EEOC Filings Rise
Filing charges of EEOC complaints has reached an all-time high. Though just a small increase over 2010, the filings reflect the state of the economy. Filings generally rise when the economy worsens. That is due, I believe, to employers taking advantage of the economic "cover" to get rid of employees and more terminations simply cause more complaints. See MSNBC report.
The EEOC said it received 99,947 complaints in Fiscal Year 2011. 35% of these complaints were based on race; 29% alleged gender discrimination; and 24% of the complaints were based on age discrimination. 26% of those complaints were based on disability discrimination. The EEOC says 18% of those complaints received a "merit resolution," which means they achieved some sort of settlement.
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disfavored tasks to them, scrubbing parking lots, cleaning sewers, as often as possible during the cold winter months. The three employees testified that Mr. Michalac referred to one of them as a "gold digger" when he sought a raise. He once said he got his job because he was white. He once yelled, "I'm white and I'm right." A fourth Hispanic employee testified that on numerous occasions, Mr. Michalac said Hipanics were "dummies" and "stupid." He said he did not like Spanish people. .png)
The EEOC Notice of Dismissal (aka "right-to-sue" letter) form used by the EEOC has two signature blocks, one in which the affiant swears under penalty of perjury that the above complaint is correct and a second block which requires notary certification. The EEOC uses the first block in which the affiant signs under penalty of perjury. That first signature suffices for federal court, but not for state court. The EEOC never asks the charging party to sign before a notary. Stetson College of Law has posted a sample .jpg)
many employees are getting short shrift from too many employers when the employee is out on prottracted leave. There is strong caselaw saying that too many absences render an employee unable to perform a key function of every job: attendance. This is a misleading characterization, but the point remains, employees need to attend work in some way to perform the job. .jpg)
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The amount includes $15 million for compensatory damages and $80 million in punitive damages. The plaintiff, Ashley Alford, was subject to crude jokes and frat boy behavior by her supervisor, Richard Moore. Mr. Moore was General manager for one of the Aaron's stores. He hit her in the head with his penis, groped her, pinched her. The harassment lasted a year. Finally, he threw her down, masturbated over her and was arrested. .png)
to work as welders and pipefitters in Pascagoula, Mississippi and Orange, Texas. Signal says they needed the workers in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina when workers were scarce. See San Antonio .jpg)
on Human Rights Act., the Texas equivalent of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. See .jpg)
claims the class involves too many women in too many different positions at Wal-Mart. If the members of the class are too different, then the class action fails. The case is said to be the largest employment discrimination case ever. Betty Dukes, Et Al v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
manager had remarked, "Well, what do you expect from the Valley." The witness recounted that comment as one of 3 or 4 discriminatory remarks made by the manager. .jpg)
The former clerk claims co-workers broke into his SUV after he made these allegations known. In His suit, he claims he saw a senior Deputy Constable verbally and physically assault a handcuffed female prisoner, ammunition went missing, funds were misapplied, and a captain imposed an unlawful quota of 20 tickets per day on the deputies. He also claims the Constable offered the plaintiff a promotion in return for money. .jpg)
employees who were not fired. See San Antonio .jpg)
Sue worked hard for her employer, a major employer in San Antonio. She thrived despite disabilities such as spina bifida and depression. Sue worked in Human Resources, the experts on discrimination and personnel issues. She had an informal accommodation that whenever her depression worsened, she would work from home. That is what her employer did when they were sick anyway - they worked from home. So, her "accommodation" was already part of the corporate culture. All the salaried employees would work from home on sick days. .jpg)
Clients ask me all the time how many corrections can they make to their deposition. In an employment case, the deposition of the alleged victim is critical. The employee must be able testify to the discrimination. So, any changes to the deposition transcript are important. What if the employee finds her deposition answers are not quite right? I have never had that problem. In my experience, the issue has always been typos or perhaps, somewhat incomplete explanations. .png)
discussions about evidence. .jpg)
room with a window. Otherwise, she was subject to crying spells, fatigue, anxiety, hypervigilance and a host of other emotional maladies. See .jpg)
manager at the crafts store, Michaels, called her several times asking when she could come back to work. Kara Jorud was torn between fears for her job and the need to recover. Eventually she went back to work much sooner than the the three months to which she would have been entitled under the Family Medical Leave Act. 
Some folks believe incorrectly that if their facility was built before passage of the ADA in 1990, then they do not need to comply. That is not true. Title II actually provides that public facilities must be accessible if accessibility is "readily achievable." See Advocacy, Inc. (1).png)
In employment cases, circumstantial evidence can succeed. In fact, sometimes circumstantial evidence can be overwhelming. .jpg){kind=small}
The employer is then required to respond by either providing the accommodation or offering alternatives. This is known as the "interactive process." 
