The U.S. Supreme Court is tackling whether workers who must wear specific safety or protective gear in the course of their employment must be paid for the time spent gearing up before shift and gearing down after. In essences, the Supreme Court will be determining what "changing clothes" means for the purposes of hourly pay for unionized workers.
Former Employees Sue Over Culture Of Sexual Harassment At CA Company
Two former employees of Capital Asset Exchange and Trading (CAET) have alleged in separate employment discrimination and harassment lawsuits against the California employer that it cultivated a culture of sexual harassment through vulgar actions and speech. Both were employed as capital equipment traders for the Redwood City-based company.
Fired Days After Revealing Pregnancy, Bus Driver Fights Back
A Santa Monica bus driver fired about a week after telling her boss that she was pregnant successfully persuaded a jury that she was discriminated against by her employer, the City of Santa Monica. But the City appealed and the California Supreme Court reversed that decision, sending Wynona Harris back to the trial court to try again.
Wrongful Termination Suit Follows Firing At Christian College
Twenty-nine-year-old Teri James is fighting back against the Christian college she believes wrongfully terminated her after she informed the human resources manager that she was pregnant. El Cajon-based San Diego Christian College gave the unmarried James the 'opportunity' to resign or be fired. According to the college, she had broken the lifestyle agreement that she had signed when she began working for the school as a financial aid specialist.
A Patient Request Is Not An Excuse For Race Discrimination
Forty-nine-year-old Tonya Battle has worked for the same hospital for 25 years. Currently she's a nurse in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). She may have thought she'd seen it all, until one father's request floored her: he asked the hospital to ensure that no African-American nurses cared for his newborn.
Is Your Credit Report Hurting Your Job Prospects?
It doesn't seem fair. You are out of work, looking for a job and a regular paycheck to afford your basic living expenses. You don't have a job, so sometimes meeting bill due dates or paying the required amount has been difficult and you were dinged on your credit report. Some employers are using those negative marks and resulting lowered credit scores to deny employment to otherwise good candidates.
Aeropostale Retailer Accused Of Pregnancy Discrimination
Retail clothing giant Aeropostale is facing a pregnancy discrimination lawsuit from a former employee who claims she was consistently harassed by management after informing her superiors that she was expecting a baby. Codie Nelson had been a sales associate at an Aeropostale store for only four months when she began having pregnancy symptoms. She was about nine weeks along when she experienced cramping during her shift.
CA Company That Underpaid Mexican Workers Ordered To Pay Damages
A Silicon Valley company employed U.S. and Mexican workers to work alongside each other to refurbish several power generators. Those who were U.S. citizens were paid in dollars and those who were Mexican citizens were paid in pesos. After converting the amount received in pesos to American dollars, the Mexican workers were determined to have received $2.66/hour for their work.
Can Refusing A Flu Shot Get Me Fired?
Maybe. Employers may encourage employees to get a flu shot for a variety of reasons: to control health care costs by warding off illness, to manage productivity levels by helping to keep the majority of the workforce healthy and able to work or simply as a 'fringe benefit' of employment. Some may go so far as to require a flu shot as a condition of employment and will terminate or threaten to terminate any employee who does not comply.
Termination For Artificial Insemination? It Happened
Christa Dias was a computer technology professional, employed by the Archdiocese of Cincinnati , working in two local schools. Dias informed her boss that she had gotten pregnant and he warned her that she would probably lose her job. Dias was unmarried and the Catholic school system had strict rules against premarital sex.
20 Years Later, FMLA Still Offers Job Protections To U.S. Workers
The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) was passed in February of 1993, twenty years ago. Since then, it has provided countless workers throughout the United States with job-protected medical leave to care for themselves or their family members.
Veronese Asks California Supremes To Decide Her Pregnancy Discrimination Case
We previously blogged about a pregnancy discrimination verdict against George Lucas that was reversed on appeal: Julie Veronese was well into the hiring process at Lucas' estate at San Anselmo when she found out she was pregnant and was forced to push back what she had thought was her start date. She filed a pregnancy discrimination lawsuit against Lucasfilm that also included claims for wrongful termination and failure to prevent workplace discrimination.
Are Teachers Religious Workers? TO School To Find Out
Two former teachers at the Little Oaks School in Thousand Oaks were let go after they refused to submit information about their own faith, including church attendance, and a reference from a pastor to their employer. Rather than settling a wrongful termination and religious discrimination case with the teachers, the school has filed a lawsuit in federal court to assert what it believes is its right to associate and hire only those who share its religious beliefs.
