A Michigan woman has sued Hooters for “weight discrimination” in violation of the only state law in the country that provides such protection. More after the break.
Contributed by Eric A. Welter.Posts Tagged ‘Discrimination’
Hooters Faces Weight Discrimination Claim
Friday, June 11th, 20109th Circuit Upholds Certification of Wal-Mart Class Action
Thursday, May 6th, 2010In a recent 6-5 decision, the en banc U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld a district court’s certification of a class action against Wal-Mart that could potentially include 1.5 million class members. The plaintiffs, a group of six female employees, alleged that they were discriminated against with respect to pay and promotions due to their gender, and sought class certification on their claims. The district court ruled in favor of class certification, and Wal-Mart appealed the ruling to the Ninth Circuit. More after the break.
Contributed by Eric A. Welter.4th Circuit Remands Discrimination Case For Trial
Saturday, May 1st, 2010In Merritt v. Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held that the plaintiff had produced sufficient evidence of discriminatory intent to create a genuine issue of material fact, precluding summary judgment for the employer. A copy of the opinion is here. More after the break.
Attorney Found To Be Joint Employer and Loses Almost $700,000
Friday, April 23rd, 2010An attorney who was the public face of a collection agency was found to be a joint employer and liable for acts by the agency’s non-lawyer supervisors in a race discrimination case brought by an employee of the collection agency. For an eye opener, here is a copy of the jury verdict form. More after the break.
Improper Medical Inquiry Claim Not Dependent On Disability
Wednesday, April 14th, 2010In Harrison v. Benchmark Electronics, the Eleventh Circuit held that an employee can bring an ADA claim against an employer based on an improper medical inquiry regardless of whether the employee is disabled within the meaning of the ADA. More after the break.
Contributed by Eric A. Welter.Tidbits
Friday, January 22nd, 2010New and expanded theories of discrimination. More after the break.
Contributed by Eric A. Welter.Top Ten Developments in Employment Law for HR Professionals in Virginia — #2
Tuesday, January 19th, 2010The top ten developments in employment law for HR professionals in Virginia for 2009 continues, in no particular order. Number 2: Supreme Court holds that ADEA claims are not governed by the Title VII mixed motive standard and imposes a higher burden of proof on ADEA claims. More after the break.
Contributed by Eric A. Welter.EEOC Issues 2009 Enforcement and Litigation Statistics
Friday, January 8th, 2010The EEOC has issued its 2009 enforcement and litigation statistics here. Total charges were down from 2008, 95,402 to 93,277. Largest percentage increases in charges were in disability and retaliation. Lawsuits filed down from 325 to 314. More after the break.
Contributed by Eric A. Welter.Fourth Circuit Reverses Summary Judgment In Failure To Promote Case
Thursday, December 31st, 2009In an unpublished opinion (Wesley v. Arlington County), the Fourth Circuit reversed the district court’s grant of summary judgment for the employer in a failure to promote case brought by a firefighter. More after the break.
Contributed by Eric A. Welter.New EEOC Enforcement Activity Against Use Of Credit History And Criminal Background In Hiring
Thursday, December 10th, 2009Workplace Prof Blog notes here that the EEOC has filed a class action suit against an employer in Dallas for the use of credit history and criminal background as selection crieria in the hiring process. The EEOC has long argued that such crieria have a disparate impact on minority groups, but apparently have increased enforcement activity in this area recently. This is a good reminder that the hiring process is a critical area to monitor for practices that potentially have a disparate impact on minority or other protected applicants — particularly hot button areas such as credit history and criminal background.
Contributed by Eric A. Welter.Richmond Jury Awards $3.5 Million In Race Discrimination And Malicious Prosecution Case
Friday, December 4th, 2009Earlier in the week, a Richmond federal court jury awarded a former employee of a trucking terminal $3.5 million on claims of race discrimination and malicious prosecution against the employer and several individual defendants. More after the break.
Contributed by Eric A. Welter.4th Circuit Reverses Summary Judgment In Age Case
Thursday, November 19th, 2009In an unpublished opinion, the Fourth Circuit reversed the district court’s grant of summary judgment for the defendant employer on a discrimination claim brought under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (“ADEA”). The case is Inman v. Klockner Pentaplast of America, Inc. More after the break.
Contributed by Eric A. Welter.Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) Effective November 21
Wednesday, November 11th, 2009The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) goes into effect November 21, 2009. The Manpower Employment Blawg has a post about GINA here. Our previous posts on GINA are here and here.
UPDATE: The New York Times has a story here.
Contributed by Eric A. Welter.New Discrimination Laws A Priority For Administration
Friday, November 6th, 2009According to representatives of the Justice Department, the “Employment Non-Discrimination Act” (which bars employment discrimination based on a person’s “actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity”) is a top legislative priority for the Obama Administration. The BLT has the story here.
Contributed by Eric A. Welter.Sexual Orientation Discrimination Update
Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009The WSJ Law Blog has a post today here on a recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit that recognized a claim by an effeminate homosexual man for “gender stereotyping” discrimination. The court of appeals reversed the lower court’s decision dismissing the suit, which had been brought by an effeminate, homosexual man alleging that he was discriminated against because he did not conform to a typical male stereotype. As another employment lawyer notes in the post, Congress may open the door to sexual orientation discrimination claims under Title VII in the near future, rendering this type of legal gymnastics unnecessary in order to pursue a sexual orientation discrimination claim.
Contributed by Eric A. Welter.
