New Resources for Employers on the Employment of Persons With Disabilities
Ø New Research on Employer Perspectives on the Employment of People with Disabilities

Diversity
Ø At the Supreme Court: Thomas and Breyer Discuss Supreme Court Clerk Diversity at Budget Hearing

EEOC
Ø Check here for periodically posted EEOC Informal Discussion Letters
Ø EEOC Releases Additional Guidance on Avoiding Discrimination Against Caregivers
Ø New EEOC Chair?: Berrien Reported to be new EEOC Chair Nominee

FRD
Ø Avoid Caregiver Discrimination

Gender
Ø Federal Pay: Federal Pay for Women Is Catching Up
Ø Why Are Women Still Earning Less Than Men?
Ø Wages: Gender pay gap may be shrinking
Ø Wages: AAUW Releases Data to Show How the Wage Gap Varies from State to State
Ø A Salute to Equal Pay Day
Ø Happy Equal Pay Day: The day on which women and men earn equal pay for equal work has not yet arrived
Ø Not Moving On Up: Why Women Get Stuck at Associate Professor
Ø Symposium: Gender on the Frontiers: Confronting Intersectionalities
Harassment
Ø FDA on the hot seat:. Employee who accused her boss of sex discrimination and won a judgment said the agency has asked her to resign as part of a settlement
Ø Sexual Harassment in the work place!?
Ø Female farmworkers often harassed

LGBT
Ø The DiversityInc Top 10 Companies for LGBT Employees List
Ø When a staffer switches genders; more here; here
Ø Transsexuals: Evolving Theories of Sex Discrimination

Litigation
Ø Keeping lawsuits at bay as laid-off employees head to court

Nat Origin
Ø Two U.S. senators say H-1B visas allow 'legal discrimination'
Pregnancy
Ø Pregnancy discrimination complaints increasing
Ø Your business: Know how to handle pregnancy

Race
Ø Wages: Census Report Confirms Race-Based Pay Disparities; more here
Ø White man's burden? Despite decades of reverse discrimination rulings, lawsuits still flourish
Ø Race, Supreme Court and President Obama
Ø Black Coaches & Administrators (BCA) releases 2nd Women's Basketball Coaches Hiring Report Card

Religion
Ø White House Faith-Based Advisory Council: Religion discrim in hiring too hot to handle
Ø Some examples of religion discrimination claims

Articles/Reports/Books/Etc.

Articles
Ø Women?s Movement: The Beginning of the Second Wave of the Women?s Movement and Where We Are Today: a Personal Account
Ø Testing: Formal Statistical Analysis of the Data in Disparate Impact Cases Provides Sounder Inferences than the Government?s ?Four-Fifths? Rule: Examining the Statistical Evidence in Ricci v. Destephano; noted here

Reports
Ø Wages: Women?s Pay - Gender Pay Gap in the Federal Workforce Narrows as Differences in Occupation, Education, and Experience Diminish (GAO March 2009) noted here; here

Books
Ø Tennessee: Politics vs. Prejudice In The Highway Patrol; noted here
Etc.
Ø Proposed Restatement of Employment Law as posted on Workplace Prof Blog

Foreign Spotlight

Canada
Ø Dismissing Pregnant Women
Ø Is calling an employee ?boobie girl? sexual harassment?

England
Ø First reading of Equality Bill in Parliament; more here; here, here, here; here
Ø Report: Employment and earnings in the finance sector: A gender analysis (EHRC 2009); noted here
Ø Race and Faith: Trevor Phillips gives evidence to Metropolitan Police Association Race and Faith Inquiry

Jordan
Ø Women in Jordan continue to be exploited by their employers

Corrections

We reported the following MS settlement last week:
· Sonic to serve $40K to settle EEOC?s sex/harass suit for 3 fems; unrelated fem ass?t mgr?s sex/harass + retal suit vs another Sonic set for trial in Nov.
We neglected to include a link. The link is here

A prior newsletter erroneously reported that the decision in Chadwick v. WellPoint, Inc. was issued by the 2nd Circuit; au contraire, it was issued by the 1st Circuit.

Full post as published by New York Public Personnel Law on May 01, 2009 (boomark / email).