HOUSTON - A large local bakery will pay $1,042,000 as part of the settlement of a class race and national origin discrimination lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today.
Read the story here.
SAN DIEGO - A San Ysidro, Calif., restaurant will pay $27,500 and furnish remedial relief to settle a male-on-male class sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today.
Read the story here.
HAVRE, Mont. ― A hearing officer with the Montana Human Rights Commission has awarded $175,000 to a dean at Montana State University-Northern who complained that the former provost sexually harassed him.
Read the story here.
WASHINGTON, April 26, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights announced today that it will hold a public briefing on Friday, May 20, 2016, to examine the funding of K-12 education and how the inequitable distribution of these funds negatively and disproportionately impact the educational opportunities of low-income and minority students. The briefing will also address how the practice of underfunding public schools has exacerbated the academic achievement gap in an era where the nation's most vulnerable children are increasingly educated in highly segregated and under-resourced schools.
Read the press release here.
Many African-American students admitted to University of California campuses said they chose to enroll at other universities because of the UC system’s lack of diversity, its high costs to attend and poor outreach to them while they applied, according to a new UC survey.
Read the story here.
APRIL 25, 2016 Contact: Press Office, (202) 401-1576, press@ed.gov
The U.S. Department of Education, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, announced today $5.7 million in new grants aimed at improving outcomes for students who have been involved in the criminal justice system. The Department also released a new toolkit providing guidance to educators and others to support a successful reentry system for formerly incarcerated youth and adults.
Read the story here.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (which applies employers with 15 or more employees) prohibits discrimination on the basis of an employee’s sex. The law doesn’t mention sexual orientation as among the protected categories and many courts, including the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals (which covers Kansas employers), have concluded that Title VII does not in fact protect employees from discrimination on the basis of their sexual orientation. That said, courts have concluded discrimination “based on sex” includes harassment and adverse actions based on sex-stereotyping. In other words, discrimination against a woman because she does not conform to feminine or female-specific norms or stereotypes; or against a man because he does not conform to masculine or male-specific norms or stereotypes.
Read the story (Part I) here. View part II, part III, and part IV.
Related content:
With the recent death of Justice Antonin Scalia, the U.S. Supreme Court would seemingly be at a 4-4 impasse on many charged cases. However, in Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin II — the pending case about race-conscious university admissions at the University of Texas at Austin (UT), Justice Scalia’s death actually eliminates the possibility of a tie, because Justice Elena Kagan recused herself from the case. Seven Justices will now decide the fate of Fisher II, with Justice Anthony Kennedy in his usual role of swing vote. If Kennedy votes to strike down UT’s race-conscious admissions policy, then Scalia’s absence will not matter much. Under that scenario, Kennedy’s opinion would control Fisher II either with Scalia (5-3 vote, commanding a majority on the Court) or without him (4-3 majority on the Court). Either of these would reverse the 5th Circuit and set precedent. However, if Kennedy votes to uphold UT’s policy, then Scalia’s absence matters, because rather than a 4-4 tie with no precedential value, Kennedy could write a 4-3 majority opinion. Moreover, because UT’s policy is more modest than the University of Michigan Law School policy upheld in Grutter v. Bollinger (2003), Kennedy could actually uphold it and still further limit the scope of constitutionally acceptable race-conscious admissions policies. If that happens, proponents of affirmative action will have to wonder whether to call it victory or defeat.
Read the article here.
The CFPB’s Office of Minority and Women Inclusion (OMWI) published its third annual report to Congress highlighting its 2015 activities. Dodd-Frank requires the CFPB and other federal regulators to establish an office of minority and women inclusion, requires each office to gather certain data, and then requires each office to provide Congress with an annual report.
Read the story here.
The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights this week criticized controversial laws that were passed recently in North Carolina and Mississippi and considered in other places, describing the measures as discriminatory and potentially dangerous.
Read the story here.
Related content:
Several recent settlements between the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) and employers in Pennsylvania underscore the importance of proper policies and procedures in the context of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (“ADEA”), and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”). While neither the court nor a jury of fact-finders reached the merits of the following cases, the alleged facts and claims—and disclosed settlement amounts—remind employers to review policies and procedures to ensure that employers are compliant with the law and following best practices in their industry as to employment-related decisions.
