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☆ The Truth About Clarence Thomas’s Disclosures
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( James Taranto | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Clarence Thomas lost his beloved maternal grandparents barely a month apart in the spring of 1983. Myers Anderson, whom his grandson knew as “Daddy,” died of a stroke on March 30. Christine Anderson , known as “Aunt Tina,” suffered a stroke as well and died on May 1. When they died, Mr. Thomas was 34 and chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. “Losing Aunt Tina a month after Daddy was more painful than I could ever have imagined,” he writes.

☆ Here's what to do if you find a secret inappropriate boss-employee relationship in your workforce
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Rebecca Knight | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Office romance is tricky— especially if you find out a manager is in a relationship with a report. I have heard from someone on my team that one of my employees is in a close relationship with a woman he supervises. "You could be wrong, and if you accuse Roger of something untrue, that could hurt your relationship with him," she said. Anticipate that Roger will deny the relationship or push back and say it's none of your business. Say that you're not trying to police people's lives but that the relationship creates a conflict of interest.

☆ U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thomas' career marked by controversies
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( Richard Cowan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

WASHINGTON, April 7 (Reuters) - Clarence Thomas' career as a U.S. Supreme Court justice began following one of the most contentious confirmation battles in Senate history and 32 years later this conservative champion continues to draw controversy. As one of the most conservative justices in a conservative-heavy Supreme Court, Thomas has been a lightning rod for liberals who have been frustrated by his rulings and his tone. Just last summer, Thomas sparked an uproar on the heels of the Supreme Court overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling, which established the right to abortion. Amid outrage among Democrats in Congress, Thomas said Supreme Court precedents protecting rights to contraception, same-sex intimacy and gay marriage ought to be reconsidered in future cases. Thomas, only the second Black justice to serve on the highest U.S. court, is known for not shying away from controversy, despite an almost Sphinx-like demeanor during Supreme Court sessions.

☆ A tech company posted a job seeking only white applicants with the note 'don't share with candidates'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Sarah Jackson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A job post from IT firm Arthur Grand Technologies went viral for specifying white candidates only. The firm later edited its apology to say an ex-employee published the job post without authorization. Arthur Grand Technologies, HTC Global, and Berkshire Hathaway did not immediately respond to requests for comment. "Every minority who ever applied for a position with Arthur Grand Technologies and was denied employment needs to lawyer up," one person tweeted. Arthur Grand Technologies / LinkedIn"A former employee took an existing posting and added discriminatory language, then reposted it through his own account.

Circuit Court of Appeals that evidence Liu did present, including a survey his lawyers conducted of thousands of Uber drivers, was enough to send the case to trial. The survey showed that minorities were significantly more likely to be kicked off of Uber for having low ratings. The judge had said that the survey was inadequate because it only polled people who, like Liu, were barred from driving for Uber and not the overall population of Uber drivers. Uber, which has denied that its rating system is discriminatory, did not respond to a request for comment on Wednesday. The EEOC's involvement in a case can be persuasive to courts because the agency is tasked with interpreting federal anti-discrimination laws.

☆ Walmart is slapped with 2 lawsuits in a week accusing the retailer of unfairly firing workers with chronic illnesses
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Ben Tobin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The lawsuits say Walmart didn't accommodate the former employees, one who has Crohn's disease, and other, epilepsy. Crohn's disease is a chronic condition that causes inflammation in individuals' digestive tract. In early November 2016, Tucker went to the emergency room due to a "medical episode" and had to miss work, according to the lawsuit. Per the lawsuit, Walmart ignored those requests as well as subsequent ones, and did not excuse absences for further medical episodes. Per the non-profit Crohn's & Colitis Foundation, Crohn's disease does count as a disability under the ADA.

March 30 (Reuters) - Walmart Inc (WMT.N) was sued on Thursday by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency's second lawsuit this week accusing the largest U.S. retailer of discrimination against workers with disabilities. The lawsuit was filed three days after the EEOC sued Walmart for firing Adrian Tucker, a deli worker in a Statesville, North Carolina store, because she had too many "unauthorized" absences related to her Crohn's disease, an inflammatory bowel condition. Both lawsuits accused Walmart of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act, and sought back pay and punitive damages. The case is EEOC v Wal-Mart Stores East LP, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of North Carolina, No.

