Articles on workplace-related issues from newspapers and Internet news sources around the country. We are unable to update this page at this time, but hope to resume updating it soon.
November 20, 2008
$1.8 million settles suit against university for religious bias
Source: CCH
Federal district court judge Mary H. Murguia of the district of Arizona entered a consent decree for nearly $2 million and significant remedial relief to resolve a class-based religious bias lawsuit against the University of Phoenix and its parent corporation, Apollo Group, Inc. The University of Phoenix engaged in a widespread practice of discriminating against non-Mormon employees who worked as enrollment counselors in the university's Online Division in violation of Title VII, alleged the EEOC in its lawsuit.
Mass. factory raided last year settles worker suit
Source: Associated Press, WTEN
The former owners of a New Bedford leather goods factory raided last year by immigration agents will pay $850,000 to workers -- including illegal immigrants -- to settle a lawsuit claiming the company violated wage laws. The employees claimed they were forced to work overtime without pay and had their wages docked when they were late clocking in.
Barack, attack labor abuses: Obama must crack down on wage theft
Source: Errol Louis, New York Daily News
As the nation slumps into recession, one of President-elect Barack Obama's key cabinet picks - one that could help millions of struggling Americans get on their feet economically - will be the choice for secretary of labor. The next labor secretary must launch an all-out crusade against a national epidemic of wage-stealing, in which employers illegally underpay their workers to the tune of an estimated $19 billion a year.
Economy hits immigrants harder than most
Source: Emily Bazar, USA Today
Low-skilled immigrants are taking a hard hit from the faltering economy, losing jobs, sending less money to families overseas and cutting back spending at businesses that cater to them.
After Losses, Pensions Ask For a Change
Source: Mary Williams Walsh, New York Times
Stung by outsize investment losses, some of the nation's biggest companies are pushing Congress to roll back rules requiring them to put more money into their pension funds, just two years after President Bush signed a law meant to strengthen the pension system. President Bush signed the Pension Protection Act of 2006 in response to a string of big corporate bankruptcies and pension failures. With cash now in short supply for companies, they are asking Congress to excuse them from having to replenish the required amounts.
November 17, 2008
Christmas Party Date Discrimination?
Source: Will Carter, KSPR
Clint Bradley used to work in human resources for Positronic Industries, and says a recent email that detailed who employees were allowed to bring to their company Christmas party was upsetting. "What went out from that email was blunt discrimination," said Bradley.
Protests Over a Rule to Protect Health Providers
Source: Robert Pear, New York Times
A last-minute Bush administration plan to grant sweeping new protections to health care providers who oppose abortion and other procedures on religious or moral grounds has provoked a torrent of objections, including a strenuous protest from the government agency that enforces job discrimination laws. The proposed rule would prohibit recipients of federal money from discriminating against doctors, nurses and other health care workers who refuse to perform or to assist in the performance of abortions or sterilization procedures because of their "religious beliefs or moral convictions."
November 14, 2008
Employers Offer Workers Fewer Health Care Plans
Source: Milt Freudenheim, New York Times
It's the annual "open enrollment" season in corporate America, when employees choose their medical plans for the coming year. But this time, even if they are fortunate enough to have a job at a company that still offers health benefits, many workers are finding that the buffet of options has been trimmed to a very short menu.
September 29, 2008
Source: Tom Starner, Human Resource Executive Online
According to a new report that analyzed data from federal court records, workers bringing
employment-discrimination lawsuits increasingly fare poorly in the federal courts. What are the key factors
behind this trend?
September 25, 2008
Employment discrimination plaintiffs fare poorly in federal courts, study finds
Source: CCH
Newly analyzed
data from federal court records show that workers bringing employment discrimination lawsuits increasingly fare
poorly in the federal courts, according to a report to be published by the Harvard Law & Policy Review and
released September 18, 2008, by the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy (ACS).
September 24, 2008
What Happens to Your Benefits After Bankruptcy
Source: Mike Spector, Wall Street Journal
As Marlene Skulnik and thousands of other Lehman employees and retirees discovered, it can be
difficult getting specific answers to questions about the fate of key corporate benefit plans -- such as
traditional pensions, 401(k)s and health insurance -- in the first days after a company goes bust. Even top
executives struggle to see where the dust settles. As the financial crisis threatens to consume more companies,
it's an increasing concern.
Nation's largest retailer accused of firing 67-year-old optician over age, high earnings
Source: Associated Press, Business Week
Wal-Mart is accused of violating federal law in the firing of a
67-year-old employee from a store in Missouri. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in St. Louis alleged
age discrimination in a lawsuit against the nation's largest retailer Monday in federal court. The EEOC says
Yvonne Loskot was fired from the retailer's De Soto store on Oct. 5, 2005 because she was too old and made too
much money.
Chao, big labor disagree on bailout package
Source: Allan Drury, The Journal News
The Bush administration's $700 billion plan to rescue troubled financial firms has placed the
labor secretary in a familiar spot: at odds with big labor.
Business prepares for another ergonomics battle
Source: Kent Hoover, Washington Business Journal
The business community is preparing for another battle over
workplace ergonomics regulations.
September 22, 2008
Why Employee Satisfaction Bolsters Profitability
Source: Kelly Spors, Wall Street Journal Blog
Three weeks from today, the Journal will be publishing its second-annual
Top Small Workplaces – a project with nonprofit Winning Workplaces that spotlights 15 small businesses with
exemplary workplace environments. We're not talking companies with killer products, or jaw-dropping revenues.
Stories like that abound. We're talking companies that invest time, thought and money into creating workplaces
that show they value their employees.
Federal job-discrimination suits dwindling
Source: Linda Satter, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Veteran
employment-discrimination lawyers in Little Rock wholeheartedly agreed Friday with the results of a new
national study showing that federal courts are increasingly ruling against plaintiffs, leading to a marked
decrease in the filing of job-discrimination lawsuits.
Job discrimination bill to widen coverage
Source: David G. Savage, Los Angeles Times
Millions of Americans with diseases or impairments such as diabetes, epilepsy, heart
disease, cancer and carpal tunnel syndrome will be protected from job discrimination under a new disability
rights measure set to become law this week. The bill, five years in the making, won final passage in Congress
last week, and President Bush said he would sign it. The measure overturns a series of Supreme Court rulings
that sharply limited who was covered by the Americans With Disabilities Act.
