Jennie-O Turkey Store to Pay $492K in Back Wages to 339 Female Applicants After U.S. Labor Department Investigation Found Hiring Discrimination

WILLMAR, Minn. – Jennie-O Turkey Store Inc. has agreed to hire 53 women and pay $491,861 in back wages to 339 female job applicants denied entry-level jobs at its Willmar turkey-processing facility. The company’s action resolves a U.S. Department of Labor lawsuit alleging the global turkey products producer discriminated in its hiring practices.

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OFCCP Updates Sex Discrimination Rule

On June 14, 2016, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs announced publication of a Final Rule in the Federal Register that sets forth the requirements that covered contractors must meet under the provisions of Executive Order 11246 prohibiting sex discrimination in employment. This Final Rule updates sex discrimination guidelines from 1970 with new regulations that align with current law and address the realities of today’s workplaces. The Final Rule deals with a variety of sex–based barriers to equal employment and fair pay, including compensation discrimination, sexual harassment, hostile work environments, failure to provide workplace accommodations for pregnant workers, and gender identity and family caregiving discrimination.

The Final Rule becomes effective on August 15, 2016.

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EEOC Sues Automation Personnel Services, Inc. For Sex Discrimination

Staffing Agency Refused to Hire Qualified Applicant Because of Her Gender, Federal Agency Charges

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Automation Personnel Services, Inc., a Pelham, Ala.-based staffing agency, violated federal law by failing to consider or hire a qualified woman for placement with a fiberglass grating product manufacturer because of her sex, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit it filed on Friday.

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Country Fresh Sued by EEOC for Sex Discrimination

Milk Manufacturer Refused to Promote Woman Because of Gender, Federal Agency Charged

DETROIT - A Grand Rapids, Mich.-based milk and juice manufacturer violated federal law by subjecting a female employee to sex discrimination, the U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit filed today.

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County Fair Farm Settles EEOC Class Sex Harassment and Retaliation Suit

Maine Farm Subjected Farmworkers to Abuse Since 2003, Federal Agency Charged

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.

Ex-LAPD detective awarded $2.1 million after claiming retaliation, discrimination

By Matt Hamilton, The Los Angeles Times

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.

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NADOHE, Higher Education Organizations Announce Opposition to “Religious Freedom” Laws

By Alexandra Vollman, INSIGHT Into Diversity

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.

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Top U.S. Women Soccer Players Join the Fight for Equal Pay

Cole Schotz PC, Lexology

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:

• U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team alleges gender wage discrimination (Ford & Harrison LLP)
• High Profile Pay Equity “Champions”: U.S. Women’s Soccer Players File EEOC Wage Discrimination Charge (Seyfarth Shaw LLP)
• U.S. women soccer champs demand equal wages, conditions (Reuters)
• Top Female Players Accuse U.S. Soccer of Wage Discrimination (The New York Times)
• U.S. women soccer players charge pay discrimination (CNN)

Mavis Discount Tire to Pay $2.1 Million to Settle EEOC Class Sex Discrimination Lawsuit

Tire Retailer Violated Federal Law by Systemically Refusing to Hire Women in Its Field Locations, Federal Agency Charged

NEW YORK - Mavis Discount Tire, Inc. / Mavis Tire Supply Corp. / Mavis Tire NY, Inc. / Cole Muffler, Inc., a large tire retailer based in the New York metropolitan area, will pay $2.1 million and provide other relief to settle a class sex discrimination lawsuit by the U.S. Equal Employment Oppor­tunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today.

Read the press release here.

NFI Roadrail and NFI Industries to Pay $45,000 to Settle EEOC Pay Discrimination Suit

Company Underpaid Executive Because of Her Gender, Federal Agency Charges

DALLAS - NFI RoadRail, LLC and NFI Industries, Inc., New Jersey-based businesses that provide logistics, transportation and warehouse services to manufacturers and retailers, will pay $45,000 and furnish other relief to settle a gender-based discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today.

Read the press release here.

FYC International to Pay $80,000 to Settle EEOC Sexual Harassment Suit

?Top Warehouse Manager Abused Women and Promoted a Culture Condoning Such Misconduct, Federal Agency Charged

NEW HAVEN, Conn. - FYC International Inc., a manufacturer and wholesaler of women's and children's clothing and accessories that is no longer in operation, will pay $80,000 and provide other relief to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today.

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PMT Corporation to Pay over $1 Million to Resolve EEOC Class Age and Sex Discrimination Lawsuit

Minnesota Medical Device Company Refused to Hire Women and Older Applicants for Sales Jobs, Federal Agency Charged

MINNEAPOLIS - A Chanhassen, Minn.-based medical device and equipment manufacturer will pay $1,020,000 and furnish other relief to settle an age and sex discrimination lawsuit by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today. EEOC said PMT Corporation violated federal civil rights laws by refusing to hire otherwise qualified applicants for outside sales positions because they were female or over the age of 40.

Read the press release here.

