DISCRIMINATION – Page 2 – When The Abuser Goes To Work…

Huge Step Forward For Sexual Harassment Victims

Sexual harassers in the past managed to slither undetected from workplace to workplace, thanks to the anonymity offered by forced arbitration.

But times are changing.

President Joe Biden this week signed into law the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act, landmark legislation that prevents employers from requiring workers to sign arbitration agreements that preclude them from filing in a lawsuit in court involving sexual assault or sexual harassment.

Biden called it a “momentous day for justice and fairness in the workplace.”

His assessment was affirmed by a rare lack of partisanship in Congress. The U.S. Senate approved the measure on a voice vote, which meant there was no opposition. There was a split roll call vote in the House of Representatives but it was approved by 222 Democrats and 113 Republicans. Yet, 97 House Republicans opposed the bill, including a number of women.

Clueless Dupes?

Why would a female legislator oppose something that protects women from violence in the workplace? The bill merely brings sexual harassment into the light of day by giving victims the right to go to court. Workers can still voluntarily opt to proceed with arbitration if they choose.

Researchers Show Role Of Overtime In Gender Pay Gap

When all things appear to be equal, why do female workers still make less than their male counterparts?

A study scheduled to be published in the April issue of the Journal of Labor Economics examined the 11% wage gap between female and male transit workers who make the same wages and concluded that overtime plays a key role.

The researchers studied time cards filed from 2011 to 2017 by 3,011 full-time bus and train operators at the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, where about 30% of public transit operators are women.

The researchers found that female operators took home $0.89 for every dollar earned by a male operator, an 11% wage gap that carries over into retirement.

“We demonstrate that even when men and women work at precisely the same job with exactly the same incentives, women earn less,” they write.

Upon inspection, they found male transit operators took 1.3 fewer unpaid hours off work per week 49%), and worked 1.5 more overtime hours than women (83%).

Is Anyone Else Sick of America’s Class System?

Surprise, another Harvard grad has been nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The clearest evidence of America’s unacknowledged class system is undoubtedly the U.S. Supreme Court, which continues year-after- year to be populated almost exclusively by law school graduates from two elite private universities on the East coast, Harvard and Yale.

This is the Court of last resort in America. The third branch of government. It should not be dominated by two elite private schools over which taxpayers have no control. Harvard and Yale are the equivalent of private clubs.

President Joe Biden on Friday nominated Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, a cum laude graduate of Harvard Law School to replace retiring Justice Stephen G. Breyer, also a Harvard JD. She is currently a justice on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in Washington, DC.

If Judge Jackson’s nomination is approved, she will contribute to the racial diversity of the court as the first African-American woman on the Court. But she will continue the lack of intellectual diversity on the Court.

Another Nail In The Coffin Of England’s Upper Class?

It’s hard to find a guy with less class than Prince Andrew, who allegedly raped a 17-year old American girl several times in 2001 while he was in his 40s.

When the girl, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, now 38, made public accusations against Andrew in 2015, he denied them. He claimed he couldn’t remember even meeting her, though a photo showed him with his arm around her bare midriff.

After Giuffre filed a civil lawsuit, Andrew, now 61, claimed he could not be held liable because pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, who allegedly trafficked Giuffre to Andrew, had entered a settlement with Giuffre in 2009. Although he wasn’t a party to the settlement, Andrew argued that it absolved “other potential defendants” like him. The judge disagreed and set a civil trial date.

Meanwhile, the royals began sweating that Andrew’s difficulties would cast a shadow on the upcoming Platinum Jubilee commemorating his mother, Queen Elizabeth’s, 70 years on the throne in June.

Reuters announced Tuesday that Andrew and Giuffre have reached a settlement in principle. The amount of the settlement was not disclosed but the New York Post reports it was $12 million. The settlement must be approved by the court.

It remains to be seen where the money will come from to pay the settlement, and whether public funds will be used.

More Evidence The Hiring Game Is Rigged?

When I was in my 50s, I considered transitioning into a career teaching media law at a major university.

I applied for a half-dozen jobs and each time I was selected as one of three finalists and invited to the campus to present a lecture. Each invitation took a couple of days, many hours of preparation, travel time and exhaustive work.

Each time I was rejected in favor of a young newly-minted PhD with no experience, or a member of a minority group who was far less qualified. When I talked to a professor friend about this, he said I would never be hired because, “You’re too old.” I stopped wasting my time.

Apparently, no one told Brian Flores the game of hiring is rigged.

Former Miami Dolphins Coach Brian Flores recently sued the National Football League and its 32 teams alleging they discriminated against him and other Black coaches in their hiring practices.

It seems NFL teams pick at least one minority as a finalist for coaching jobs for the sake of appearances and Flores is getting tired of being that minority.