Big Pay for Big Bosses Under Fire
Source: Phred Dvorak, Wall Street Journal
The U.S.
government's massive intervention in the financial industry may also bring new limits on executive pay. As the
U.S. Treasury asks Congress for about $700 billion to bail out troubled financial firms, key Democratic
lawmakers including House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank and Senate Banking Committee
Chairman Christopher Dodd say they want the bill to include curbs on what executives can earn.
September 19, 2008
Plaintiffs only win 15% of job discrimination claims
Source: Jack Zemlicka, Wisconsin Law Journal
The odds of winning a job discrimination suit in federal court are
against plaintiffs' attorneys. According to statistical analysis conducted by two Cornell University Law
School professors of federal records from 1979 to 2006, plaintiffs who brought job discrimination cases to
district court won only 15 percent of the time, compared to 51 percent for non-jobs related cases.
Transgendered Woman Wins Sex Discrimination Case
Source: Jeffrey Diamond, ABCNews.com
A
transgendered woman, who lost a job offer because of her sexual status, has won a potentially groundbreaking
federal sex discrimination lawsuit. A federal district court judge in Washington, D.C., ruled today that the
Library of Congress discriminated against Diane Schroer when it offered her a job and then rescinded it after
learning she was transgendered.
Workplace Still Full of Gender Inequities
Source: Barbara Rose, Chicago Tribune
If you
are skeptical that a woman would find it necessary to masquerade as a man to get ahead, you will find the
research by Sylvia Ann Hewlett and her six co-authors eye-opening. Their study, "The Athena Factor: Reversing
the Brain Drain in Science, Engineering and Technology," is the fourth in a multiyear project by a task force
of 42 global companies. It focuses on women with degrees in these three traditionally male-dominated fields,
who occupy a surprisingly large 41 percent of lower-echelon corporate jobs for scientists, engineers and
technologists.
September 18, 2008
Appeals court upholds Arizona immigration law
Source: Reuters
A U.S. appeals court on
Wednesday upheld an Arizona law that targets employers who hire illegal immigrants by revoking their licenses
to do business in the state. The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals noted that the 2007 law, which has not been
enforced, arose from "rising frustration with the United States Congress's failure to enact comprehensive
immigration reform."
FedEx appeal to shield personnel data is rejected
Source: Howard Fischer, AZCentral.com
A federal appeals court has rejected efforts by FedEx Corp. to shield information
about its personnel records from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. In a unanimous decision, the
9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the federal agency is entitled to the materials as part of its
investigation of whether the company discriminates against Blacks and Latinos.
Harvard Medical School Prof. Gender Bias Lawsuit Moves Forward
Source: June Q. Wu, Harvard Crimson
After
years of allegedly suffering sexist treatment at Harvard-affiliated Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center,
Harvard Medical School professor Carol A. Warfield may finally have something to smile about. Warfield, who
filed a gender discrimination lawsuit against the hospital's CEO and Chief of Surgery last March, received
notice last Friday that the defendants' motions to move the case to arbitration have been denied by the
Suffolk Superior Court. Barring a settlement, the case will now go to a trial by jury.
September 17, 2008
Disclosure of confidential information was protected activity
Source: CCH
Even though a 49-year-old
African-American nurse's aid engaged in protected activity under Title VII's anti-retaliation provision when
she sent copies of a patient's unredacted, private medical records to the EEOC in order to substantiate her
disparate treatment claims, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a district court's grant of summary
judgment to her employer, a retirement community, on alternative grounds, holding that the aid violated the
employer's policy regarding confidentiality, when without authorization, she provided the medical records to
the federal agency.
September 16, 2008
North Carolina restaurant must pay up in sexual harassment suit
Source: Chris Coletta , Triangle Business Journal
A judge has awarded two former employees at Cinelli's Restaurant in Cary nearly
$90,000 in damages in a ruling in a federal sexual harrasment lawsuit. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission said Tuesday that the female employees, Meghan O'Connell and Brittany Bumgarner, were in a
"sexually hostile work environment" created five years ago by a Cinelli's manager.
September 15, 2008
Study: Employees see benefits to 'cyberloafing'
Source: Zafar Anjum, The Industry Standard
Employees feel that 'cyberloafing' - the non-work related use of their workplace
computer - is acceptable and helps them work better. This is according to a study by Associate Professor Vivien
K.G. Lim and Don J.Q. Chen of the NUS Business School at the National University of Singapore. A total of 191
completed surveys were collected, yielding a response rate of 32 percent. Men made up 34 percent of the
respondents.
Firefighters sue San Diego, alleging harassment in gay pride parade
Source: Tony Perry, Los Angeles Times
Four San Diego firefighters are suing the city government for damages
because they were allegedly sexually harassed while participating involuntarily in the 2007 gay pride parade.
The four say they were ordered to drive their firetruck in the three-hour parade even though firefighters at
previous parades had been subjected to catcalls and sexually suggestive comments by parade watchers.
September 14, 2008
Bills would ensure health benefits for retirees
Source: Mike McFadden, Courier-Post
Sadly, General Motors has become the latest American company to eliminate
health benefits for its retirees over the age of 65. This is just the first major casualty of the federal Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission's (EEOC) decision earlier this year to allow companies to discriminate
against older retirees by treating them differently than younger retirees.
September 12, 2008
Looking for employment in tough economic times
Source: Hanah Cho, Baltimore Sun
It's a tough time to look for a new job, whether you're unemployed or looking for a better
opportunity. Employers are skittish about hiring, while the pool of job seekers is only getting larger.
Unemployment is at a nearly five-year high at 6.1 percent. Last month, the economy lost 84,000 jobs, bringing
the total to 605,000 jobs lost this year. Industries tied to financial services and housing have been hit
hard.
Illegal workers booted, but what of their bosses?
Source: Linda Chiem, Pacific Business News
Recent immigration raids in Hawaii have all ended the same way, with federal
authorities quickly prosecuting and deporting workers who are working illegally. But it isn't clear what
happens to the companies that hired them.
September 11, 2008
Many US CEOs see more pink slips ahead
Source: Associated Press, International Herald Tribune
Nearly one-third of the United States' top executives expect to cut payrolls
in the coming months as companies cope with a weakened economy dogged by housing, credit and financial
problems. The challenging economic environment is forcing companies to produce more with fewer workers, a key
driver of recent increases in U.S. productivity.
