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☆ Sheetz accused of racial discrimination in its hiring process
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —A federal agency accused a popular gas station chain of discriminating against Black, Native American and multiracial applicants in its hiring practices. The Sheetz criminal screening process disproportionately screened out applicants from those legally protected groups, the lawsuit announced by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on Thursday alleged. In a statement, Sheetz said it “does not tolerate discrimination of any kind.”“We take these allegations seriously. As part of the hiring process, applicants must answer questions about their criminal justice history and go through a background check through a third-party vendor. The lawsuit seeks an order for Sheetz to end its current hiring practice and create equal employment policies and programs.

Persons: Sheetz, ” Nick Ruffner, EEOC, ”, Debra M, Lawrence Organizations: New, New York CNN, US, Employment, Civil, RAND Corporation Locations: New York, Court, Maryland, United States, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland , Ohio, North Carolina, Coast

☆ New review database takes aim at some of the most protected bosses in America: state and federal judges
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-30 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Attorney Aliza Shatzman created a database for law clerks to review their bosses: state and federal judges. This month, LAP launched a new database for law clerks to leave reviews of their experiences working for their powerful bosses: state and federal judges. Related storiesThe judge Shatzman clerked for has not made any public statement regarding her clerkship or complaint or his subsequent retirement. Human resources for the courts told her nothing could be done because "HR doesn't regulate judges," Shatzman testified. AdvertisementA whisper network legitimizedSince beginning to collect reviews in 2022, LAP has gathered over 800 surveys from former law clerks about their experiences working for state and federal judges nationwide.

Persons: Aliza Shatzman, —, she's, Shatzman, there's, Douglas Nazarian, she'd, Title VII, We're, who've Organizations: Service, Business, Washington Post, Washington University, Louis School of Law, US, Office, Title, Civil, District of Columbia Commission, Judicial, BI Locations: Maryland, St

☆ The owner of a restaurant in New York state told a transgender cook he 'wasn't a real man' and asked about his genitalia, a federal agency claims
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-29 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Staff at a New York pizzeria, including its owners, repeatedly harassed a transgender cook, the EEOC claimed. The same co-owner also told Gambino that he "wasn't a real man" and said that he didn't approve of Gambino being transgender, the EEOC's press release said it. AdvertisementThe lawsuit accused TC Wheelers of violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on gender identity and gender expression. Under the settlement, TC Wheelers will pay Gambino about $3,500 in back pay and $21,500 in compensatory damages. AdvertisementBusiness Insider has contacted TC Wheelers for comment.

Persons: —, misgendered, Quinn Gambino, Gambino, misgendered Gambino Organizations: Service, Commission, TC, Management, Court, Western, of, Civil Locations: New York, Tonawanda, Buffalo, of New York

This case requires us to determine whether the same rule applies to police encounters that take place on a bus. The mere fact that Bostick did not feel free to leave the bus does not mean that the police seized him. This court is not empowered to forbid law enforcement practices simply because it considers them distasteful. We therefore believe the district court erred in relying on whether the conduct ‘seriously affect plaintiff's psychological well-being’ ... As for the victims, the government now has license to transfer property from those with fewer resources to those with more.

Persons: Sandra Day O'Connor, Bostick, —, James Acton, Bollinger, ”, Rumsfeld, ’, James Madison, impartially Organizations: Florida Supreme, Systems, Law, Ritz, Carlton Locations: Florida, Hudson, New York, Harris, Davis, Vernonia, Acton, America, Hamdi, City of New London, ‘

Aug 24 (Reuters) - A Las Vegas restaurant whose parent is led by Michelin-starred chef Thomas Keller was sued on Thursday by a U.S. government agency, which accused managers of sexually harassing female and male employees on a daily basis. Keller's company, Thomas Keller Restaurant Group, is also a defendant. The EEOC filed its lawsuit in federal court in Las Vegas. It also filed three other sexual harassment lawsuits on Thursday against restaurants in the Las Vegas area. The EEOC said the misconduct at Bouchon included sexual advances, sexually charged comments and unwanted advances, primarily by men.