EEOC Files First Suits Challenging Sexual Orientation Discrimination as Sex Discrimination

In Two Separate Lawsuits, Federal Agency Charges That a Gay Male Employee and a Lesbian Employee Were Subjected to Hostile Work Environments Because of Sex

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced today that it has filed its first two sex discrimination cases based on sexual orientation. The federal agency's Philadelphia District Office filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania against Scott Medical Health Center, and, in a separate suit, in U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, Baltimore Division, against Pallet Companies, dba IFCO Systems NA.
Read the press release here.
Related content:

• EEOC takes sexual orientation discrimination to federal court (Pepper Hamilton LLP)
• EEOC Files Landmark Lawsuits Alleging Sexual Orientation Discrimination (Dykema Gossett PLLC)
• The Next Frontier of Title VII - EEOC Files its First Sexual Orientation Discrimination Cases (Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky and Popeo PC)
• EEOC Files Suits Alleging Sexual Orientation Bias Violates Title VII (Arent Fox LLP)
• The EEOC Files Historic Lawsuits Testing Theory That Title VII Covers Discrimination Based On Sexual Orientation (Seyfarth Shaw LLP)
• EEOC Files First - and Second - Sexual Orientation Discrimination Lawsuits (Squire Patton Boggs)
• EEOC Files First-Ever Sexual Orientation Discrimination Lawsuits (DiversityInc.)
• EEOC files first two sexual orientation discrimination cases, including one against Baltimore workplace (The Baltimore Sun)

Chipotle liable for discriminating against female workers

By Fatima Hussein, Cincinnati Enquirer

A federal jury in Cincinnati Monday determined Chipotle Mexican Grill wrongfully terminated three former general managers on the basis of their genders and violated the federal Family and Medical Leave Act.

Their suit alleged they were wrongly terminated by a former manager who treated male general managers better than the three females, despite the women receiving similar or better performance evaluations or “audits.” What it also claimed was that the company violated the family leave act.

Read the story here.

$31 Million NH Jury Verdict: Former Walmart pharmacist rings the bell in discrimination case

Pierce Atwood LLP, Lexology

Jury in US District Court, District of NH concludes disgruntled former employee was the victim of sex discrimination and retaliation, awarding back pay, front pay, compensatory, and punitive damages.

Read the story here.

Related content:

• Walmart Discrimination Case Makes Headline (Kelley Drye & Warren LLP)

Academia's 'Baby Penalty'

Fathers and childless women in academia are three times more likely to secure tenure-track positions than are working mothers.

By Sandra Waxman and Simone Ispa-Landa, U.S. News and World Report

Last month, Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter introduced a suite of new Pentagon policies aimed at retaining female troops, especially those with young families. This follows on the heels of a bold new report issued at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting where 10 major Fortune-500 companies, including Twitter, Barclays and PricewaterhouseCoopers, committed to achieving full gender parity by 2020.

Our nation's universities should join in. Women comprise only 37.5 percent of tenured faculty and 22 percent of university presidents.

Read the story here.

Eleventh Circuit Resurrects Transgender Mechanic’s Title VII Gender Discrimination Claim

SmithAmundsen LLC, Lexology

Recently the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals (covering Georgia, Florida and Alabama) reversed a District Court decision which dismissed a Title VII gender discrimination claim brought by an auto mechanic who is transgender, Chavez v. Credit Nation Auto Sales, LLC (11th Cir. Jan. 14, 2016). In reinstating the plaintiff’s claim, the Eleventh Circuit reaffirmed its earlier pronouncement that discrimination based on gender nonconformity is unlawful sex discrimination.

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Deluxe Financial to Settle Sex Discrimination Suit on Behalf of Transgender Employee

Company to Pay $115,000 and Change its Practices Following EEOC Lawsuit

PAUL, Minn. - Deluxe Financial Services Corp. (Deluxe), a Shoreview, Minn.-based check-printing and financial services corporation, has agreed to pay $115,000 as part of the settlement of a sex discrimination and harassment lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today.

Read the press release here.

Related content:

• New York Finalizes Ban On Transgender Discrimination (CBS New York)

One More Push-Up: Fourth Circuit Okays Gender Differences in Certain Physical Fitness Tests

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP, Lexology

Can an employer have different physical fitness standards for men and women without running afoul of Title VII? Yes, according to the Fourth Circuit that ruled that the FBI could reject a male agent candidate who failed his physical fitness test by not being able to do one additional push-up. Plaintiff Bauer sued the Department of Justice claiming that he had been discriminated against on the basis of his sex because the FBI applied a higher physical fitness requirement to him than to female candidates. The FBI claimed that it had established separate testing standards for men and women based on their innate physiological differences. Male candidates were required to do 30 push-ups, while women wanting to be special agents were required to do only 14. Plaintiff Bauer took the physical fitness test five different times, but failed each time by not being able to meet the push-up number.

Read the story here.

Jury sides with Air Force veteran in gender discrimination suit against Burbank

By Alene Tchekmedyian, Los Angeles Times

A jury found that a Toluca Lake man was discriminated against because of his gender when he was denied a job as a police dispatcher for the city of Burbank, where all the current dispatchers are women.

Read the story here.