Senate passes bill protecting disabled people
Source: Reuters
The Senate on Thursday
approved major legislation that would expand protection against workplace discrimination for people with
disabilities and overturn several Supreme Court rulings that curbed such safeguards in the past decade. The
measure, passed on a voice vote and without dissent, is similar to a legislation that sailed through the House
of Representatives in June, 402-17.
Seattle educator wins $1M in sex harassment case
Source: Chris Daniels, King 5 News
A jury has ordered Seattle Public Schools to pay former Ballard High School
vice-principal Glenda Williams nearly $1 million after she claimed the principal sexually harassed her.
Laborers find it harder to get by in slow economy
Source: Chris Echegaray, The Leaf-Chronicle
Day laborers, berry pickers, taxi drivers and service industry workers are the underbelly of
the nation's economy, the underrepresented and unwanted in American society. And now, they are hurting.
September 10, 2008
Presidential candidates prioritize different workplace issues
Source: CCH
The presidential election campaign kicked
into full gear in late August as the political parties jumped into convention mode. Now's the time to consider
the employment related prescriptions offered by nominees Barack Obama (D) and John McCain (R). Here's a quick
look at the candidates' platforms on workplace issues. No spin--we'll leave that to the pundits.
September 9, 2008
Fired police officer to get $1.65 million in settlement
Source: Hector Castro, Seattle Post-Intelligencer
A former Vancouver, Wash., police officer who sued for discrimination after he was fired
has reached a $1.65 million settlement with the city. Attorneys for Navin Sharma, who was fired as a police
officer in 2006, believe the amount could set a state record in an employment-related case. "This case was
outrageous and appalling," said Seattle attorney Scott Blankenship, who represented Sharma in his lawsuit.
September 8, 2008
Latest noncompete trends include high-tech sleuthing
Source: Adam Stone, Philadelphia Business Journal
Cozen O'Connor attorney David Walton recently won a $7 million award
for a client based on evidence that wasn't there. It's called computer forensics and it's the next big thing
in noncompete clauses. Employers who ask new workers to sign noncompete documents now can dig deep into e-mail
and other records to discover whether trade secrets have been swiped on the way out the door.
Companies Warm Up to Social Networks
Source: Stephen Humphries, Christian Science Monitor
For
many companies, social networks are deemed portals to lost productivity or, worse, gateways for security
breaches by hackers. But some firms are taking a counterintuitive approach. A few are using existing social
networks on the Web while others are building their own custom networks to maximize internal information flow
and forge stronger links between individuals and departments. It's conceivable, some workplace analysts
suggest, that every company will someday have its own social-network hub.
Fannie, Freddie workers say business almost as usual
Source: Karey Wutkowski, Reuters
Workers at mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, under new leadership
since the U.S. government seized the companies over the weekend, say there's little talk of finding new jobs
as they wait to see what their new bosses have in store. "People are joking that, 'I work for the government
now. I might as well go on vacation,'" said an employee who works on a contract basis in the finance
department at one of Fannie Mae's Washington D.C. offices. "But no one's actually doing it."
Former county social worker supervisor may get $117,500 in harassment settlement
Source: Bob Cuddy , San Luis Obispo
A former county social work supervisor who claimed she was fired for testifying against
her bosses in a high-profile sexual harassment case will receive $117,500 if [San Luis Obispo, CA] county
supervisors sign off Tuesday on the settlement. Rebecca Carter, a 17-year Department of Social Services veteran
was fired last year after her testimony directly contradicted her supervisor, Carol Maitzen, in a hearing that
resulted from charges of sexual harassment against a different supervisor in the department. The settlement is
the latest development in a sexual harassment imbroglio that began more than three years ago in the Department
of Social Service's Atascadero office.
September 7, 2008
If the Pay Fix Is in, Good Luck Finding It
Source: Gretchen Morgenson, New York Times
Two years
ago, when the Securities and Exchange Commission began requiring companies to explain performance targets used
to calculate incentive pay for executives, shareholders hoped that the rule would discourage fat compensation
awards for thin results. With two years of data in hand, how is the new rule working? In some cases, well --
but in most, not at all.
September 6, 2008
Age bias lawsuit costs OC $551K
Source: Brian Shane, The Daily Times
An age discrimination lawsuit against Ocean City [MD] police cost the resort town more than half
a million dollars, officials said. City Manager Dennis Dare said Ocean City shelled out $551,704 for the
lawsuit, the bulk of which came from $448,325 in legal fees. Dare said several attorneys with the firm of Miles
& Stockbridge worked the case at hourly rates of $150 to $400.
September 5, 2008
Source: MomLogic
Sure, we all have rotten days at work.
But did you know your job satisfaction may depend on the sex of your boss? New research conducted at the
University of Toronto says people have more problems at work when their boss is a younger man. According to a
study of 1,785 adults, people experience more unfair treatment, criticism, blame, unclear directions, and
unnecessary demands when their boss is male and under the age of 40.
'English only' LPGA rule faces legal challenge
Source: Associated Press, New York Times
A
California legislator is examining how to legally challenge the LPGA's new policy of requiring players to be
able to speak English. Senator Leland Yee -- a Chinese-born Democrat from San Francisco -- said Thursday he was
upset about a policy that requires players to speak effective English starting in 2009.
September 4, 2008
Study: Workers to pay more for health care
Source: Candace Choi, Associated Press
Get ready for another hike in copays and deductibles. A survey being released Thursday by the Mercer
consulting firm found 59 percent of companies intend to keep down rising health care costs in 2009 by raising
workers' deductibles, copays or out-of-pocket spending limits. On average, health care costs will go up by an
estimated 5.7 percent next year for both workers and their employers, the study found. That repeats this
year's 5.7 percent hike and a 6.1 percent jump in 2007.
Whistleblowers Are Left Dangling
Source: Jenniver Levitz, Wall Street Journal
The Department of Labor, charged with enforcing the federal law protecting corporate whistleblowers
at publicly traded companies, has been dismissing complaints on the technicality that workers at corporate
subsidiaries aren't covered.