Persons: Thomas Keller, Keller, Mario Batali, John Besh, Ken Friedman, EEOC, Carol Zavala, Zavala, VII, Jonathan Stempel, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: Michelin, U.S, Employment Opportunity Commission, Thomas Keller Restaurant, Civil, District of, Thomson Locations: Vegas, Las Vegas, California , New York, Miami, Northern, Napa Valley, Se, New York City, U.S, District, District of Nevada, New York

☆ North Carolina Hooters sued for racial discrimination against employees
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has sued a North Carolina Hooters restaurant for allegedly discriminating against Black or darker-skinned “Hooters Girls,” the federal agency announced Thursday. In March 2020, at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Greensboro, North Carolina, Hooters temporarily laid off around 43 employees, dubbed “Hooters Girls” by the restaurant chain. There was a “marked shift in the racial composition of the restaurant’s Hooters Girls workforce,” when employees were called back in, according to the EEOC release. The complaint also alleged that the darker-skinned Hooters Girls “experienced racial hostility and observed preferential treatment of White employees while employed at the restaurant” and received less-lucrative shifts. The Greensboro restaurant had no comment and directed CNN to the company’s public relations department.

Persons: EEOC, VII Organizations: New, New York CNN, Employment, Commission, North Carolina Hooters, Hooters, Hooters Girls, CNN, Civil, Court, Middle, Middle District of Locations: New York, Greensboro, North Carolina, Middle District, Middle District of North Carolina

☆ Alone in an Empty House, Female Real Estate Agents Face Danger
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-08 | by ( Debra Kamin | More About Debra Kamin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Across the nation, the overwhelming majority of real estate agents are women — and they are vulnerable to abuse in an industry that offers few protections, demands that they meet clients alone in empty homes and encourages them to use their appearance to help bring in buyers. Reports of harassment and occasionally physical violence, including rape and even murder, highlight the risks they face. But the industry is also structured so that 90 percent of agents are not actually employees of the agencies they work with. They are independent contractors, which means they are not protected under Title VII — the federal law that prohibits discrimination and sexual harassment in the workplace. It also means that many real estate agencies that rely on these agents for the vast majority of their income do not feel obligated — or even inclined — to offer them any kind of institutional protection or training.

Persons: —, VII Organizations: National Association of Realtors

☆ Takeaways from the latest controversial and contentious Supreme Court term
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( Ariane De Vogue | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +17 min

In his opinion blocking the student debt program, Roberts insisted he is concerned about criticisms of the court. “Make no mistake: Supreme Court ethics reform must happen whether the Court participates in the process or not,” he warned. In June, the court sided with a cement mixing company that sought to bypass federal labor law and sue a union in state court for the destruction of property caused by striking workers. On Tuesday, when Roberts announced the court’s opinion in Moore v. Harper, liberals and even some conservatives exhaled, relieved that the court was rejecting a controversial Trump-backed election law theory. “Justice Jackson has a different view,” he said at one point.

Persons: John Roberts, Roe, Wade, ” Roberts, Roberts, Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, he’d, Joe Biden’s, Roberts –, –, It’s, Donald Trump’s, ”, Gorsuch, Neil Gorsuch, Bostock, Lorie Smith, ” Alito, Alito, Dobbs, Jackson, Brett Kavanaugh’s, hadn’t, Paul Singer, Singer, ProPublica, “ we’d, “, ” ProPublica, Thomas, Dick Durbin, Elena Kagan, KBJ, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Dr, Adam Feldman, ” Feldman, Sonia Sotomayor, Kagan, Barrett, Thomas couldn’t, ” Jenny Hunter, ” Jackson, ‘, Harper, exhaled, Barack Obama, Rick Hasen –, Hasen, Moore, Thomas Long, Kevin Merida, Michael Fletcher, “ Justice Jackson, Thomas ’ “, ” Thomas Organizations: CNN, Civil, Creative, Politico, Wall Street Journal, Street, GOP, Illinois Democrat, pounced, University of North, National Labor Relations, Independent, Trump, Federal, “, UNC Locations: Colorado, Washington , DC, United States, “, Rome, Illinois, American, Moore, North Carolina

But under a Colorado public accommodations law, she said she cannot post the statement because the state considers it illegal. The ruling – rooted in free speech grounds – will pierce state public accommodation laws for those businesses who sell so-called “expressive” goods. It is the latest victory for religious conservatives at the high court and will alarm critics who fear the current court is setting its sights on overturning the 2015 marriage case. When the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case in February 2022, the justices sidestepped whether the law violated Smith’s free exercise of religion. In court, Waggoner said that the law works to compel speech in violation of the First Amendment.

Persons: Justice Neil Gorsuch, John Roberts, Samuel Alito, Amy Coney Barrett, Brett Kavanaugh, Clarence Thomas, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Lorie Smith, Gorsuch, ”, Smith’s, ” Gorsuch, Sotomayor, “, ’, Kristen Waggoner, Matthew Shepard, ” Sotomayor, Bostock, Trump, Kelley Robinson, Ritchie Torres, ” Torres, Waggoner, Smith, Smith –, –, ” Smith, ” Waggoner, Eric Olson Organizations: CNN, Chief, U.S, Supreme, Pride Month, Civil, American Civil Liberties Union, ”, Democratic, Twitter, Appeals Locations: Colorado, United States, Clayton County

June 30 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed to decide whether workers can bring discrimination lawsuits based on unwanted workplace transfers that were allegedly motivated by bias, an issue that can make or break many cases. Muldrow appealed a lower court's ruling that the conduct by the police department could not form the basis of a discrimination lawsuit. The Supreme Court will hear the case in its next term, which begins in October. The Supreme Court on Friday took no action on a separate case questioning whether paid suspensions count as adverse employment actions under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The department has said officers are routinely transferred and the plaintiff's supervisor transferred more than 20 officers when he took over the unit.

Persons: St, Louis, Jatonya Muldrow, Muldrow, Joe Biden's, VII, Daniel Wiessner, Will Dunham Organizations: U.S, Supreme, Civil, Thomson Locations: Albany , New York

☆ Opinion | How Christians and Drag Queens Are Defending the First Amendment
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( David French | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Last year, I wrote an amicus brief in a case called 303 Creative L.L.C. v. Elenis, arguing that a wedding website designer had a First Amendment right not to speak. This case was not, as it has been widely described, about whether a website designer could refuse gay customers. That would be both illegal and immoral, and I would not participate in such a case. The case was not about whether a business could refuse to provide goods or services but whether it could refuse to generate specific expressions with which it disagreed.

Persons: Lorie Smith, “ ‘, ‘, Smith, Neil Gorsuch, Bostock Organizations: Supreme Locations: Colorado, Clayton County

The Supreme Court ordered the 3rd Circuit to reconsider the matter. The Supreme Court, with its 6-3 conservative majority, has a track record of expanding religious rights, often siding with Christian plaintiffs. Groff's attorneys had asked the Supreme Court to overturn the Hardison precedent and require companies to show a "significant difficulty or expense" before denying an accommodation. The Postal Service in 2013, in a bid to remain profitable, contracted with Amazon.com to deliver packages, including on Sundays. His absences caused tension among other carriers who had to cover his shifts, the Postal Service said.

Persons: Gerald Groff, Hardison, Groff, Andrew Chung, Will Dunham Organizations: U.S, Supreme, Postal Service, Circuit, Appeals, Civil, VII, Airlines, Amazon.com, Thomson Locations: Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania's Lancaster, United States, Colorado, Washington

☆ Pregnant workers could receive longer breaks and more time off for recovery, thanks to a new law going into effect today
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Noah Sheidlower | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act could provide pregnant workers with longer breaks and more time off. The act, requiring certain employers to provide "reasonable accommodations" went into effect Tuesday. The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act requires employers with at least 15 employees to provide "reasonable accommodations" for workers dealing with limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. 80% of first-time pregnant workers worked until their final month of pregnancy. The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act was signed into law by President Joe Biden in December following unsuccessful earlier versions in 2021 and 2019, both of which passed in the House but not the Senate.

Persons: —, Dina Bakst, Joe Biden Organizations: Service, Employment Opportunity Commission, National Partnership for Women

☆ Listening to vulgar music that others can hear at work? You might be harassing your coworkers, a federal judge ruled
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-10 | by ( Aaron Mcdade | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A US appeals court ruled that offensive music played loudly in the workplace may violate sex discrimination laws. A 2020 lawsuit against a Nevada company alleged that complaints about offensive music were ignored. That's the opinion of M. Margaret McKeown, an appeals court judge in the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Employees' complaints to management about the music being played loudly throughout the Nevada warehouse were allegedly ignored, according to the suit. Therefore, music with that language being played loud enough for dozens of employees to hear could qualify as grounds for claim of workplace harassment.

Persons: —, Margaret McKeown, McKeown, Eminem, Lil Wayne, Stan, Judge McKeown, wasn't, Activewear Organizations: Service, Appeals, Ninth Circuit, Civil, Employment, Commission, Wall Street Locations: Nevada

☆ Health Plan Coverage of Abortion and Related Services
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Practical Law Employee Benefits | Executive Compensation | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +36 min

The Dobbs ruling, which returned the regulation of abortion to the individual states, has led to legislation that restricts abortion, including medication abortion, in many states. In response to the rapidly changing post-Dobbs legal landscape, this article addresses health plan coverage of abortion, medication abortion coverage and litigation, abortion-related travel benefits, and related Practical Law resources concerning these topics. The insurer in a fully insured health plan, health maintenance organization (HMO), or similar arrangement:Assumes the risk of providing health coverage for insured events by paying medical costs for eligible claims incurred under the plan. Self-Funded Health PlansBy contrast, employers with self-funded arrangements may have more discretion in providing coverage for abortion and related services. Changes to plan coverage of medication abortion will likely require plan administrators to:(For more on coverage of medication abortion, see Newly Launched, ReproductiveRights.gov Website Addresses Access to Medication Abortion (Mifepristone) Using Telehealth on Practical Law.)

Postal Service for alleged religious discrimination is set for U.S. Supreme Court review on April 18, poses in an undated handout image taken at an unknown location. Postal Service over his refusal to work on Sundays gives the Supreme Court another chance to widen religious rights but also has led to a debate over whether religious people are more legally deserving than others to weekend days off from work. The court, with its 6-3 conservative majority, has a track record of expanding religious rights in recent years, often siding with Christian plaintiffs. The Postal Service in 2013, in a bid to remain profitable, contracted with Amazon.com to deliver packages, including on Sundays. His absences caused tension among other carriers who had to cover his shifts, the Postal Service said.

☆ Mass layoffs including workers who are pregnant or on parental leave may seem unfair, but it's not illegal in the US — here's why
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Critics have slammed some companies for laying off US workers on parental leave in recent months. But staff on protected leave aren't immune from mass layoffs, labor lawyers told Insider. Some of the stories that have caught the most attention and outrage on sites such as LinkedIn, however, are those of workers whose companies laid them off while they were pregnant or on parental leave. When they return to work after FMLA leave, the Department of Labor says that employees must return to the same job or one that is nearly identical,. What protections do pregnant workers have?

Jan 23 (Reuters) - A federal judge on Monday dismissed a lawsuit by three former Whole Foods employees who said they were illegally fired for opposing the upscale grocery chain's alleged discriminatory discipline of workers who wore "Black Lives Matter" masks. "The evidence demonstrates only that Whole Foods did not strenuously enforce the dress code policy until mid-2020, and that when it increased enforcement, it did so uniformly," she added. Last June, the federal appeals court in Boston upheld Burroughs' February 2021 dismissal of a proposed class action over the dress code, on somewhat different legal grounds than hers. The Black Lives Matter movement started after police killed several Black people in the United States. The case is Kinzer et al v Whole Foods Market Inc, U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts, No.

☆ A former mail carrier and devout Christian who refused to deliver Amazon packages on Sundays is taking the US Postal Service to the Supreme Court for bias
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-14 | by ( Bethany Dawson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The Supreme Court is to hear an appeal by a former mail carrier who is accusing the USPS of religious bias. Gerald Groff, an evangelical Christian, has said he was reprimanded for refusing to deliver parcels on Sundays. Groff's legal team appealed this ruling and has now succeeded in having it heard at the Supreme Court. When Groff joined the postal service in 2012, he did so with the understanding that it did not operate on Sundays. His attitude caused resentment among his co-workers, with one carrier leaving their station and another quitting the Postal Service.

