Action star Steven Seagal made the news a few months ago in the most unsavory way when a former personal assistant accused him of sexual harassment and illegal sexual trafficking.
The lawsuit, which was filed against him by a former model Kayden Nguyen, asked for more than a million dollars worth ...
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In an era rife with sexual harassment lawsuits, many workplaces have enacted policies about prohibiting relationships between employees or managers such as Starbucks. But office rules and regulations cannot exactly stop love, especially since ...
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Former pop princess Britney Spears’ ex-bodyguard is now claiming that he was sexually harassed by the star during his employment.
According to Fernando Flores, Spears constantly “came onto” him and walked around naked in front of him. He is allegedly considering filing a multi-million dollar lawsuit.
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The wife of deceased actor David Carradine has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the French company who was handling Carradine’s film before he died. The actor had only been in Bangkok, Thailand for 3 days when he died.
[caption id="attachment_270" align="alignright" width="168" caption=""David Carradine’s widow filed a Lawsuit for ...
Kobe Bryant may be busy trying to get a lockdown on the NBA play-offs and successfully defend their championship but at least he’s got one less worry on his mind.
[caption id="attachment_253" align="alignright" width="157" caption=""Kobe Bryant settles with former maid." (photo credit: timessquaregossip.com)"][/caption]
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From Disney’s continuing battle over Imane Boudlal’s hijab to a legal battle between the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Abercrombie & Fitch.
A&F is being sued by the federal agency after an 18-year old female job applicant was allegedly turned down by an outlet in Milpitas because she wore a Muslim head scarf or hijab.
The lawsuit, which was filed on behalf of the rejected applicant, claimed that when she applied for a sotcking merchandize job, the manager asked her if she was a Muslim and then marked “not Abercrombie look” on her interview form.
The company has also been previously sued by the EEOC over a similar incident in Oklahoma for discriminating against applicants and employees on the basis of religion.
Lawyers for A&F denied the allegations of discrimination and instead claimed that allowing an employee to wear a hijab or head scarf would have caused undue hardship on the part of their business operation. The employee dress code of Abercrombie & Fitch bans the use of any head coverings.
Under federal law, employers are required to accommodate their employees’ sincerely held religious practice unless it would result to undue hardship on the part of the employer.
Wal-Mart, the world’s largest public corporation by revenue is now appealing before the Supreme Court to stop a class action sex-discrimination case filed by its female workers which was previously allowed by the Court of Appeals.
The class action suit, which shall include more than 1 million women workers, is claiming that the giant retailer allegedly allowed discrimination against women in pay and promotion practices. The case has been long and protracted; it’s spent 9 years in the federal courts of California, and 6 years at the Court of Appeals.
However, since the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals had allowed the lawsuit to proceed, billions of dollars in damages could be at stake in this case which makes it the largest gender discrimination class action lawsuit in the US.
The company, whose shares even increased since then, claimed that while the Court of Appeals allowed the class certification, it does not necessarily mean the case has merits. In a statement, Wal-mart said that it has been recognized as a leader in fostering the advancement and success of women and is an excellent workplace for them.
However, the lawyer who is representing the Wal-mart’s female employees said that Wal-mart is only trying to deny the plaintiff’s their day in court with the appeal.
A few months ago, wearyworker wrote about the fatal killer whale attack in Sea World San Diego wherein a veteran trainer, 40-year old Dawn Brancheau was killed in front of spectators.
Following the incident, Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigators have recently concluded that Sea World has willfully exposed its employees to “struck-by” and drowning hazards because of the interaction with the killer whales.
The OHSA found in their investigation that the trainers had a long history of being involved in unexpected and potentially dangerous incidents with the whales. Allegedly, despite the record, management has failed to improve the safety of the work environment of the employees.
The federal officials said that trainers should not work with the killer whales unless they are protected by physical barriers, decking systems, or other devices that would control or provide safety buffers.
The company in a blog post however, started that it will challenge the OHSA’s decision. According to Sea World, the safety of their guests and employees as well as the welfare of their animals are areas which they do not compromise.