September 3, 2008
E-mail Blunder Alerts Carat Staff to Major Restructuring
Source: Matthew Creamer and Jonah Bloom, Advertising Age
Struggling media agency Carat is planning a major restructuring of its U.S. operations,
including an undetermined number of layoffs -- news it accidentally released today via a memo the agency's top
New York-based HR executive e-mailed to the entire agency that appeared to be intended only for senior
managers. In a rare, uncomfortable look into the preparations for employee layoffs, management informed its
rank and file of forthcoming layoffs and other changes in Microsoft PowerPoint and Word documents full of
"message" points on how people should be told of their fate and what should be said to their still-employed
colleagues, clients and vendors.
Religious Discrimination at the Best Western?
Source: Laura Onstot, Seattle Weekly
Two months after Faiza Abu started working the front desk at the Best Western Airport
Executel in SeaTac, new staff uniforms arrived. A Muslim head scarf she had been wearing since she'd taken the
job wouldn't work with the new garb, her manager told her. But she kept wearing the scarf, called a hijab, for
religious reasons. "Either you're going to take it off or I'm going to fire you," she says the hotel's
manager, Shawn Walters, told her. "I didn't take it off--and he fired me."
September 2, 2008
Retirement account rules a surprise to seniors
Source: Associated Press, MSNBC.com
There's some sentiment that a
government rule that forces retirees to withdraw money from their IRA and 401(k) accounts when they turn 70 1/2
may need to be changed. That's because people are living longer and need to keep as much of their retirement
money for as long as possible, said several financial advisers and a leader of the Senate Finance Committee.
Judge Rules That Gristede's Broke Law on Overtime Pay
Source: Steven Greenhouse, New York Times
A federal judge has ruled that Gristede's violated federal and state laws by failing to pay overtime to
hundreds of lower-level managers at its supermarkets. As a result of the decision by Judge Paul A. Crotty of
Federal District Court in Manhattan on Thursday, lawyers for more than 400 current and former Gristede's
managers predicted that the company would be forced to pay the plaintiffs $25 million.
A Legal Brouhaha Over Leave For New Dads
Source: Sue Shellenbarger, Wall Street Journal
Sarah Palin's return to work three days after the birth of her youngest son has thrust a
renewed spotlight onto the issue of maternity leave. But the question of whether to extend similar benefits to
fathers has recently sparked a legal brouhaha in Massachusetts, where a state law guarantees childbirth leave
explicitly only to women.
Source: Dalton Conley, New York Times
For many
American professionals, the Labor Day holiday yesterday probably wasn't as relaxing as they had hoped. They
didn't go into the office, but they were still working. As much as they may truly have wanted to focus on time
with their children, their spouses or their friends, they were unable to turn off their BlackBerrys, their
laptops and their work-oriented brains.
August 29, 2008
Ferry worker awarded $2.8 million from [Washington] state
Source: Vanessa Ho, Seattle Post-Intelligencer
A worker at Washington State Ferries won a nearly $2.8 million judgment against the state
this week after a federal jury found that his bosses had retaliated against him when he complained about
paycheck padding and misuse of funds in his department.
August 28, 2008
Workers really feeling insecure
Source: Raju Chebium, USA Today
American
workers are worried about job security and want the government to help them gain new skills and prevent jobs
from being shipped overseas, according to a national survey. The survey, which Rutgers University released
Thursday, shows workers are as anxious now as they were during the 2001 recession, and their worries have
persisted despite economic gains after the 2001 terrorist attacks.
A Law That Could Give Labor Some Brawn
Source: Moira Herbst, Business Week
The proposed Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), a bill
being pushed by labor groups, would allow workers to skip the lengthy process of an NLRB election and unionize
if a simple majority sign authorization cards. The system, dubbed "card check," also calls for unresolved
conflicts to be adjudicated by a federal mediator who would issue binding arbitration if the sides can't reach
an agreement. The bill boosts penalties for illegal acts by employers during union drives, which would cause
them to tread more carefully when talking to employees.
August 27, 2008
Racetrack Workers Aren't Paid Minimum Wage, State Agency Finds
Source: Steven Greenhouse, New York Times
With its stately beau monde setting, the Saratoga Race Course is the place to be in August for
highbrow horse lovers. But a State Labor Department investigation has found a far less attractive picture for
the track's 1,200 backstretch workers. The state labor commissioner, M. Patricia Smith, announced on Wednesday
that 80 percent of the 110 backstretch workers investigators interviewed -- grooms, hot walkers and night
watchmen -- were not paid minimum wage or time and a half for overtime.
AMC fined $141,000 for workplace violations involving teenagers
Source: Diane Stafford, Kansas City Star
American Multi-Cinema Inc. has been fined $141,570 by the U.S. Department of Labor for labor law violations
involving workers under age 18. The department's wage and hour division said Wednesday that AMC permitted
teen-aged employees to operate dangerous equipment and to work beyond the hours and times permitted under the
Fair Labor Standards Act. Wage and hour investigators found AMC employees under age 18 operating and unloading
scrap paper balers and paper box compactors in violation of specific federal safety rules involving trash
compactors.
Source: Wall Street Journal
Forget for a moment the media fascination with disgruntled Hillary Clinton delegates or Michelle Obama's
makeover. One of the most underreported stories at this week's Democratic National Convention is that Big
Labor is making a big comeback.
Abercrombie & Fitch employees allege promotions based on looks
Source: Jessica Meyers, Dallas Morning News
There's no in between. You're either Abercrombie hot –
or you're not. Kristen Carmichael discovered she didn't fit the clothing store's self-described "sexy,
effortless style" when she was pulled from a sales position on the floor of the NorthPark Center store and
shoved back to the stockroom to fold clothes. This was after they'd rated her face.
August 26, 2008
Unions Put Wounded Veterans at Head of Labor Day Parade
Source: Steven Greenhouse, New York Times
New York City's Labor Day parade has a grand, but in recent years fading, tradition, so for this year's
parade the city's union leaders are seeking to put more meaning, oomph -- and oompah -- into the
proceedings.
August 25, 2008
Hundreds of Workers Held in Immigration Raid
Source: Adam Nossiter, New York Times
In another large-scale
workplace immigration crackdown, federal officials raided a factory here on Monday, detaining at least 350
workers they said were in the country illegally. Numerous agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement
descended on a factory belonging to Howard Industries Inc., which manufactures electrical transformers, among
other products.
August 24, 2008
Passage would level the field for workers
Source: Jack Irby, The Tennessean
If you hear the word "card check," you might think it's just another credit card
offer that appears daily in your mailbox. In reality, card check will ensure those who choose to join a union
can do so without having to endure reprisals from their employer. Card check is a simple term for legislation
in Congress called the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA).