Read the story here.
A panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit ruled this week that obesity is not a “disability” within the meaning of the Americans with Disabilities Act — even as amended in 2009 — unless the condition was caused by some underlying physiological disorder.
Read the story here.
Related content:
“The fifties was the most exciting career decade of my life so far,” says Babette Pettersen, “and it looks like my options are only getting better as I turn 60.” Babette is one of a growing number of people — especially women — whose careers have accelerated as they have approached what used to be considered retirement age.
Read the story here.
Related content:
Read the story here.
Related content:
There’s more bad news for women about the gender pay gap. Although more women are graduating from American colleges and universities than ever before, they are still being paid less than their male counterparts when they enter the workforce, the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) indicated in a new report Thursday.
Read the story here.
Related content:
The U.S. Department of Justice has found that the University of New Mexico violates federal law in how it responds to reports of sexual harassment and assault, the department said on Friday in a news release. <> Read the story here.
A review of sexual harassment policies involving faculty at the University of California has failed to make sure that investigations are effective, cases are consistently handled and sanctions are strong enough to fit the offense, according to UC President Janet Napolitano.
Read the story here.
Related content:
By Jake New, Inside Higher Ed
Prompting widespread anger from faculty and students, University of Wisconsin at Madison police on Thursday pulled a black student from class and arrested him for allegedly spray-painting anti-racist messages across campus.
Read the story here.
Related content:
The U.S. Department of Education today reached a settlement agreement with the Oklahoma City Public Schools to address disproportionate discipline of black students. An investigation revealed black students were significantly overrepresented in disciplinary actions.
Read the press release here.
Related content:
The Brigham Young University student who started an online petition to demand that an immunity clause for victims of sexual assault be added to the Mormon institution’s strict honor code has now filed a federal Title IX complaint against the university, the Huffington Post reports.
Read the story here.
Related content:
By Byron P. White, Inside Higher Ed
One of the most perplexing features of the studies and reports on student success that have emerged in recent years in higher education is that many are dominated by discussion of student failure. Often, these documents included a section with a title like “Barriers to Persistence and Completion.” These narratives fixate on factors that identify students as “at-risk,” “vulnerable” or “disadvantaged.”
Read the story here.
Related content:
When Anita Vila-Parrish was an undergraduate student at North Carolina State University 15 years ago, there were no women faculty in the industrial and systems engineering department. Now there are three, and it feels like a victory in the 20-member department.
Read the story here.
Related content:
The American Association for Access, Equity and Diversity (AAAED), an organization of equal opportunity, diversity and affirmative action professionals, announced the 2016 honorees of its annual awards program. The awards will be conferred during the Association’s 42nd National Conference and Annual Meeting themed "Bridging the Opportunity Gap: Business, Education and Government."
Read the press release here.
SAN FRANCISCO - The City of Milpitas will pay $140,000 and provide other relief to settle an age discrimination lawsuit by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today.
Read the press release here.
DETROIT - A paper and packaging manufacturer with a facility located in Battle Creek, Mich., will pay $187,500 to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today.
Read the press release here.
NEW YORK - Local 25 of the Sheet Metal Workers' International Association and its associated apprenticeship school will pay a combined $1.65 million and provide substantial remedial relief in partial settlement of race discrimination claims made against them by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today.
Read the story here.
BOSTON - The federal district court in Portland, Maine has approved a consent decree resolving discrimination litigation brought by U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) against County Fair Farm, the federal agency announced today.
Read the press release here.
Read the story here.
According to the 1960 census, Whites constituted 88.8 percent of all Americans, with an additional 10.6 percent classified as Black. In addition, less than 1 percent of Blacks who were married were married outside of the race and interracial marriage was still illegal in over 20 states. Also, the 125,000 foreign-born Blacks in the United States comprised only 0.7 percent of the Black population.
Read the story here.
Related content:
Alexander W. Astin has something to say — a lot to say, really — about smartness. He knows some people won’t want to hear it, especially if they happen to teach college students for a living.
Read the story here.
Related content:
Related content:
Illinois has reached financial settlements totaling $625,000 with former football coach Tim Beckman and seven former women's basketball players, the university said in separate news releases Tuesday.
Read the story here.
A jury awarded $2.1 million Tuesday to a former Los Angeles police detective who claimed she was so mistreated and harassed after taking a medically ordered leave that she suffered irreversible harm and could no longer work.
Read the story here.
By Jonathan Cole, The Atlantic
America’s great public research universities, which produce path-breaking discoveries and train some of the country’s most talented young students, are under siege. The result may be a significant weakening of the nation’s preeminence in higher education. Dramatic cuts in public spending for state flagship universities seem to be at odds with widespread public sentiment. Americans say they strongly believe in exceptional educational systems; they want their kids to attend excellent and selective colleges and to get good, well-paying, prestigious jobs. They also support university research. After 15 years of surveys, Research! America found in 2015 that 70 percent of American adults supported government-sponsored basic scientific research like that produced by public universities, while a significant plurality (44 percent) supported paying higher taxes for medical research designed to cure diseases like cancer or Alzheimer’s. Nonetheless, many state legislators seem to be ignoring public opinion as they essentially starve some of the best universities—those that educate about two-thirds of American college students.
Read the story here.
By Tom Philips, The Guardian
A court is hearing China’s first transgender discrimination case in what activists describe as a landmark legal battle they hope will advance the LGBT cause in the country.
Read the story here.
Read the story here.
Related content:
In reaction to a string of recently approved and proposed “religious freedom” bills by legislatures in a handful of southern states, the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education (NADOHE) released a statement, along with three other organizations, announcing its opposition to these laws, which many say legalize discrimination against the LGBTQ community.
Read the story here.
LAS VEGAS-Bank of America, N.A. will pay $30,000 and furnish other relief to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today.
Read the press release here.
DETROIT - A manufacturer of various types of premium paper with a paper mill in Munising, Mich., will pay $33,000 to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today.
Read the press release here.
DiversityInc
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy today announced the launch of “TalentWorks” – a free online tool that helps employers and human resources professionals ensure accessibility in their web-based job applications and other recruiting technologies for job seekers with disabilities.
Read the story here.
Related content:
A study by researchers at the University of Toronto and Stanford University finds that resumes that have been “whitened” by minority job seekers are twice as likely to receive callbacks in job searches, even by companies that claim they value diversity.
Read the story here.
Related content:
New California anti-discrimination, anti-harassment, and pregnancy disability leave regulations go into effect on April 1, 2016. The substantive law regarding these issues has not changed. However, the new amendments enumerate detailed requirements regarding anti-harassment policies and investigations, and institute additional notice and recordkeeping requirements.
Read the story here.
Related content:
The Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) requires that employers provide reasonable accommodation to employees with disabilities. Employers often find recognizing and handling requests for accommodations challenging. Following the steps below will enable employers to confidently recognize and handle accommodation requests in the workplace.
Read the story here.
Society for Human Resource Management
The gap between the earnings of men and women in similar positions has its own generational bias, according to a recent study. Among older workers who have been in the workforce for many decades, the gap is widest; younger workers are closer to parity.
Read the story here.
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — In a brightly lit classroom here at Harvard, Mia Karvonides was trying to explain to a group of bemused student leaders the difference between a romantic encounter and “unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature,” as the university’s relatively new code of sexual misconduct defines it.
Read the story here.
Related content:
On Dec. 9, a lawyer for Abigail Fisher stood before the U.S. Supreme Court ready to argue that the University of Texas at Austin was discriminating against white applicants.
He planned to make the case that his client was unfairly denied admission into the university because of her race. And affirmative action opponents hoped that Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin would bring an end to the use of race as a factor in college admissions.
But less than 90 seconds into his introduction, Fisher’s lawyer was interrupted by a question about Texas’ Top 10 Percent Rule. And for much of the next hour, the justices and attorneys argued over the intricacies of the state’s unusual college admissions law, which guarantees a spot in any state college to Texans who graduate near the top of their high school senior class.
Read the story here.
On Wednesday, March 30, five players for the U.S. women’s soccer team officially joined the national fight for equal pay by submitting a wage discrimination complaint to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”).
Read the story here.
Related story:
Government will have to implement affirmative action for recent immigrants and the ultra-Orthodox in their hiring practices if a bill authorized Tuesday for a first reading in the Knesset Law, Constitution and Justice Committee becomes law.
Read the story here.
