On January 24, 2008, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced the settlement of a racial harassment lawsuit for $465,000 and significant remedial relief against Henredon Furniture Industries, Inc. on behalf of African American employees who were subjected to a persistent racially hostile work environment at a furniture plant.According to the EEOC, from approximately 1998 through January 2006, African American employees at Henredon’s High Point manufacturing plant were subjected to racial slurs and name calling -- including the “N-word” -- as well as threats by hangman’s nooses that were displayed at the plant. The suit alleged that the harassment occurred almost daily. Henredon Furniture, a subsidiary of Furniture Brands International, operated a furniture
In July 2007, the EEOC announced a $20 million proposed consent decree resolving a systemic race discrimination lawsuit against Walgreens, the Illinois-based national drug store chain.The proposed settlement was filed with U.S. District Judge G. Patrick Murphy of the Southern District of Illinois, with a request for his preliminary approval (EEOC v. Walgreen Co., S.D. Il. 07-CV-172-GPM and Tucker v. Walgreen Co., S.D. Il. 05-CV-440-GPM).The EEOC’s suit alleged that Walgreens discriminated against African American retail management and pharmacy employees in promotion, compensation and assignment. In addition to the monetary relief for an estimated 10,000 class members, the consent decree prohibits store assignments based on race. The decree is subject to final approval by Judge Murphy following a fairness hearing.“We commend Walgreens for working cooperatively with us to reach an amicable settlement of this case without protracted litigation,” EEOC Chair Naomi C. Earp said. “We
From time to time I’ll include posts called Legal Briefs, which provide updates on workplace discrimination, harassment, and/or retaliation lawsuits that have been recently filed or settled in civil court. The point is to let readers know what types of race-related cases have been filed and settled, as well as to provide a look at some of the legal language that is used by complainants in those cases. But, even more importantly, the legal briefs can help confirm that some of the issues readers are facing are in fact happening to other Blacks around the country and that these actions are often illegal.I’ve been on the receiving end of questionable activities by an employer. So, I know that Black workers go through this mental back and forth…wondering if they are being sensitive or if they are blowing things out of proportion—as we are inevitably accused of by our supervisors or employers. I also know that we often wonder whether actions taken against us are illegal or if employe
A class action lawsuit was filed against Niketown (Chicago, IL) in 1999 alleging race-based discrimination. The lawsuit (filed by more than 400 African American employees) alleged that Nike discriminated against and continues to discriminate against its African-American employees and managers at Niketown Chicago by:• Subjecting African-American employees and managers to a hostile working environment created by harassing activities, including the use of racial epithets; accusations and coercive interrogations regarding alleged thefts and misuse of employee discounts; greater scrutiny and monitoring of African-American employees and managers than given to their Caucasian co-workers, including extensive “check-out” searches upon leaving the store; and greater scrutiny and monitoring of African-American customers than Caucasian customers.They also say that Nike has unlawfully discriminated against its non-managerial African-American employees at Niketown Chicago by:• Segregating
This isn't work related, but it fits perfectly with issues of race being covered on THE BLACK FACTOR blog...The Associated Press is now reporting that a judge has declared that Genarlow Wilson should be released from prison. Many of you may be familiar with the case of Genarlow Wilson (Black), who was sentenced to 10 years in prison for receiving oral sex from a 15-year old girl, when he was 17 years old. Yes, 2 teens engaged in consensual sex led to one of the teens being labeled a rapist! But, Georgia state law said that Mr. Wilson committed an aggravated sexual act.Genarlow Wilson was a good student, an athlete, and had never been in any legal trouble—before this incident. Yet, he was sentenced as though he were a rapist. In addition to the 10-year sentence, Mr. Wilson was to be put on a sex offender registry FOR LIFE! His lawyer has been arguing that his sentencing was unconstitutional and grossly disproportionate to the crime.After Mr. Wilson received such a ridiculous sentence
This post serves as an FYI that the offensive use of the word “boy”—in reference to an adult Black male—can be used to help build a case alleging race discrimination, harassment, etc. in the workplace.The U.S. Supreme Court became involved in a 2006 discrimination lawsuit vs. Tyson's Food, Inc. in which 2 Black men said they were denied promotions by a white manager, who referred to them as “boys.” The Supreme Court unanimously overturned an appeals court decision that said the term "boy" alone was not evidence of workplace discrimination. The Supreme Court also ordered the lower court to reconsider the matter.The Supreme Court stepped in because a jury awarded Anthony Ash and John Hithon $1.75 million apiece in damages, but a judge had thrown out the decision. The two Black complainants had 15 years and 13 years of experience, with Tyson’s Food, respectively. BUT, a white man, with less than 2 years of experience, got a management job they sought at an Alabama plant.Eri
According to the EEOC, the International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers Local 580 in Manhattan will pay $800,000 to 45 Black and Hispanic members. The penalty is for refusing to refer minority journeymen to jobs between September 1992 and August 2004. Payments to the members will range from $2,000 to $47,000.
Talk about seeing the writing on the wall, but ignoring reality…Going back as far back as the mid-80’s, NY Transit cops now say they have been summarily discriminated against based on their race. For instance, Detective Marshall Mazyck (Black) asked for a 1984 transfer to an anti-crime unit, when a White commander came right out and told him “We don’t want ni**ers in this unit.” That should have been the first clue to talk to a lawyer. That’s direct evidence of racism!! Nevertheless, Detective Mazyck stayed on the job.Today, a group of minority transit cops, including Detective Mazyck, have filed a $12 million lawsuit against the Metro Transit Authority (MTA) for systematic discrimination. The cops say they were often subjected to racial slurs, were frequently passed over for promotions, and were even denied many overtime opportunities. For anyone who knows anything about these jobs, you can make a killing on the overtime alone. Overtime pay will SUBSTANTIALLY boost your ye
In case you were wondering, it’s possible for an employer to retaliate against or to continue to retaliate against an employee after that employee has left employment with the company. It doesn’t matter if the separation of employment was voluntary or involuntary, the employee resigned vs. termination, employers can still commit post-employment retaliation.When police officers are investigating a crime, they look to determine motive and opporutnity. Well, with post-employment retaliation the motive is clear—retaliation—it’s just the opportunity part that may take some working out or that may simply require some patience.One common means of engaging in post-employment retaliation is for an employer to use the power of employment verification against a former employee. When a person is seeking new employment, they have to list their most recent employers on an application and on their resume. Once a potential employer calls a previous employer to verify the applicant’s inform
Sometimes we say that we know someone that’s been “run out of their job.”
But, the legal terminology we should use is that the person was a possible victim of “constructive termination.” So, I want to take a quick look at the two types of termination, actual and constructive.
Actual Termination
When you are actually fired by your employer, you are notified in writing or verbally that they don’