August 11, 2008
Book review: When companies get cheap, workers get unhappy
Source: Seth Brown, USA Today
Unions are good, and cost-cutting management is evil. That seems to be the thesis of David
Kusnet's new book, Love the Work, Hate the Job. Kusnet treats protests in 1999 at the World Trade Organization
summit in Seattle as a seminal moment for unions. Dissatisfied Seattle workers began speaking out. "Talking to
these workers," Kusnet says, "I couldn't help but reach this conclusion: They love their work -- the careers
they have chosen, the skills they have learned, the products they make, and the services they provide. But they
are beginning to hate their jobs."
Boeing mum as appeals court says sexual harassment suit should go to trial
Source: Phoenix Business Journal
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Thursday reversed a lower court decision
that concluded The Boeing Co. did not engage in unlawful sexual harassment or retaliation at its Mesa plant.
The lawsuit, EEOC v. The Boeing Co., was remanded to a U.S. District Judge in Arizona for trial. Boeing had no
comment. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission seeks relief on behalf of Kelley Miles, a female mechanic
in Mesa who works on the Apache helicopter the Chicago-based firm manufactures for the U.S. Army.
Company rapped for allowing rapping at work
Source: Jack Maher, 9News.com
A major
manufacturer of semiconductor production equipment will pay $168,000 to settle a racial harassment and
retaliation lawsuit stemmed from rapping at work. Denver labor law attorney Kim Ryan says the EEOC had charged
Novellus Systems, Inc. of Silicon Valley, California, with subjecting an African American worker to racial
harassment because he had to listen on a regular basis to a 27-year-old Vietnamese American co-worker playing
and rapping aloud to music lyrics that included anti-black racial epithets such as the N-word.
August 10, 2008
GM First Casualty of Off-Base EEOC Decision
Source: Thomas Flaherty, MetroWest Daily News
Sadly, General Motors has become the latest American company to
eliminate health benefits for its retirees over the age of 65. This is just the first major casualty of the
federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's (EEOC) decision earlier this year to allow companies to
discriminate against older retirees by treating them differently than younger retirees. GM has set a precedent
that will likely lead to other employers doing the same.
Worst of 'Times' unveiled in lawsuit
Source: Scott Shifrel, New York Daily News
A lawsuit by a New York Times employee paints a disturbing portrait of a
workplace rife with sexual harassment - including an alleged incident of office cubicle masturbation - and age
discrimination. Charles Cretella, 57, who has worked for decades creating summaries of Times stories, is
fighting back after he says he was falsely charged with sexually harassing a 33-year-old male co-worker.
August 8, 2008
Suit vs. Boeing ordered to trial
Source: Max Jarman, Arizona Republic
A 2003 sexual harassment suit against the Boeing Co. in Mesa is heading back to
court. A U.S. appellate court has overturned a lower court decision that cleared Boeing of the charges and
returned the case to Arizona for trial. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued Boeing in 2003 on
behalf of Kelley Miles, a female mechanic at Boeing's Apache helicopter plant in Mesa.
NY court upholds firing worker over smoking breaks
Source: Associated Press, USA Today
A New York appeals court has upheld the firing of a worker who took smoking breaks despite a new policy by her
employer. The court shows the woman, paralegal Karen Krindel of Rochester, was fired in November 2006 after 15
months on the job because she didn't comply with a new written policy that banned smoking breaks.
August 6, 2008
More Than One-Third of Female Workers Say They Are Paid Less Than Their Male Counterparts
Source: CareerBuilder.com
While some may say the "glass ceiling" in the office is
being shattered, according to a new survey from CareerBuilder.com, the Battle of the Sexes continues in the
workplace. Employers are increasingly introducing programs to promote equality, yet more than one-third (34
percent) of female workers say they feel they are paid less than their counterparts of the opposite sex with
the same skills and qualifications -- relatively unchanged from 35 percent in 2006. Eleven percent of men say
they feel they are paid less than their female counterparts. The CareerBuilder.com survey, "Workplace
Equality," included 4,328 male workers and 3,632 female workers nationwide.
August 5, 2008
Hard times drive some mean bosses over edge
Source: Eve Tahmincioglu, MSNBC
It's hot. The economy stinks. And many
bosses across the country seem to be caving under the pressure. That's bad news for workers like Mike, a
senior-level employee for a communications company in the Northeast. Mike, who did not want his real name used
for fear of reprimand, says his boss has always been a Machiavellian, arrogant and condescending jerk, but
lately he's 10 times worse. Many workplace experts believe tough economic times and the constant drumbeat to
do more with fewer people may be driving managers over to the dark side.
EEOC scales back goal for clearing discrimination cases
Source: Stephen Losey, Federal Times
A major goal of
the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has been to speed up work on private-sector discrimination cases.
Specifically, it sought to wrap up work on at least 75 percent of its cases in 180 or fewer days by 2012. But
due to a swelling workload and shrinking staff, the agency is now admitting it won't get there. The commission
on July 28 approved a new strategic plan that dials that goal back -- from 75 percent to 54 percent of cases
that will be resolved within the targeted 180 days.
Former Apple employee sues for violation of labor code
Source: Jim Dalrymple, Macworld.com
David Walsh, a former Network Engineer that worked at Apple from 1995 to 2007, is suing the company for
violating California labor laws. Filed in the United States District Court, Southern District of California,
the complaint focuses on the fact that employees were required to work more than 40 hours a week or eight hours
in a workday. Walsh's suit says that Apple then denies the employees proper compensation for that work.
Associate's Sex Discrimination Claims Proceed Against Law Firm
Source: Anthony Lin, New York Law Journal
A
federal judge in Manhattan has allowed sex discrimination claims to proceed against an intellectual property
law firm that fired an associate two days after she complained in an e-mail to partners that the firm's women
lawyers were being "relegated to non-partnership track support roles." In a 53-page opinion issued last week,
Southern District of New York Judge Kimba M. Wood said Catriona Collins had established a prima facie cases of
discrimination and retaliation against her former firm, Cohen Pontani Lieberman & Pavane.