☆ Walmart sued by EEOC for firing deli worker with Crohn's disease
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Noah Sheidlower | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued Walmart for firing a North Carolina employee with Crohn's disease after the retail giant allegedly refused to grant her disability-related leave. The EEOC's complaint, filed in Charlotte federal court, accuses Walmart of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act in its treatment of deli worker Adrian Tucker. Tucker worked for Walmart between February 2014 and April 2017 at its Statesville store. According to the complaint, Tucker suffers from Crohn's disease, a chronic bowel condition that causes inflammation of the digestive tract, which can lead to stomach cramps, dehydration, vomiting and diarrhea. The EEOC alleges Walmart refused to provide reasonable accommodation to her when she experienced symptoms multiple times between November 2016 and April 2017.

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which on Tuesday accused the largest U.S. retailer of illegally firing a North Carolina deli worker with Crohn's disease. According to a complaint filed in the Charlotte, North Carolina federal court, Walmart did not excuse several absences though Tucker provided doctor's notes, and rejected her requests for periodic leave or a transfer to a job nearer the bathroom. Crohn's disease is an chronic bowel disease that causes inflammation in the digestive tract, and can lead to diarrhea, abdominal pain, fatigue and weight loss. Tucker was a long-term employee who needed "flexibility" from Walmart because of her debilitating health condition, EEOC lawyer Melinda Dugas said in a statement. The case is EEOC v Wal-Mart Stores East LP, U.S. District Court, Western District of North Carolina, No.

NEW YORK, March 27 (Reuters) - A newly fired Fox News producer is seeking to recant testimony she said network lawyers coerced her into providing as Fox defends against Dominion Voting Systems' $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit. Grossberg said Fox fired her on Friday, four days after she originally sued and was put on administrative leave. Fox, part of Rupert Murdoch's Fox Corp (FOXA.O), said Grossberg "ignored" its warning that she might lose her job if she revealed privileged communications with lawyers. The cases are Grossberg v Fox Corp et al, Delaware Superior Court, No. N23C-03-180; and Grossberg v Fox Corp et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No.

☆ Activision fails to increase representation of women as it faces 2025 goal
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Jordan Novet | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Video game publisher Activision Blizzard failed to increase its representation of women in the first quarter of 2022, according to a diversity report it released on Thursday. Executives have pledged to make women more pervasive inside the company after media reports described cases of harassment of women, prompting government investigations. Microsoft , an Activision Blizzard competitor and partner, began talks to acquire the game publisher after the reports pushed down the game publisher's stock price. In 2021 the company set a goal to reach 35% by 2025. "We'll continue to measure the impact of these changes, as we're confident this work will contribute to our goal of becoming the most welcoming and inclusive company in the industry," Hines wrote.

☆ Activision increased representation of women and non-binary people by 2 percentage points as it faces 2025 goal
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Jordan Novet | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Video game publisher Activision Blizzard increased representation of women and non-binary people by 2 percentage points from November 2021 to December 2022, according to data shared with CNBC. The company said women and non-binary employees represented 24.3% of its workforce in November 2021 but that figure has increased to 26.3% as of the end of 2022. Executives have pledged to make women more pervasive inside the company after media reports described cases of harassment of women, prompting government investigations. Microsoft , an Activision Blizzard competitor and partner, began talks to acquire the game publisher after the reports pushed down the game publisher's stock price. In 2021 the company set a goal to reach 35% for full-time non-binary and women workers by 2025.

☆ Exxon Sued by Federal Agency Over Nooses Allegedly Found at Louisiana Plant
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Alyssa Lukpat | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Exxon Mobil, based in Texas, operates refineries throughout the country, including in Baton Rouge, La. Federal authorities sued Exxon Mobil Corp. over five nooses they said were found at the oil company’s refinery in Baton Rouge, La., which they said had created a hostile work environment and subjected employees to racial discrimination. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said in the lawsuit filed last week that between April 2016 and December 2020, employees and contractors reported finding the nooses throughout the refinery. The EEOC said Exxon had received the reports about the nooses but didn’t do enough to stop people from putting them up.