In its report, Cal-OHSA claimed that humans that swim and perform with killer whales are putting their lives in danger. The performance aspect of the trainer’s work was likened more to a circus than a zoo. Under the law, employees have the right to work in a safe and hazard-free environment.
Sea World was fined $75,000 and will have 15 days to contest the citation before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
Under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, it is illegal to discriminate against employees on the basis of their national origin, race, gender, disability and religion.
Imane Boudial, 26, says she was sent home without pay for wearing her hijab, a religious head scarf, to work. (photo credit: instablogs)
A Disney-owned restaurant is now under fire from media as one of its employees has filed a discrimination complaint for not allowing her to wear her headscarf at work.
A hijab or the head covering is traditionally worn by Muslim women and is often required to be worn in public.
However, Imane Boudlal, who’s working as a Hostess at the Storyteller’s Café was allegedly sent home without pay when she refused to remove it. According to the Grand Californian Hotel and Spa, she would have to remove it because it is departure from their costume policy.
Disney officials further claimed that Boudll was never denied the opportunity to work either and even tried to accommodate her refusal to take off her head scarf by offering her to work in a backstage role as a room service cashier.
However, Boudlal refused and said she doesn’t want to work in the back. Disney has claimed that it is working hard to accommodate her request.
As America is a melting pot of cultures, beliefs, and religions, laws have been enacted to protect and respect the diversity of employees. Religious discrimination is illegal and employers to reasonably accommodate the religious practices of an applicant or employee, unless such would result to undue hardship upon the employer.
Despite the laws and legal deterrents enacted to prohibit and penalize employment discrimination, this illegal practice is still quite prevalent.
Survey Says that Black Employees are Paid Less than White Employees. (photo credit: edenafrica.co.za)
In an article from CNN.com, it was reported that statistics from the US Census Bureau African-American employees are paid lower than white workers. Despite the passage of laws such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, today’s statistics still show a huge disparity between the wages of blacks and whites.
In 2008, the per-capita income of $18,054 of African-Americans whereas whites earned $28,502. While there are a few individuals in the group who earn a very high income, the average income is just 57.9 percent of white’s which emphasizes the racial gap in wages.
Further numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that:
Whites earned a median of $756 weekly while blacks earned $607
More than half of all blacks aged 15 years old or older and working full-time, earned under $35,000 while only 35 percent of whites earned under that
Only 3.3 percent of blacks earned six-figure salaries compared to 10.8% of all white workers made more than $100,000 a year
As for bachelor’s or advanced degrees, only 19.7 percent of African-Americans had such compared with 32.6 percent for whites
Factors for the wage disparity were attributed to family wealth, lack of education, lack of social network of successful friends and relatives. However, according to the NAACP, discrimination also played a role for the lower wages of blacks as there are documented cases of African-Americans with equal or better disqualifications who are offered less money than their white counterparts.
Employees, particularly those protected against such discrimination and harassment on the basis of their race, religion, nationality, color or gender, have the right to file a complaint against abusive employers or companies. If such wage disparity, on the basis of protected characters exists or is experienced by you, you should consult with an employment attorney to find out your legal remedies.
Every occupation has its risks but for some, the dangers can be fatal.
Employee Killed in a workplace accident
A 56-year old employee at a North County plant nursery in California was killed after suffering fatal injuries in an industrial accident.
The man’s arm allegedly got caught on a conveyor belt at the Evergreen Nursery at Oceanside Boulevard. He was pulled partway into a composting machine and against the machine’s hopper component.
According to the police, the accident happened around 9 AM and the employee suffered fatal injuries.
The victim, whose name was withheld, has worked in the business for 20 years.
Workplace accidents is a normal part of the business, be it slip and fall or electrocution. Even though accidents are unforeseen and inevitable, employers still have the responsibility of keeping the workplace safe and free from any hazard.
A former employee of the hit show “House M.D.” has filed a lawsuit alleging that he was fired last March because he did not go along with his superiors’ “degenerate conduct”.
Former House Employee Sues Show for Firing and Damages.
Carl Hones, a former assistant prop master at the show, filed his suit in the LA County Superior Court. According to him, he was constantly harassed by his supervisors and forced to engage in visits to strip clubs, get drunk or stoned, participate in sexual conduct in the trailer and other dangerous conduct.