Video Only settles harassment case
Source: Anne Saker, The Oregonian
Video Only, the home-electronics retailer based in Seattle, was ordered Monday by a
judge in Portland to pay $630,000 to employees at its Jantzen Beach store who complained about racial and
religious slurs, including a doll with face and hair painted black, hogtied and hung by a nail in a break room.
U.S. District Judge Garr M. King signed the agreement between Video Only and the Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission and between Video Only and two employees who sued separately.
Religious Slurs May Amount to Hostile Workplace, N.J. High Court Says
Source: Michael Booth, New Jersey Law Journal
Workers taunted about their religion or ancestry are entitled to the same legal protection as the
victims of sex, race and ethnic harassment, the New Jersey Supreme Court said in the case of a police officer
whose colleagues called him a "dirty Jew." The unanimous court on July 31 reinstated a verdict against the
Haddonfield Police Department and a number of its officers and patrolmen for directing anti-Semitic taunts,
harassment and slurs at Patrolman Jason Cutler.
August 4, 2008
NJ high court: Annoying not harassment
Source: Tom Hester Jr., Associated Press
An annoying person isn't necessarily a sexual harasser, according to the New
Jersey Supreme Court, which on Monday ruled two women who were students at the Princeton Theological Seminary
cannot sue the school for harassment. The women claimed an alumnus in his late-60s who lived in seminary-owned
housing harassed them with requests for dates in 1999 and 2000 and the seminary didn't act to stop him.
Lawyers and Employers Take The Fight to 'Workplace Bullies'
Source: Cari Tuna, Wall Street Journal
A recent U.S. court case and new research are focusing attention on "workplace bullying,"
prompting some employers to take steps to curb aggressive behavior. Experts define workplace bullying as
subtle, persistent and often nondiscriminatory harassment of co-workers. Unlike sexual or racial harassment,
workplace bullying isn't necessarily illegal. But bullying can contribute to absenteeism and turnover and
escalate into illegal behavior if left unchecked, experts say.
August 1, 2008
Wal-Mart Warns of Democratic Win
Source: Ann Zimmerman & Kris Maher, Wall Street Journal
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is mobilizing its store managers and department supervisors around
the country to warn that if Democrats win power in November, they'll likely change federal law to make it
easier for workers to unionize companies -- including Wal-Mart. In recent weeks, thousands of Wal-Mart store
managers and department heads have been summoned to mandatory meetings at which the retailer stresses the
downside for workers if stores were to be unionized.
July 31, 2008
A Hidden Toll on Employment: Cut to Part Time
Source: Peter S. Goodman, New York Times
The
number of Americans who have seen their full-time jobs chopped to part time because of weak business has
swelled to more than 3.7 million -- the largest figure since the government began tracking such data more than
half a century ago. The loss of pay has become a primary source of pain for millions of American families,
reinforcing the downturn gripping the economy.
Bill would block last-minute Labor Dept rule
Source: Associated Press
A House
committee chairman is trying to stop the Bush administration from implementing a late-term rule that could make
it harder to limit worker exposure to dangerous chemicals in the workplace. Rep. George Miller, D-Calif.,
chairman of the Education and Labor Committee, said he's introduced legislation that would block the Labor
Department from finalizing the draft rule, which came to light last week.
Sexual harassment will not go away on its own
Source: Gilbert Singer, Tallahassee Democrat
Forty-eight million, eight hundred thousand dollars. That is the total
monetary compensation paid out in sexual harassment-related cases in 2006, according to the U.S. Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Perhaps even more troubling is the damage that we cannot see: the
emotionally damaged employees, the uncomfortable customers who have taken their business elsewhere and the
shocked community members, to name a few.
July 30, 2008
New religious discrimination manual released
Source: Tim Murphy, USA Today
Citing changing demographics and a steady increase in complaints from people of faith, a federal agency last
week released an updated compliance manual on religious discrimination in the workplace. The U.S. Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission issued the guidance after consultation with religious groups, employers, and
labor organizations.
Jury Awards Former Tunnel Worker $735,000 in Discrimination Case
Source: John Eligon, New York Times
A federal jury has awarded more than $700,000 to a former Queens-Midtown Tunnel employee who said his bosses
denied him a promotion and penalized him for taking sick days because he was Jewish, according to lawyers for
the employee.
July 29, 2008
New discrimination lawsuit for Madison Square Garden
Source: Keith Herbert, New York Newsday
Madison Square Garden has been hit with another discrimination lawsuit, this one filed by a
suite attendant who claims she was passed over for a position serving food to the Knicks and Rangers in their
locker rooms while less experienced men were assigned the post.
Source: G.L. Hoffman, US News & World Report
Bad bosses ruin people. They are demanding, impolite, crude; they take too
much credit and are adept at making our work lives a living hell. People can get "ruined"--OK, a bit
melodramatic, that--because they start thinking that this how bosses operate. Bad bosses destroy value--in
their companies and communities but mostly in their people.
Sexuality bias seen at Justice Department
Source: Richard B. Schmitt, Los Angeles Times
When Bush administration officials at the Justice Department dismissed nine
U.S. attorneys in 2006, there were various theories as to why the prosecutors were being let go. They were too
soft on the death penalty. They did not prosecute enough illegal immigrants. They did not go after enough
Democrats. On Monday, the Justice Department's internal watchdog hinted at perhaps the most sensational
justification yet -- perceived homosexuality.
July 28, 2008
More Men Filing Workplace Lawsuits
Source: Tresa Baldas, National Law Journal
The macho man
image is dying in the workplace. Employment and family law attorneys say a growing number of men are filing a
wide variety of workplace lawsuits, suing over everything from more leave time to care for their children to
sexual harassment.
July 27, 2008
After Iowa Raid, Immigrants Fuel Labor Inquiries
Source: Julia Preston, New York Times
When federal
immigration agents raided the kosher meatpacking plant here in May and rounded up 389 illegal immigrants, they
found more than 20 under-age workers, some as young as 13. Now those young immigrants have begun to tell
investigators about their jobs. Some said they worked shifts of 12 hours or more, wielding razor-edged knives
and saws to slice freshly killed beef. Some worked through the night, sometimes six nights a week.
July 23, 2008
Minimum wage earners see new raise vanish
Source: Associated Press, MSNBC.com
About 2 million Americans get a
raise Thursday as the federal minimum wage rises 70 cents. The bad news: Higher gas and food prices are
swallowing it up, and some small businesses will pass the cost of the wage hike to consumers.