☆ ExxonMobil is accused of failing to protect workers after 5 nooses were found at its Louisiana chemical plant
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Aaron Mcdade | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

ExxonMobil didn't protect workers from racial discrimination, a federal agency says in a new suit. Five nooses were found at a Louisiana Exxon plant, the EEOC says in the lawsuit. While the contractors were banned, the suit claims that ExxonMobil did not take other measures like counseling or policy changes. A supervisor removed the noose, but didn't notify human resources, and no investigation took place, the suit claims. McGhee reported the noose to his supervisor, and another investigation was unable to identify who installed the noose, the suit said.

Companies Exxon Mobil Corp FollowMarch 2 (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N) was sued for racial discrimination by a U.S. federal agency on Thursday, with charges alleging that the oil major failed to protect workers from harassment after nooses were found at one of its facilities in 2020. The EEOC said that at the time of this report, Exxon was already aware of three other such instances of nooses being displayed at the complex and a nearby refinery, and that a fifth noose was reported later in 2020. According to the EEOC, Exxon investigated some of these incidents, but not all, and "failed to take measures reasonably calculated to end the harassment." The federal agency alleged that Exxon's actions and omissions regarding the noose incidents "created a racially hostile work environment." The symbols of hate are unacceptable, offensive, and in violation of our corporate policies", Exxon said in a statement.

☆ ExxonMobil sued after a Black employee allegedly discovered a noose at work. It was the fifth at the same facility
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( David Goldman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

The EEOC alleges that in January 2020, a Black employee at Exxon (XOM)Mobil’s Baton Rouge chemical plant found a noose at his worksite and reported it to the company. The company failed to investigate each event and didn’t do enough to prevent further incidents, the EEOC alleges. Todd Spitler, a spokesperson for ExxonMobil, said in a statement that the company disagrees with the EEOC’s findings. “ExxonMobil promptly performed a thorough investigation of this claim, and there was no evidence to support allegations of discrimination,” he said. “The symbols of hate are unacceptable, offensive, and in violation of our corporate policies.”In 2021, multiple nooses were discovered at the construction site of an Amazon fulfillment center in Windsor, Connecticut.

☆ McDonald’s Directors Beat Sexual Misconduct Oversight Lawsuit
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Richard Vanderford | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

The decision throws out shareholders’ claims against nine individuals who sat on McDonald’s board during a period in which sexual misconduct claims at the company drew widespread public scrutiny. After his termination, Mr. Easterbrook was accused of having undisclosed sexual relationships with other employees. McDonald’s ultimately settled a lawsuit against Mr. Easterbrook, clawing back some of his compensation. The shareholders alleged in their lawsuit that Mr. Fairhurst failed to appropriately respond to systemic issues of sexual misconduct at the company, a problem in which he was implicated. But Vice Chancellor Laster said McDonald’s directors “engaged with the problem” and can’t be held liable.

[1/2] The Activision booth is shown at the E3 2017 Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, California, U.S. June 13, 2017. REUTERS/ Mike Blake/File PhotoWASHINGTON/NEW YORK, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Activision Blizzard Inc (ATVI.O) has agreed to pay $35 million to settle U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charges that it failed to have systems in place to properly handle employee complaints and violated whistleblower protection rules, the regulator said on Friday. The SEC said the company knew employee retention issues were "a particularly important risk in its business" but did not have adequate measures in place to manage workplace misconduct complaints between 2018 and 2021. Representatives for Activision Blizzard, which did not admit or deny the SEC's charges, said in a statement they were "pleased to have amicably resolved this matter" and had "enhanced" their workplace reporting and contract language. Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O), which makes Xbox, had made a $69 billion bid to acquire Activision Blizzard, but the Federal Trade Commission asked a judge in December to block the transaction.

☆ Activision Blizzard pays SEC $35 million to settle probe
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Rohan Goswami | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard, attends the Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference on July 8, 2022, in Sun Valley, Idaho. "Mr. Kotick would not have been informed of every report of misconduct at every Activision Blizzard company, nor would he reasonably be expected to have been updated on all personnel issues," an Activision Blizzard spokesperson said at the time. The SEC filing claimed Activision Blizzard required "a significant number" of departing employees who signed separation agreements to tell Activision Blizzard if regulators tried to contact them, or even if those employees wished to make a complaint of their own. "As the order recognizes, we have enhanced our disclosure processes with regard to workplace reporting and updated our separation contract language," an Activision Blizzard spokesperson said on Friday. 2022 for $18 million over related claims of retaliation in connection with sexual harassment claims.

☆ A former Fox News staffer said Roger Ailes told her she was his 'sex slave' and took videos of the abuse to use as 'blackmail,' but the network would dismiss claims with 'boys will be boys,' lawsuit s
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Luhn filed a lawsuit on Wednesday alleging Fox News enabled and covered up the abuse. In a statement to Insider, Fox called the allegations against the network "meritless." The lawsuit named Fox News, Twenty-First Century Fox, and William Shine, a former Fox News executive who also had a brief stint in the Trump White House. The sexual abuse that she suffered while working at Fox News was some of the worst imaginable. "New York's Adult Survivors Act recognizes the lifelong trauma that sexual abuse victims can suffer.

☆ Woman wins $180K settlement against Minnesota hospital she said denied her a job because she's deaf
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Minyvonne Burke | Minyvonne Burke Is A Senior Breaking News Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

A Minnesota hospital agreed to pay $180,000 to a woman who said the hospital refused to hire her for a job because she is deaf. Vogt said that in July 2020 she applied for a role as a greeter at North Memorial Health. The manager told Vogt that they would need to contact North Memorial Health about her disability, the suit said. A spokesperson for North Memorial Health could not immediately be reached Wednesday. The hospital said it was never given a name for the candidate and has no knowledge of what the manager told Vogt.

☆ New York City Delays Enforcement of AI Bias Law
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Richard Vanderford | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +3 min

New York City is delaying the enforcement of a law requiring bias audits of artificial intelligence systems used in hiring, following questions from industry over the specifics of how in practice the groundbreaking legislation would apply. The move comes after an outpouring of concern among businesses, AI vendors and professional firms about how exactly they could comply with the city’s law. Detractors have expressed concern that the use of AI tools could inadvertently apply prejudices at scale to the recruitment process. Proponents, though, have argued that AI systems used in hiring could ultimately be fairer and more transparent than human resources staff, who can bring their own biases to the job. The scrutiny of AI tools is good, but should be balanced, said Emily Dickens, head of government affairs for the Society for Human Resource Management.

☆ In the U.S., you can legally 'be fired for any reason or no reason at all'—here's why
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Gili Malinsky | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Here's how at-will employment works, why it's the de-facto system in America, and how other countries handle their workforce. 'You can be fired for any reason or no reason at all'Loosely defined, at-will employment "means that you can be fired for any reason or no reason at all," says Najah Farley, senior staff attorney at the National Employment Law Project. 'Your boss can't be flirting with you and then fire you'There are several exceptions under which employees can't be fired. Union membership: Many workers who are part of a union are also an exception to the at-will employment system. At-will employment is uncommon around the worldMost countries in the world do not have an at-will employment system.

Meta on Thursday said it was reviewing the complaint and did not provide immediate comment on it or the status of the planned changes. Real Women in Trucking's complaint lists about 80 ads from Meta's public archive that show skewed audiences. "There’s no reason that job ads should be sent to a fraction of those numbers on a routine basis," he said. But the charge cites three ads for which Meta let advertisers select age-restricted audiences, an option it promised to block for job ads in 2019. If Meta is struggling to identify job ads, it may likewise face difficulties applying the planned variance reductions, Romer-Friedman said.

The new allegations underscore the issues that Meta's planned system would counter. "Addressing fairness in ads is an industry-wide challenge and we’ve been collaborating with civil rights groups, academics and regulators to advance fairness in our ads system," the company said. "There’s no reason that job ads should be sent to a fraction of those numbers on a routine basis," he said. But the charge cites three ads for which Meta let advertisers select age-restricted audiences, an option it promised to block for job ads in 2019. If Meta is struggling to identify job ads, it may likewise face difficulties applying the planned variance reductions, Romer-Friedman said.

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