Allegedly, his superiors also called him as well as other employees derogatory names such as “fags, pussies, bitches, slaves, dummies, retards, and idiots”.
Jones claimed that when he tried to report the supervisors’ misconduct and behavior to one of the c-executive producers on the show, it was merely brushed aside and ignored. Also, because of his complaint, he was allegedly “blackballed” from working on the show and lost his job.
He also claimed in his suit that his supervisors would get drunk and throw knives at a target and also brought a gun to the set several times.
Jones is seeking more than $1,000,000 in damages as he suffered a physical injury as a result of the incidents he alleged and that he also became depressed.
In response to his suit, NBC Universal, the studio behind the show has said that Jones’ lawsuit is without merit as the company has long-standing policies against hostile work environment, discrimination, harassment and retaliation.
The lawsuit, which was filed against him by a former model Kayden Nguyen, asked for more than a million dollars worth of damages and resulted to the suspension of his reality TV show Steven Seagal: Lawman.
Fast forward to now however, Nguyen’s lawsuit against the aging hero has been dismissed. Seagal has previously fiercely denied Nguyen’s allegations and claimed that the suit was ridiculous and absurd.
The dismissal of the case, which was granted last Tuesday did not reveal whether Nguyen dropped the case or a settlement has been reached by the complainant and the defendant.
In her lawsuit, Nguyen said that Seagal touched her breasts, and keep putting his hand down her pants and under her skirt. She also alleged that two of Seagal’s Russian employees were also being used for his sexual pleasure.
While there is currently no federal law prohibiting employment discrimination or even discrimination per se against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) employees, some states have one way or another taken the initiative to protect this group by passing their own laws.
Recently in Atlanta, Georgia, a federal judge ruled in favor of a transgender former state legislative aide who filed a complaint saying she was fired because she wanted to wear women’s clothes as she transitioned from being a man to a woman.
The former legislative aide, Vandy Beth Glenn, whose previous name was Glenn Morrison, claimed that she was terminated from her job as a legislative editor because her boss, Legislative Counsel Sewell Brumby said that dressing up as a woman is immoral and would make her co-workers uncomfortable.
In the ruling, U.S. District Judge Richard W. Story held that Glenn’s firing was a violation of her constitutional rights under the Equal Protection Clause.
A lot of states have already passed anti-discrimination laws against gays and lesbians but clearly, this may not be enough as discrimination and harassment is still prevalent – many people still refuse to respect the rights and dignity of others who are different from them.
The Obama administration however, seems to be advancing the rights of gay individuals. Recently, homosexual employees/couples are now allowed to earn or enjoy benefits under the FMLA. If the pending bill, Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) gets passed, under the law, it would be illegal anywhere in the country to discriminate against or harass LGBT individuals.
The good news is, new jobs are opening and more companies are hiring now. However, the bad news is, most older workers are getting passed up on for a lot of these jobs.
According to the Labor Department, while statistics are improving in terms of employment opportunities for most workers and unemployment rate, figures for older workers barely improved.
Older Workers Face Tough Times in Employment. (photo credit: images.publicradio.org)
In May, statistics show that as much as 60 percent of older unemployed workers had been out of work six months or more, while 43 percent have been unemployed for more than a year.
Some experts also claimed that unemployment is likely to get worse for older workers as they are more likely to become discouraged and stop looking. Also, when they become long-term unemployed, it will make it harder for them to find a job.
Because of this, a lot of 62-year olds who have gone through involuntary retirement, started drawing on their benefits even if it means a 25 percent cut in the benefits they’ll receive the rest of their lives.
While younger employees definitely are more easily hired than older employees because they are obviously cheaper and would settle for getting less benefits than they actually deserve, in the long run there are actually more benefits in hiring older workers.
Aside from their experience and knowledge, they are most likely to stay longer which can reduce the costs of hiring and training.
The office can be a jungle even when it’s supposed to be filled with civilized and educated people. Surviving is important but so is standing up for your rights at work. Hopefully, this blog will help teach you how to sail through the stormy seas of labor and employment.
If you are looking for lawyers who can help you with your employment and labor claims, do not hesitate to get in touch with us right away!
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