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear an evangelical Christian mail carrier's employment discrimination claim in a case that could force employers to do more to accommodate the religious practices of their workers. Postal Service could have granted his request that he be spared Sunday shifts based on his religious belief that it is a day of worship and rest. Based on his request for an accommodation, his managers arranged for other postal workers to deliver packages on Sundays until July 2018. Upon resigning, he sued the Postal Service for failing to accommodate his request. In the earlier ruling, the court said that employers are not required to make accommodation if it would impose even a minimal burden.

☆ A former CVS nurse practitioner is suing the company after it fired her for refusing to prescribe birth control and Plan B for religious reasons
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Bethany Biron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A former CVS employee in Texas is suing the company after it fired her for refusing to give out birth control. The suit claims the company granted her "religious accommodation" until it reversed the policy in August 2021. The suit claims CVS previously granted Strader religious accommodation so that she was not required to give out birth control at the MinuteClinic where she worked in Keller, Texas. Currently, six states — Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Mississippi, and South Dakota — allow pharmacists to refuse to dispense birth control pills or Plan B for religious reasons. Strader's suit follows similar legal action taken by CVS nurse practitioners in Virginia and Kansas, who also claim the company fired them for refusal to provide birth control to customers.

A former CVS Health nurse practitioner is suing the pharmacy chain for firing her after she refused to prescribe birth control, citing her religious beliefs. Texas resident J. Robyn Strader said in the suit that her Baptist Christian faith prevents her from prescribing contraceptive and abortion-inducing drugs. She said that for six and a half years, CVS granted her a religious accommodation to forego having to prescribe the drugs at the CVS MinuteClinic where she worked. When a customer needed the prescription, she would refer them to a colleague or another CVS MinuteClinic. CVS is facing at least two other lawsuits in federal court brought by former nurse practitioners in Kansas and Virginia who say they were fired over the policy.

☆ United Airlines to pay $305,000 to a Buddhist pilot who refused to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-13 | by ( Ryan Hogg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

United Airlines will pay $305,000 to a Buddhist pilot who refused to attend AA on religious grounds. United agreed to accommodate staff from non-Christian faiths in its program in the future. A step to regaining the certification in United's HIMS occupational substance abuse treatment program involves attending AA meetings. United rejected his suggestion of using the Buddhism-based peer support group Refuge Recovery as an alternative, the commission said. To resolve the lawsuit, United will pay the pilot $305,000 in back pay and damages and reinstate him into its HIMS program while allowing him to attend a non-12-step peer recovery program.

Nov 11 (Reuters) - A federal judge in Texas ruled on Friday that President Joe Biden's administration had wrongly interpreted an Obamacare provision as barring health care providers from discriminating against gay and transgender people. U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk in Amarillo ruled that a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in 2020 holding that a law barring workplace discrimination protects gay and transgender employees did not apply to the healthcare law. "Title IX's ordinary public meaning remains intact until changed by Congress, or perhaps the Supreme Court," Kacsmaryk wrote. The Obama administration introduced rules in 2016 that made clear that LGBT people would be protected under the healthcare discrimination provision. In June, the Biden administration proposed a rule to once again enshrine such protections.

☆ Man who won gay rights case at Supreme Court agrees to settlement
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

ATLANTA — A Georgia county has agreed to settle a lawsuit brought by a man whose case was one of three that led to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that said civil rights law protects gay, lesbian and transgender people from discrimination in employment. The Clayton County Board of Commissioners this week approved an $825,000 settlement for Gerald Lynn Bostock, his lawyer Ed Buckley said Friday. Bostock had sued the county, which sits just south of Atlanta, saying he was fired in 2013 because he is gay. The federal appeals court cited binding precedent that said the 1964 civil rights law doesn’t protect against workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation. Bostock asserted in a 2016 lawsuit that he was fired from his job as a court child welfare services coordinator because he’s gay.

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