[Minneapolis], 5 black cops move closer to settlement
Source: David Chanen & Terry Collins, Minneapolis Star Tribune
Five high-ranking black police officers would share $2 million in a proposed settlement of
their lawsuit alleging a long history of discrimination against black officers in the Minneapolis Police
Department, sources familiar with the suit said Tuesday.
July 22, 2008
Economy's stuck, but business is booming at therapists' offices
Source: Marilyn Elias, USA Today
The struggling economy is hurting many Americans' mental health: Anxiety,
depression, sleep problems and money-rooted marital conflicts are growing, experts around the USA say. Requests
for therapists increased 15% to 20% in the past three months, "primarily driven by concerns about the financial
situation," says Richard Chaifetz, chairman and CEO of ComPsych in Chicago, the nation's largest
employee-assistance mental health program.
Construction Workers in Bronx Split $1.23 Million in Back Pay
Source: Steven Greenhouse, New York Times
Two hundred and eighty-four construction workers in the Bronx will receive a total of $1.23 million in
back pay as part of a settlement over unpaid overtime, Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo announced on Monday.
July 19, 2008
Politics Has Dissidents Talking to A.F.L.-C.I.O.
Source: Steven Greenhouse, New York Times
The presidents of
several labor unions that quit the A.F.L.-C.I.O. three years ago have been quietly meeting with union
presidents in the federation to coordinate their political operations and message for the fall election, a move
that labor leaders say could lead to several of the unions rejoining the federation.
July 18, 2008
Source: Editorial, New York Times
It should surprise no
one, at this point, that an arm of the Bush administration charged with protecting Americans' rights or safety
is not doing its job. Even so, a government report and a Congressional hearing this week painted a disturbing
picture of a Labor Department that simply is not standing up for workers.
July 15, 2008
Clermont and Schwab on Employment Discrimination Plaintiffs in Federal Court
Source: Paul Secunda, Workplace Profs Blog
It is not easy being green and it is apparently not easy being an
employment discrimination plaintiff either. Kevin Clermont (Cornell) and Stewart Schwab (Cornell) have posted
on SSRN their new piece: Employment Discrimination Plaintiffs in Federal Court: From Bad to Worse?
Managers' remarks decide family-care discrimination cases
Source: Barbara Moss, The Tennessean
Family Responsibility Discrimination (FRD), discriminating against employees
because of their need to care for children or elderly parents, is perhaps the fastest-growing set of claims
against employers. Most often, the claim is based on an allegation that an employer discriminates against
mothers of young children. At the heart of the problem is an assumption that a mother of children will act in a
certain way or should act in a certain way.
July 14, 2008
Source: Keisha-Ann G. Gray
Do most of the labor
laws apply to certain size firms? What about the major laws, such as FMLA, FLSA, ADA and others? Are there
labor laws that apply to all firms?
July 12, 2008
Nearly $1 Million Award to Maids in Abuse Case
Source: Associated Press, New York Times
A federal
judge has awarded almost $1 million in back wages to two Indonesian housekeepers who were virtually enslaved by
a wealthy Long Island couple. The judge, Arthur D. Spatt of the Eastern District Court, said on Friday that the
maids were entitled to double their unpaid wages because they were abused while working around the clock for
the couple, Varsha and Mahender Sabhnani.
July 8, 2008
Car Service at Issue in Age, Sex Discrimination Claim Against Skadden
Source: Anthony Lin, New York Law Journal
Along with summer associate lunches and the occasional country club outing, access to
chauffeured Lincolns and Cadillacs is one of the most ubiquitous perks of big law firm life. But the proper use
of car service is at the heart of a sex and age discrimination suit currently facing Skadden, Arps, Slate,
Meagher & Flom.
Award against Wal-Mart in disability bias case upheld
Source: Carrie Mason-Draffen, New York Newsday
Wal-Mart has lost its bid to overturn a 2005 Long Island jury verdict that found the nation's
No. 1 retailer guilty of discrimination against a mentally disabled Centereach (NY) man. Two years ago, a
federal jury in Central Islip awarded Patrick Brady $7.5 million in punitive and compensatory damages, which
were later reduced to about $1 million because of statutory caps. Wal-Mart appealed the guilty verdict and
sought a new trial. Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, affirmed the jury's finding
of discrimination.
Stress for success: Harassment reports on rise at workplace
Source: Jacquelyn Ferguson, News-Press
Human Resources directors tell me that in times of heightened stress, such
as exists today, both those who are likely to harass others are more likely to do so, and those who are more
"sensitive" to disagreeable behavior are more likely to perceive it as intentional harassment. This becomes a
headache for HR departments because even a verbal complaint about harassment (vs. a formal one) can mean many,
many hours of investigative work to discern if the objectionable behavior constitutes either workplace or
sexual harassment.
July 7, 2008
Cuts in paid sick days leave unhealthy employees stuck in the workplace
Source: Shari Roan, Los Angeles Times
Stay home if you're sick. That's the best way to stop the spread of contagious diseases,
such as influenza, tuberculosis and gastrointestinal viruses. Besides, you can't do your job capably or safely
if you don't feel well. But many Americans simply tough it out when ill, going to work with pain, cramps,
headaches, fevers or worse. Often, they have no choice. As many as 43% of American workers in private industry
don't have paid sick days, according to 2007 data from the federal government. If they call in sick, they lose
their pay and, sometimes, their jobs.
July 6, 2008
Ex-worker on crusade against chemical plant
Source: Susan Sward, San Francisco Chronicle
It was the dead birds that set Rita Smith off. Her husband, Steve, had
been ill for years, with oozing sores on his skin, shortness of breath and mental confusion. She suspected that
it all was tied to a Mojave Desert chemical plant where they both had worked. Soon, Smith would begin an
assault against the plant in a campaign reminiscent of those waged by crusaders Karen Silkwood and Erin
Brockovich, whose battles against corporate giants in the 1970s and 1990s became subjects of Hollywood films.
Source: Editorial, New York Times
Judging from
the jobs report for June, released last Thursday, the economy has shifted into reverse. For the sixth month in
a row, the economy shed jobs, for a total loss of 438,000 jobs so far this year. About half of that came in the
past three months, the worst second-quarter showing since 2003, when the nation was mired in joblessness from
the previous recession. It appears that things will get worse before they get better.
