A federal court ruled in favor of a former employee in a key portion of the former employer’s request for a preliminary injunction. Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc. v. Cahill, No. 12-cv-346, order affirming magistrate’s report (D. Okla., Feb. 12, 2013). The decision is one of the first to address employees’…
A restaurant has agreed to pay $20,000 to a former employee, along with other relief, to settle a pregnancy discrimination lawsuit brought by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). EEOC v. Reed Pierce’s, No. 3:10-cv-00541, consent decree (S.D. Miss., Feb. 5, 2013). The lawsuit alleged that the restaurant unlawfully terminated…
An employer did not violate New York state or city human rights laws by firing an employee because of her height, according to a Supreme Court judge in Queens County. The court ruled in Peterson v. City of New York, et al, 2012 N.Y. Slip Op. 51472(U) (Sup. Ct., Queens…
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) allows employees to take unpaid leave for medical conditions or to care for a family member. It also prohibits retaliation by employers for taking leave. A federal court recently dismissed a claim for violation of FMLA rights based on evidence that the plaintiff…
A nurse at a hospital in Flint, Michigan is suing her employer for alleged racial discrimination and civil rights violations. Battle v. Board of Hospital Managers of Hurley Medical Center, et al, No. 13-99763, complaint and jury demand (Mich. Cir. – Genesee Co., Jan. 21, 2013). She claims that the…
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced in January 2013 that it settled a claim of citizenship and national origin discrimination against Houston Community College (HCC), in lieu of filing suit. The DOJ’s Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC) investigated a complaint of hiring discrimination, in…
A supervisor’s sexual advances drove a New York police officer to take his own life, according to a lawsuit filed by the officer’s widow. The lawsuit names the City of New York, the New York City Police Department (NYPD), and the supervisor as defendants, and alleges that an ongoing pattern…
A former employee of a Secaucus, New Jersey furniture store chain has alleging that management discriminated against her based on her sexual orientation and retaliated against her for complaining of a manager’s discriminatory conduct. Perez v. Factory Direct of Secaucus, LLC, et al, No. 2:13-cv-00327, complaint (D.N.J., Jan. 17, 2013).…
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruled that an employer’s termination of five employees over posts to the social media service Facebook violated the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). In re Hispanics United of Buffalo and Ortiz, Case No. 03-CA-027872, decision and order (NLRB, Dec. 14, 2012). It rejected the…
A former Ph.D. candidate at a San Francisco university is suing the school for gender discrimination, alleging that faculty and staff began to mistreat him once he revealed that he had undergone sex-reassignment surgery. The cause of action is a rare one, as only a handful of states, including New…