The EEOC and Walgreen Co. resolved a race-discrimination lawsuit this week with a $20 million proposed consent decree. The suit had alleged widespread bias against African-American workers by assigning them to low-performing Walgreens drugstores and stores in communities with large African-American populations. The suit, which also claimed African-Americans were denied promotional opportunities based on race, [...]

A U.S. District Judge in California (William Alsup – San Francisco) has rejected a proposed FLSA settlement between Oracle and the plaintiffs. The proposed $9 million settlement was intended to resolve claims that the company had improperly denied overtime pay to workers. The federal judge classified the proposal as an unfair “bonanza” for both Oracle [...]

According to media reports, global investment banking and brokerage firm Morgan Stanley is facing yet another lawsuit about inappropriate sexual harassment by employees. This case is based on accusations of former Morgan Stanley assistant against her boss, a broker in the bank’s Melville, Long Island office. As the NY Daily News reported last week:   [...]

The Times over in the U.K. has done us the favor of reminding us that it is not only in the U.S. where we have judges who file a $54 million lawsuit against a drycleaner over a lost pair of pants. For some humor, click here if you want to see their top 14 compilation [...]

As reported in the UK’s Guardian and BBC News, global cosmetics giant L’Oréal and its outside employment services firm Adecco were found guilty last week of racial discrimination after they sought to exclude non-white women from promoting a line of shampoo. The French campaign group SOS Racisme brought the case against the Garnier division of [...]

A Los Angeles firefighter who contends she was harassed and tormented by superiors because she is black, female and a lesbian has been awarded $6.2 million in economic damages by a Los Angeles Superior Court jury. According to the Denver Post… Brenda Lee, age 39, filed her suit in 2005. She alleged, among other things, [...]

A jury awarded a former Target employee nearly $1 million in response to his lawsuit against the retail giant. James Patton, who was demoted and then terminated following two weeks of service with the Oregon National guard, sued Target citing federal and state laws, which prohibit discrimination against military personnel and wrongful discharge. The jury [...]

A former UBS financial advisor was awarded over $3.5 million, $3 million of it in punitive damages, by a federal jury in a sex discrimination lawsuit against her one-time employer. Roberta Tse’s lawsuit alleged that she was put on an unrealistically high-expectation Business Development Plan due to a “negative trend” in her business. The suit [...]

As the Chicago Sun Times reports, a federal jury ruled that Walgreen Co. did not discriminate against four black customers who alleged they were victims of racial profiling. The unanimous verdict in U.S. District Court ends a nearly two-year-old legal claim filed by four black male customers against the retailer. “We maintained from the beginning [...]

According to media reports coming out of Sweden, a Swedish heavy metal fan has had his musical preferences officially classified as a disability. The results of a psychological analysis will enable the metal loving part-time dishwasher (how appropriate!) to supplement his income with state benefits. Because heavy metal dominates so many aspects of his life, [...]

In a 5-to-4 decision, the Supreme Court provided a ruling on an 18-month-old case that puts a time limit on when an employee can sue their employer for pay discrimination. The majority backed its decision by referring to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which provides employees 180 days “after the alleged [...]

This story comes to us from Jackson County, Kansas where last week a jury awarded $131,340 to a former car dealership employee, Timothy McGeeney. The 48-year old former Finance and Insurance Director of Superior Volvo alleged that he was terminated in June 2005 after four years of employment, and replaced by a less-experienced, younger (27 [...]

This is a confusing story in some ways so we will try and keep it simple…. This week, a Los Angeles jury recommended that the city compensate Fire Department Captain, Frank Lima, to the tune of $3.7 million for retaliating against him when he refused to provide preferential treatment to a female recruit. Lima sued [...]

A new enforcement guideline was issued last week by the EEOC. The guideline is aimed at heightening corporate awareness that current discrimination laws apply to caregivers. The guidance clearly spells out how current laws that prohibit gender, pregnancy, or disability-based discrimination can apply to caregivers. It also seeks to dispel the misconception that, although the [...]

On April 2nd, Steve Heyer, the CEO of Starwood Hotels (NYSE: HOT) resigned saying that he was “burned out”. In an interview, Heyer characterized the situation as fallout from strategic and structural changes he made while “transforming [Starwood] from a real estate hotel company to a branding company.” Heyer, while acknowledging he can be a [...]

Hungarians have had it with those Piresian immigrants. New poll results released by the Tarki polling company and published in the national daily newspaper, Nepszabadsag, yesterday showed that the majority of Hungarians would reject giving asylum to Piresians – despite the fact that the particular ethnic group doesn’t even exist. However, the Piresians shouldn’t feel [...]

At the end of the day, we at the Council represent both corporations and the societies/communities in which they operate. As part of this we can’t stand frivolous lawsuits against companies, and we do believe that corporations should aggressively enforce their own legal rights. However, at what point does “aggressively enforce” possibly go too far? [...]

Maximino Garcia, president of a company that employed hundreds of illegal immigrants in Wilmington, Ohio, was sentenced to fifteen months in jail and ordered to forfeit $12 million in gains yesterday by U.S. District Judge S. Arthur Spiegel.  According to prosecutors, through his company (Garcia Labor Company Inc.), Mr. Garcia had more than 900 illegal immigrants using invalid Social [...]

Abbott Laboratories has been ordered to pay $6 million for allegedly discriminating against a contract employee, Carol Tomao, based on age and her disability (Lupus). The jury awarded $5.4 million in punitive damages and $600,000 in compensatory damages. Tomao had alleged in the civil suit that after being assured for several years she would be [...]

A Superior Court jury in San Francisco initially awarded $61 million to two FedEx Ground drivers of Lebanese descent who claimed a manager harassed them with racial slurs for two years. This award was later reduced to $12.4 million by the courts. According to their lawsuit, they were called “terrorists,” “camel jockeys,” and other epithets [...]

The U.S. Supreme Court has made it much easier for workers to sue employers for retaliating against them when they complain about sexual harassment or other discrimination. Historically, employees have largely not been able to collect damages for adverse actions taken against them in retaliation for reporting harassment or discrimination unless such adverse action was [...]

Federal investigators found that WesternGeco a subsidiary of Schlumberger Ltd., the world’s largest oil field services company, committed visa fraud 421 times between 2000 and 2004. WesternGeco knowingly made its foreign employees file fraudulent applications for U.S. visas and make false statements to authorities. The company will pay $18 million in fi nes and $1.6 [...]

A group of The Home Depot Inc. shareholders led by Walden Asset Management have filed a resolution asking the home improvement retailer to provide a report on its diversity record, including equal employment opportunity (EEO) statistics. The resolution has the support of proxy voting advisory services Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Proxy Governance. Walden Asset [...]

A jury has ruled that a California woman of Iranian descent should receive $27.5 million in damages for false imprisonment and malicious prosecution. The passenger was arrested in El Paso, Texas, after Southwest Airlines employees accused her of assaulting a fl ight attendant and interfering with a flight. An El Paso jury decided it was [...]

The U.S. Labor Department has sued Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., alleging hiring discrimination against hundreds of women who sought jobs at its Danville plant in the late 1990s. The lawsuit seeks to have Goodyear, which is based in Akron, Ohio, hire and provide back wages, retroactive seniority and all other employment benefits to the [...]