A federal jury has ruled in favor of a 25-year-old mentally disabled man who was discriminated against by his employer in Texas. According to a lawsuit filed against the Kroger chain of grocery stores, the mentally challenged former employee worked at one of the company’s stores without incident for four…
A federal judge in New York has ruled that dancers at Rick’s Cabaret are hourly workers who must be paid minimum wage. According to a class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of nearly 2,000 dancers in 2009, the company improperly classified strippers as independent contractors. By categorizing dancers in this way,…
A New Jersey law that is scheduled to take effect on October 1 will require public and private employers with 25 or more employees to grant job-protected leave to the victims and certain family members of sexually violent and domestic violence offenses. The New Jersey Security and Financial Empowerment Act…
Increasingly, Americans are utilizing social media accounts like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, and more both on and off the job. In recent years, a growing number of employers have reportedly asked workers and job applicants for access to their personal social media accounts as a condition of employment. In response…
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has signed into law a bill designed to assist women in the fight for equal pay. The new law prohibits employers from punishing workers who disclose their rate of pay or other compensation information to co-workers who seek to investigate whether a company or employer…
A federal judge in San Francisco has ruled that clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch engaged in religious discrimination against a former employee. According to a lawsuit filed by the nation’s Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in 2011, the company fired a female Muslim worker for refusing to remove her hijab…
An Indiana-based power grid company recently agreed to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit for more than $90,000. The United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) reportedly filed the lawsuit against Midcontinent Independent Transmission System Operator (MISO) in response to a complaint filed by a former employee who was allegedly terminated…
In early August, an arbitrator awarded a former Long Branch School District worker $4.5 million. In a 2011 civil complaint filed against the school district and prior Superintendent Joseph Ferraina, the former secretary alleged that she was sexually assaulted by and forced to perform sex acts for Ferraina beginning in…
In August, an undisclosed settlement was reached in a highly publicized sexual harassment and race discrimination case. According to a document filed in a Savannah, Georgia federal court, both sides agreed to settle a lawsuit that was filed against celebrity television cook Paula Deen and her brother, Bubba Hiers. The…
According to data filed with the nation’s Department of Labor (DOL), Goodwill Industries paid disabled workers in at least 10 states an hourly wage of less than 22 cents in 2011. In fact, two Texas locations reportedly paid more than 50 employees less than a dime per hour. Additionally, an…