Civil Rights › Civil Remedies

Egg Giant National Food to Pay $650,000 To Settle EEOC Sexual Harassment Lawsuit

Employer Failed to Stop Supervisor's Sexual Demands, Retaliated Against Workers Who Spoke Out, Federal Agency Charged - SEATTLE - National Food Corporation, a major supplier of eggs to the Pacific Northwestern and...more

Legislation Roundup: Maryland General Assembly Mandates that Employers Provide "Light Duty" to Pregnant Disabled Women, Leave for...

In May 2013, Governor Martin O'Malley signed three noteworthy statutes that will affect virtually every Maryland employer. Effective October 1, 2013, Maryland employers with 15 or more employees must provide their pregnant...more

Revisions to CHRO-Related Statutes Under Consideration Include Damages for Emotional Distress

Whenever someone tells you that a proposed bill “clarifies” something or “simplifies” existing law, you should view such talk with a dose of healthy skepticism....more

PFERD Milwaukee Brush to Pay $65,000 In EEOC Pay Bias Suit

Company Refused to Pay Female Employee as Much as Men, Federal Agency Charged - MILWAUKEE, Wis. - A federal magistrate judge in Milwaukee has entered a consent decree resolving a job discrimination lawsuit brought by...more

America’s Largest Onion Grower to Pay $150k to Settle EEOC Harassment and Retaliation Suit

River Point Farms Supervisor Reinforced Domestic Abuse, Federal Agency Charged - PENDLETON - A Hermiston, Ore., farm which calls itself America's largest onion grower will pay $150,000 to a female worker and provide...more

BMO Harris Bank to Pay $400,000 to Resolve EEOC Disability Lawsuit

Federal Agency Says Bank's Medical Leave Policy Violated the Americans with Disabilities Act - CHICAGO - BMO Harris Bank will pay $400,000 to a group of 14 former employees under a consent decree entered on May 2,...more

Jury Awards More Than $1.5 Million in EEOC Sexual Harassment and Retaliation Suit against New Breed Logistics

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - A jury has rendered a verdict of more than $1.5 million in the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's (EEOC) sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit against New Breed Logistics, a North ...more

Small Companies in Colorado Can No Longer Discriminate

Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper signed a bill into law last week that provides recourse against discrimination to workers at companies that employ fewer than 15 people....more

"My Prior Complaint Was One Of The Reasons For The Adverse Employment Action": Mixed Motive Theories For Retaliation Claims Under...

Recently, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center v. Nassar, which addresses the causation standard for retaliation claims under Title VII. The Supreme Court has already held...more

EEOC Wins Substantial Jury Verdicts Totaling Over $260 Million

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has obtained significant jury verdicts for damages totaling $260 million in disability discrimination and sexual harassment lawsuits. These verdicts stress the importance for...more

EEOC Sues Dynamic Medical Services for Religious Discrimination

Federal Agency Charges Company Required Employees to Participate in Scientology Religious Practices, Fired Two for Refusing to Participate - MIAMI - Dynamic Medical Services, Inc., a Miami company owned by Dr....more

Attorney Fees Not Available In Mixed Motive Retaliation Claims Under Title VII, Seventh Circuit Rules

Under Title VII, in “mixed motive” discrimination cases (i.e., discrimination motivated in part, but not entirely, by an impermissible factor), an employer may limit Plaintiff’s recovery where it can show that it would have...more

Probat/Bauermeister to Pay $100,000 to Settle EEOC Disability Discrimination Lawsuit

German Companies Fired Memphis Employee Due to Bipolar Disorder, Federal Agency Charged - MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Probat, Inc. and Probat Burns, Inc., d/b/a Bauermeister, Inc., German-based companies which roast and grind...more

It's Not Defamation if No One Knows It's You -- Sammy Hagar Defeats Defamation Claim

The first element of defamation is sometimes forgotten. The defamatory statement must be about the plaintiff. In most instances that will be self-evident, but sometimes the identity of the person being defamed will be known...more

EEOC Lawsuits Against Employers Are On The Rise

Although the EEOC typically does not file lawsuits on behalf of charging parties, the number of lawsuits being filed by the EEOC is on the rise. The EEOC currently has litigation pending based on alleged race, national...more

Supreme Court Ups the Bar for Class Action Lawsuits

Supreme Court Ups the Bar for Class Action Lawsuits by Christine M. Vanek on May 7, 2013 The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Comcast Corp. v. Behrend will likely help businesses defend employment, anti-trust, consumer...more

$240M to Disabled Workers Abused in Company’s ‘House Of Horrors’

A turkey processing company has been ordered by a jury to pay a whopping $240 million for paying mentally disabled workers 41 cents per hour and housing them in a rodent-infested “house of horrors.”...more

New Mexico Enacts Fair Pay for Women Act

Earlier this spring, New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez signed into law the Fair Pay for Women Act ("FPWA" or the "Act"), prohibiting employers from engaging in gender–based wage discrimination. Inspired by the passage of...more

Orland Park Janitorial Company to Pay $360,000 to Resolve Claim of Discrimination against Hispanics

EEOC Says RJB Properties Harassed and Fired Hispanic Employees and Retaliated Against Supervisors Who Refused to Fire Hispanic Employees - CHICAGO - RJB Properties, Inc. (RJB), a janitorial company headquartered in...more

EEOC Wins Jury Verdict of More than $20 Million for Sexual Harassment and Retaliation

Florida Travel Agency Subjected Women to Verbal and Physical Abuse and Disrespect, Manager Fired for Complaining, Federal Agency Charged - TAMPA, Fla. - A federal jury has returned a unanimous verdict awarding a total...more

Jury Awards $240 Million for Long-Term Abuse of Workers with Intellectual Disabilities

Historic Verdict Against Henry's Turkey Service for Men Subjected to Verbal and Physical Harassment, Housed in Substandard Facilities, Denied Medical Care - WASHINGTON - A Davenport, Iowa jury today awarded the U.S....more

Immigration Alert: April 2013

In This Issue: Comprehensive Immigration Reform Debate Begins! USCIS Reports That H-1B Cap Is Reached in First Week; New Form I-9 Becomes Effective on May 7, 2013; CBP Announces Form I-94 Automation; DOS Permits Access to...more

Presrite Corporation to Pay $700,000 and Offer 40 Jobs to Settle EEOC Class Action Lawsuit

Manufacturing Company Refused to Hire Females, Federal Agency Says - CLEVELAND - Presrite Corporation, a manufacturing company headquartered in Cleveland that makes gears and other industrial parts, will pay $700,000,...more

Monty Green v. The City of New York, et al.

Complaint

More importantly, at no time, did any internal investigator observe him solicit anyone for sexual favors in exchange for monies; observe him hire anyone as a sex worker to perform sexual favors for others in exchange for...more

Courts Hold Employers In Contempt For Violating EEOC Settlement Agreements

Employers that ignore consent decrees (court-approved settlement agreements) may be held in contempt of court and subject to additional fines, sometimes totaling $1,000 for each day of noncompliance. Recent contempt orders by...more