July 2, 2008
To Hostess, a Dream Restaurant Was a Nightmare
Source: Steven Greenhouse, New York Times
Martha
Nyakim Gatkuoth is a refugee from Ethiopia, 6 feet tall and runway-model slim. Her search for work took her to
New York and then to a famed restaurant tucked within Central Park, where she found a job that seemed ideal,
with health coverage and a glittering, festive atmosphere. But Ms. Gatkuoth said it became something far
different, a place of daily dread where, she said, sexual and racial harassment was rife.
Tire dealer to pay $185,000 in harassment case
Source: Associated Press, Forbes.com
Les Schwab Tire
Centers has agreed to pay $185,000 to settle a racial harassment lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission on behalf of a former company employee in Kalispell, Mont. The case, filed in 2006,
charged that Les Schwab failed to stop Earle Nevins' co-workers from calling him derogatory names and making
insulting jokes about Native Americans.
July 1, 2008
Most state workers in Utah shifting to 4-day week
Source: Larry Copeland, USA Today
Utah this
summer will become what experts say is the first state to institute a mandatory four-day work week for most
state employees, joining local governments across the nation that are altering schedules to save money, energy
and resources.
Source: H.J. Cummins, Minneapolis Star-Tribune
Wal-Mart
Stores Inc. broke Minnesota labor law more than 2 million times over six years, routinely forcing some
employees to work off the clock through lunch and rest breaks, a Dakota County judge has ruled. The violations
were willful, said District Judge Robert King in a ruling Monday in Hastings. They could bring a penalty of up
to $1,000 per violation, which could mean a $2 billion fine for the world's largest retailer.
Age Is as Age Does: Making the Generation Gap Work for You
Source: Erin White, Wall Street Journal
Companies world-wide are grappling with generational differences in their work forces.
Managers and consultants say they see new workplace problems arising from differing mindsets and communication
styles of workers born in different eras. The frictions are aggravated by new technology and work patterns that
mix workers of different ages in ever-changing teams.
June 30, 2008
10 workplace trends of the future
Source: Hanah Cho, Baltimore Sun
To say the 9-to-5 job is an old concept like the rotary phone is an understatement. Emerging
technology, globalization and demographic changes have been changing how and where we work for years now. And
these factors will continue to contribute to the evolution of the workplace during the next two decades, says
John A. Challenger, chief executive of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a Chicago outplacement firm.
June 15, 2008
Wal-Mart Agrees to Pay $250,000 to Disabled Ex-Employee
Source: Occupational Health & Safety
Retail giant
Wal-Mart will pay $250,000 and furnish significant injunctive relief to settle a disability discrimination
lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced recently. EEOC
had charged that Wal-Mart failed to accommodate and then fired a long-time pharmacy technician who suffered a
disability resulting from a gunshot wound.
Age Becomes the New Race and Gender
Source: Adam Nagourney, New York Times
This
year’s campaign for president has provided an extended test of attitudes toward race and gender, two powerful
and volatile forces in politics. Now a third is about to join that list: age.
June 13, 2008
Support for flexible work legislation firming up
Source: Jessica Marquez, Financial Week
Discussions about flexible work arrangements are gaining momentum on Capitol Hill, and some
say lawmakers may pass a bill on the matter in the next several months. The U.S. is behind the majority of
developed nations when it comes to having statutes in place to allow for flexible work arrangements, according
to a study published in May by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research and the Center for WorkLife Law at
the University of California Hastings College of Law.
June 11, 2008
Harassment suit against NY radio personality Wendy Williams
Source: Associated Press, Newsday
A sexual-harassment lawsuit filed Wednesday against national radio personality
Wendy Williams claims the disc jockey's husband dominated her workplace, physically abused her and repeatedly
propositioned an employee.
Glassdoor.com:TripAdvisor for the Workplace
Source: Rob Hof , Business Week
If you’ve ever wondered what your officemates really make, Glassdoor.com may be what you’re looking
for. The free Web site, which bills itself as a "career and workplace community where anyone can find and
anonymously share real-time reviews, ratings, and salary details about specific jobs for specific employers,"
launches a public beta Wednesday morning. In other words, TripAdvisor for the workplace.
Former official sues NASCAR for sexual, racial harassment
Source: Rachel Shuster, USA Today
Mauricia Grant, a former official of NASCAR who traveled to races as a "technical inspector," filed a $250
million lawsuit against the circuit Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
alleging racial and sexual harassment. In a 40-page filing, Grant, 32, alleges she was terminated in November
for complaining about her treatment, which included, she says, NASCAR officials referring to her as "nappy
headed Mo," "Mohammed" and "Al Qaeda" and some exposing their penises in her presence.
June 10, 2008
Justices Reject 'Class of One' Argument
Source: Linda Greenhouse, New York Times
Government
employees who are singled out for arbitrary, irrational or even vindictive treatment by their supervisors will
find no relief in the Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection, the Supreme Court ruled on Monday, unless
the mistreatment is due to discrimination on the basis of race, sex or another protected category.
June 7, 2008
Young people need new lessons about labor unions
Source: Donald P. Russo, The Morning Call
According to Wikipedia, ''A trade union or labor union is an organization of workers who have banded
together to achieve common goals in key areas such as wages, hours, and working conditions.'' I feel it is
necessary to re-acquaint everyone with what a union is, because after decades of Republican rule in Washington,
going back to Ronald Reagan's election in 1980, ''union'' has become a dirty word.
June 5, 2008
Requests for religious time off can be tricky
Source: Associated Press, CNN.com
Growing
diversity in the workplace has led to a spike in religious discrimination filings with the federal government,
according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Wal-Mart's Detractors Come In From the Cold
Source: Michael Barbaro, New York Times
After waging
an aggressive public relations campaign against Wal-Mart for three years, the company’s full-time,
union-backed critics, who once vowed never to let up, are putting down their cudgels. Shrill condemnations and
embarrassing leaked documents are giving way to acknowledgments of progress ďż˝" and, in the case of Wal-Mart
Watch, free advice.
June 3, 2008
Five percent of Mass. taxpayers uninsured, some fined
Source: Associated Press, USA Today
Nearly 100,000 Massachusetts taxpayers have been fined for failing to obtain health insurance, even as
a major survey concludes the effort to create near-universal coverage in the state is meeting key goals.
N.Y. Landmark Pays $2M to Settle Sex Claims
Source: