Lawler Foods to Pay over $1 Million to Settle EEOC Race and National Origin Discrimination Suit

Bakery Refused to Hire Applicants Based on Their Race/National Origin, Federal Agency Alleged

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.

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Affirmative Action for immigrants in civil service moves forward

The Jerusalem Post

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.

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Muslim Teacher May Proceed With National Origin Hostile Work Environment Claim

Holland & Hart LLP, Lexology

A Turkish-born Muslim teacher claimed that her school had a culture of racial and ethnic hostility. The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals (whose decisions apply to Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Kansas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico) recently ruled that her complaints of national origin discrimination may move forward, offering lessons in how to handle cultural differences in the workplace.

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Vail Condo Association Will Pay Over $1 Million to Settle EEOC National Origin Discrimination and Sexual Harassment Lawsuit

Management Company Ignored Complaints of Attempted Rape and Threats of Deportation, Then Fired Employees for Complaining, Federal Agency Charged

DENVER - Vail Run Community Resort Association, Inc., a condominium complex in Vail, Colo., and its management company, Global Hospitality Resorts, Inc., will pay $1,020,000 as part of the settlement of a sexual harassment, national origin discrimination and retaliation lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today.

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Rhino Energy WV Will Pay $62,500 to Settle EEOC National Origin Discrimination and Retaliation Suit

Mining Company Fired Polish-American Foreman Because He Complained About Slurs and Graffiti, Federal Agency Charged

BECKLEY, W.V. - Rhino Energy WV LLC will pay $62,500 and furnish significant relief to resolve a federal lawsuit for national origin discrimination and retaliation, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced today.

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Non-U.S. Citizen’s Discrimination And Retaliation Claims Against Bank Survive Dismissal

Shook Hardy & Bacon LLP, Lexology

On November 5th, the Southern District of Florida refused to dismiss a lawsuit filed against JP Morgan Chase Bank by one of its former bank tellers. The plaintiff, a Brazilian citizen, alleged the Bank violated anti-discrimination and retaliation laws under 42 U.S.C. § 1981. He complained the Bank treated him differently than U.S. citizens and non-Brazilian employees and then fired him after he reported alleged discrimination against both him and the Bank’s non-U.S. citizen clients.

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Signal International, LLC to Pay $5 Million to Settle EEOC Race, National Origin Lawsuit

Ship Building and Repair Company Subjected Indian Guest Workers to Adverse Living and Working Conditions

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Signal International, LLC, a Mobile, Ala. ship building and repair company, will pay an estimated $5 million to 476 Indian guest workers to settle a race and national origin discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today.

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Jury Awards Former Professor $2.5 Million in Discrimination Lawsuit

By Andy Thomason, The Chronicle of Higher Education

A state jury has awarded a former professor at Harris-Stowe State University $2.5 million over her assertion that the institution did not renew her contract because of her national origin. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports Shereen Abdel Kader, a former professor in the historically black university’s College of Education, will be awarded $1.75 million in punitive damages and $750,000 for lost wages and emotional distress.

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National Tire and Battery to Pay $22,500 to Settle EEOC National Origin / Religious Harassment Suit

Arab and Muslim Mechanic Was Abused, Federal Agency Charged

CHICAGO - National Tire and Battery (NTB) will pay $22,500 to a former employee to resolve a national origin and religious harassment lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today.

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UMass gets $364,000 penalty in bias case

Boston.com
June 17, 2011State House News Service

The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth has been fined $10,000 and ordered to pay one of its English professors $154,000 in lost wages and $200,000 in damages for emotional distress as part of a decision issued by the state’s antidiscrimination agency. According to the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, its June 1 decision in favor of LuLu Sun, associate professor of English, also includes the “unprecedented step’’ of ordering the university to promote Sun to full professor....

Full Story: http://articles.boston.com/2011-06-17/news/29670638_1_promotion-associate-professor-administrators

Virginia Beach Plastering Company Sued by EEOC for Same-Sex and National Origin Harassment

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
PRESS RELEASE
7-29-10
Federal Agency Charges Salvadoran Was Victimized by Supervisor

NORFOLK, Va. – A plastering and drywall company doing work at Norfolk Naval Base and MacArthur Center mall violated federal law when it subjected an employee of Salvadoran origin to a hostile work environment based on both his sex and national origin, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit filed today.
The EEOC’s suit (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Tidewater Plastering and Drywall Company, Inc., Civil Action No. 2:10-cv-00369), filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, charged that Virginia Beach-based Tidewater Plastering and Drywall Company, Inc. created and maintained a hostile working environment for Jorge Calderon based on both his male gender and Salvadoran national origin. According to the complaint, from around September 2008 until February 2009, a male foreman for Tidewater Plastering subjected Calderon to unwelcome sexual conduct. The conduct included calling Calderon “sexy,” blowing him kisses and caressing his hands and back. The complaint also alleged that on one occasion the foreman also told Calderon that Calderon would have to sleep with the foreman in order to work at Tidewater Plastering’s next job site.
The same foreman also made derogatory comments to Calderon based on his national origin, including calling him a “stupid Salvadoran.” According to the complaint, when Calderon sought the help of his employer to end the harassment, the president of the company told him that nothing could be done. Consequently, Calderon quit his job.
The EEOC seeks back pay, compensatory damages and punitive damages for Calderon, as well as an injunction enjoining Tidewater Plastering from engaging in similar discrimination again and requiring it to take other measures to ensure a workplace free of discrimination for future employees. The agency filed suit after first attempting to settle the matter informally.
“Offering employees avenues for reporting harassment and then responding appropriately to employee complaints are critical in maintaining a workplace free from unlawful harassment,” said Lynette A. Barnes, regional attorney for EEOC’s Charlotte District Office which also has jurisdiction over Virginia. “This is true across all industries. Employees in the construction industry have just as much right as persons in any other occupation to a workplace free from unlawful harassment.”
The EEOC is responsible for enforcing federal laws against employment discrimination. Further information is available at www.eeoc.gov.

http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/release/7-29-10a.cfm

COMPARE FOODS TO PAY $30,000 FOR NATIONAL ORIGIN AND RACE DISCRIMINATION AGAINST NON-HISPANIC

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
PRESS RELEASE
5-19-09
EEOC Says Statesville Supermarket Fired Employee for Being Non-Latino

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – West Front Street Foods, LLC, doing business as Compare Foods, will pay $30,000 and provide other relief to settle a national origin and race discrimination lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today. The EEOC had charged that West Front Street Foods fired Robert Bruce, a white, non-Hispanic meat cutter, from a Compare Foods supermarket it operated in Statesville, N.C., based on his race and national origin. The lawsuit also charged that Bruce was replaced by a Hispanic worker as a racially motivated maneuver.
Race and national origin discrimination violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The EEOC filed the litigation on September 8, 2008 in U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina (EEOC v. West Front Street Foods, LLC d/b/a Compare Foods, Civil Action No 5:08-cv-102).
In addition to the monetary payment, the consent decree resolving the case also requires West Front Street Foods to distribute a formal, written anti-discrimination policy; provide periodic training to all its employees on the policy and on Title VII’s prohibition against national origin and race discrimination; send periodic reports to the EEOC concerning employees who are fired or resign; and post a “Notice to Employees” concerning this lawsuit.
Last year the EEOC settled a lawsuit against another Compare Foods supermarket in Charlotte (EEOC v. E & T Foods, LLC d/b/a Compare Foods, Civil Action No 3:06-cv-318, W.D.N.C). In that case, the EEOC also charged that the employer fired three non-Hispanic employees in the store’s meat department because of their race or national origin and replaced them with Hispanic workers.
“Federal law clearly prohibits employers from making employment decisions based on an employee’s race or nationality,” said the regional attorney of EEOC’s Charlotte District Office, Lynette A. Barnes. “Everyone deserves the freedom to compete in the workplace on a fair and level playing field.”
The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. Further information about the Commission is available on the agency’s web site at www.eeoc.gov.

WHEELER CONSTRUCTION TO PAY $325,000 TO SETTLE EEOC SUIT FOR NATIONAL ORIGIN HARASSMENT, RETALIATION

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
PRESS RELEASE
3-10-09

PHOENIX -- The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today announced that Wheeler Construction, Inc., a Phoenix-based construction company, has agreed to settle a national origin harassment lawsuit for $325,000 and other relief on behalf of Mexican workers.
The EEOC’s complaint in U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona charged that employees Leonard Lopez and Juan Campos were subjected to harassment based on their national origin (Mexican) and retaliation for complaining about it. The harassment included comments by a supervisor referring to employees as “wetbacks” and “s--cs” and telling Latino employees to “go back to Mexico.” Lopez was born and raised in Glendale, Ariz., and had 20 years of service with Wheeler Construction at the time of the harassment. When Lopez complained to management about the harassment he was fired.
Campos also attempted to complain about the harassment and Wheeler failed to take any action to address it. After an EEOC investigation, the agency found that two additional employees alerted management of the discrimination and no action was taken.
Wheeler Construction agreed to settle the case for $325,000 and substantial remedial relief, including an injunction, posting an anti-discrimination notice, and training its employees on anti-discrimination laws.
“These victims attempted to speak out and address their unlawful treatment, and their complaints were ignored,” said Chester V. Bailey, director for the EEOC’s Phoenix District Office. “Employers need to take action when alerted to illegal discrimination in the workplace. No employee should be subjected to such intolerable work conditions.”
Mary Jo O’Neill, regional attorney for the Phoenix District Office, said, “The fact that these employees work at a construction site is no excuse for the ethnic slurs that were used against Mr. Lopez and Mr. Campos. We are especially concerned that the outrageous comments were made by a supervisor. Instead of stopping this behavior, the company failed to act appropriately and compounded its culpability by retaliating against its employees.”
The EEOC is responsible for enforcing federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination based on race, color, gender (including sexual harassment and pregnancy), religion, national origin, age, disability and retaliation. Further information about the EEOC is available on its web site at www.eeoc.gov.

MERRILL LYNCH TO PAY $1.55 MILLION FOR JOB BIAS AGAINST IRANIAN MUSLIM FORMER EMPLOYEE

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
December 31, 2008
EEOC Settles Suit for Discrimination Based on Religion and National Origin

NEW YORK – The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today announced that Merrill Lynch, the international financial services firm, has agreed to pay $1,550,000 to settle a discrimination lawsuit under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act on behalf of an Iranian Muslim former worker who was fired due to his religion and national origin.
The EEOC’s lawsuit, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (Case No. 07-CV-6017), alleged that Merrill Lynch refused to promote and terminated Majid Borumand from a position as a quantitative analyst in August 2005 because of his Iranian national origin and Muslim religion. Merrill Lynch instead retained and promoted a less qualified individual, the EEOC asserted in the lawsuit.
“Employers need to be vigilant in guarding against discrimination based on religion or national origin, especially as our nation’s labor force becomes increasingly more diverse,” said EEOC New York District Director Spencer H. Lewis. “All individuals deserve the freedom to compete on a fair and level playing field, which did not occur in this case.”
According to the consent decree settling the litigation, in addition to the monetary relief for Borumand, Merrill Lynch will provide training to its employees regarding discrimination based on religion and national origin. In addition, the decree states that Merrill Lynch will not discriminate against employees because of their national origin or religion, and will not retaliate against employees who oppose discrimination. The decree also calls for monitoring by the EEOC to ensure compliance.
EEOC Senior Trial Attorney Michael J. O’Brien said, “We are pleased with the resolution of this case, not only in terms of the significant monetary benefits, but also for the injunctive relief which will help foster a discrimination-free workplace.”
The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. Further information about the EEOC is available on its web site at www.eeoc.gov.