Now that the ADA hs been substantially amended, we will surely start seeing more accommodation issues. In EEOC v. UPS Supply Chain Solutions, we see a case addressing the issue of how much accommodation is "reasonable." In this case, the employee had been deaf since birth. His first and primary language was American Sign Language. He reads and writes at the 4th grade level. That is not unusual for people who have been deaf since birth. Many ASL signs do not correlate to written words, and vice versa. .jpg)
signature. The waiver must be legible and specifically refer to waiving any ADEA rights. See .jpg)
which agency oversees doctors. The two nurses were later charged with felonies by the local prosecutor, reflecting local support for the doctor. One nurse was acquitted while charges against the second nurse were later dropped. .jpg)
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A Dallas jury returned a verdict in favor of the plaintiff in US district court. In an age discrimination case, the jury awarded the plaintiff employee lost pay and benefits of $500,000, liquidated damages of $500,000, mental anguish damages of $1,000,000, punitive damages of $15,00,000, front pay and attorney's fees to be determined later by the judge. Under Title VII and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, punitive damages are capped at $300,000. So, the punitive damages will be reduced probably to $300,000. But, this large amount of punitive damages is still remarkable. 
would be in addition to, not in lieu of discrimination claims. 
It was significant news when a class action lawsuit against Wal-Mart was certified a few weeks ago. Class action lawsuits are always significant, but especially so when the employer is Wal-Mart. I talked previously about the court ruling allowing the class certification. See .png)
according to the suit, the plaintiff, Debrahlee Lorenzana, was told that the general unattractiveness of the other other women rendered their attire moot. This treatment and her termination amounted to sex discrimination, said the plaintiff. .jpg)
Every so often someone will claim that discrimination is gone or mostly gone. Yet, evidence of bias pops up everywhere. In a recent trial in a patent infringement case in Marshall, Texas, a witness from Israel was testifying. The defense lawyer was cross examining the Israeli witness. Asking about the witness' lunch meeting at Bodacious Barbacue, the defense lawyer asked what he ate. "I bet not pork," he offered. Apparently, the defense lawyer thought this comment was humorous. .png)
not follow the progressive discipline policy and, instead, fired the potential client after only one (or none) write-ups. Well, as I have mentioned elsewhere on this blog, the employee handbooks are not binding on the employer. Many handbooks provide that an employee will be disciplined in writing three times before termination. .png)
A case arising out of New York demonstrates what not to say when a woman applies for a job. One male manager reportedly responded in an interview with a female applicant, "First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes flex time and a baby carriage." This comment and others helped provide good evidence for a class action sex discrimination lawsuit against Novartis Pharmaceuticals. The class includes some 5600 women. See NY Times .jpeg)
Its an issue that strikes home with me. Do gays belong in the military? One law school prof discusses his view, based on the harm sometimes done by the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. See .png)
The Ninth Circuit granted class certification in a lawsuit against Wal-Mart alleging gender based discrimination against some 2 million women. See r
The state appeals court in Austin looks at what is sexual harassment and what is not. Sex harassment refers to the situation in which a woman (or a man) is harassed without explicit requirement of a sexual relationship. Sex harassment simply refers to harassment short of an explicit relationship. in Twigland Fashions, Ltd. v. Miller, the state Third Court of Appeals looked at a 49 day period in which a regional manager focused his attentions on a female store manager. He hugged her twice - two "full body hugs." He told he loved her. He told her she had to kiss him whenever she made a mistake. Mike Mslanka discusses the case in 
This is what is wrong with federal judges when it comes to employment law. In a recent deicison, the Fifth Circuit applied the discredited "stray remarks doctrine." Of course, a defense employment lawyer notes the application approvingly. See .png)
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The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (federal court) covers the Carolinas, Virginia, Maryland and West Virginia. The Fourth Circuit and the Fifth Circuit (Texas, Louisiana and Mississiippi) are the two most conservative courts of appeals in the country. So, it is news when the Fourtth Circuit overturns summary judgment in favor of the employer. In this sex harassment case, the Fourth Ciorcuit found in favor of the plaintiff in .png)
The EEOC has found reasonable cause to believe there is overt racial discrimination at a plant in Paris, Texas. Paris is in deep East Texas, more Southern than Western in its culture. The EEOC is seeking to conciliate the matter. See .jpg)
A recent Third Circuit Court of Appeals decision finds that a change in shifts is indeed an accommodation which an employer may have to provide in certain circumstances. In .jpg)
The Americans with Disabilities Act and Title VII do not apply to churches or religious institutions. But, what happens when the church operates a secular activity, such as a school? It depends. The church can require that teachers conform to particular church doctrine. As this decision explains, however, much depends on whether the teacher's duties are ministerial, like a minister, or secular. See .png)
It is not often that the EEOC even issues a subpoena to an employer for records. It is more rare still for the employer to resist that subpoena. But, local San Antonio law firm, The Malaise law firm is doing just that. According to 
In a recent settlement with the EEOC, Sears Roebuck agreed to pay $6.2 million to resolve claims made by persons with disabilities. Sears also agreed to enter into a consent decree, which means Sears agreed to perform many other non-monetary tasks in settlement of the claims. The EEOC represented persons with disabilities who had worked at Sears. In 
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One of my first jobs was waiting on tables. I envied the female waitresses because they often scored better tips simply because they were attractive. The women knew that. They generally accepted that fact and used it. But, what if the employer told the waitresses, as some do to put on more makeup and look more feminine? Would that be discrimination? The argument would be that if stereotyping by gender itself is a form of discrimination. In one 
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Many non-lawyers expect lawyers to follow the law. Not always. In .jpg)
The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals rendered a 
100,000 attend the Martin Luther King Day march held ever year here in San Antonio. 
EEOC statistics have been 
What happens when an employee complains about sex harassment and the employer does nothing? Well, in the case of Duch v. Jakubek, they get sued and lose. In a 