Employment Discrimination Lawsuits Down

February 3, 2014 by Leave a Comment

Are hostile  judges and institutional barriers that limit access to justice for the poor and middle class suppressing the number of  employment discrimination lawsuits filed in our nation’s courts?

According to the 2014 issue of the Annual Workplace Class Action Litigation Report, class action employment discrimination filings declined by about 14 percent in 2013. There were a total of 12,311 lawsuits in 2013, compared to 14,260 in 2012.

A survey by the American Bar Foundation in 2012 found that 75 percent of complainants feel the federal court’s handling of their discrimination lawsuit is profoundly unfair. Complainants said that either the whole legal system or specific aspects of it are biased against victims. They complained  about institutional barriers, such as the difficulty in securing a competent attorney.  See Berrey, Ellen C., et al., Situated Justice: A Contextual Analysis of Fairness and Inequality in Employment Discrimination Litigation,” 46 Law & Society Review 1,  pp. 1-36)(2012).

The class action litigation report, produced by the corporate law firm, Seyfarth Shaw, states the ten largest employment discrimination class action cases in 2013 resulted in a total of $234.1 million in damages.  If one particularly large settlement of $160 million  was factored out, the 2013 total would be the second lowest since 2006. The   $160 million  settlement came in the case of McReynolds, et al. v. Merrill Lynch & Co., Case No. 05-CV-6583 (N.D. Ill. Dec. 6, 2013), a class action lawsuit brought  by African American employees alleging unfair pay and promotions.

The biggest settlements in 2013 involved nationwide classes and included six gender, two race, and one disability related discrimination class action.

The total amount of damages in employment discrimination cases for each year are as follows:

  • 2012 – $48.6 million;
  • 2011 – $123.2 million;
  •  2010 – $346.4 million;
  • 2009 – $86.2 million;
  •  2008 – $118.36 million;
  •  2007 – $282.1 million; and
  •  2006 – $91 million.

The report states there may be a significant jump in employment discrimination cases in 2014 because the number of complaints filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 2011 and 2012 were the highest in the 48-year history of the Commission.  These complaints are now ripe for litigation.

 

Filed Under: DISPATCHES, EEOC, FEDERAL Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

EEOC to Examine National Origin Discrimination

December 2, 2013 by Leave a Comment

EEOCAn aspect of discrimination law that is gaining increasing attention is, not surprisingly, national origin discrimination.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)will meet on Nov. 13 in Washington, DC, to examine issues and hear testimony related to the problem of national origin discrimination.

The backdrop of the EEOC’s meeting is impending immigration reform and the rise in the percentage of foreign-born workers in the U.S. workforce.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported in May that there are 25 million foreign-born persons in the U.S. labor force, making up 16.1 percent of the total workforce. Hispanics accounted for 48.3 percent of the foreign-born labor force in 2012 and Asians accounted for 23.7 percent. The BLS reports that  the proportion of the foreign-born labor force made up of 25 – 54 year olds (75.6 percent) is now higher than for the native-born labor force (63.4 percent).

Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964  and EEOC rules “national origin” discrimination includes the denial of equal employment opportunity because of an individual’s place of origin, their ancestor’s place of origin,  or because of the physical, cultural or linguistic characteristics of a national origin group.

Counsel for employers, in written testimony submitted to the EEOC, describe the enormous challenges faced by employers in tackling discrimination issues involving foreign-born workers.

Douglas J. Farmer, of Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, writes that  many foreign-born workers have little or no understanding of basic legal prohibitions on discrimination or harassment, have never seen an anti-harassment policy, and have never participated in anti-harassment training.  In one workplace, he states, an employer was confronted with a workforce in which workers spoke 60 different languages and dialects.

“Several of our employer clients have expressed concern that employer cost and lack of technical expertise present significant obstacles to the translation and effective implementation of policies and training programs,” Farmer writes.

He urged the EEOC to make anti-discrimination and harassment policies and educational programs available in multiple languages  to help employers convey these concepts to foreign-born employees in a cost-effective manner.

Rebecca  Smith, Deputy Director of the National Employment Law Project (NELP), urges the EEOC to address  “second-generation discrimination” practices that involve cultural attributes (language, accent) as well as stereotypes associated with a particular national origin or ethnic group. She said this form of discrimination can be seen in discriminatory recruitment practices and occupational segregation by ethnicity or national origin   For example, a restaurant may employ an Hispanic worker as a dishwasher but not as a server because of his or her accent.

Smith also said some unscrupulous American employers are using labor recruiters from the source country that are notorious for discrimination to handle the hiring of foreign-born workers, while arguing that they are not responsible for labor violations committed by their recruiters. In this way, Smith writes, the employer can shift labor costs and liabilities to the smaller entity, which is often an undercapitalized firm that cannot satisfy potential judgments against it

Smith also writes that harassment and threats of deportation are “almost standard operating procedure” in some guestworker-dominated work sites

NELP estimates that eight million undocumented workers form 5.2 percent of the U.S. labor force.

Perhaps it is a sign of the times but no union representative is slated to testify before the EEOC at the hearing.

Filed Under: DISPATCHES, EEOC, TITLE VII Tagged With: , , , ,

Pregnancy Discrimination Act: 35 Years Later

October 30, 2013 by Leave a Comment

No Accommodation Requirement

Thirty five years ago this week, President Jimmy Carter signed into law the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 (PDA).

The PDA,  an amendment of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, has proven to be a weak tool to combat  a major societal problem;  It  requires employers to treat pregnant women like others in the workplace but  it does not require employers to make even minimal accommEEOCodation for pregnancy-related conditions  (such as difficulties standing for long period, lifting restrictions, insufficient bathroom breaks, etc.).

Efforts last year to address the PDA’s shortcomings died in the U.S. Congress but the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment Commission (EEOC) in its 2013-2016 strategic plan  identified combating pregnancy discrimination as a top priority. The EEOC, which is responsible for enforcing the PDA, characterizes the problem as an “emerging and developing” issue. Specifically, the EEOC said it would address the problem of “accommodating pregnancy-related limitations” under the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act and the PDA.

The EEOC and Fair Employment Practice Agencies around the country reported 5,797 complaints of pregnancy discrimination in 2011.

True to its word, the EEOC has filed a spate of lawsuits this year to combat pregnancy discrimination. Most, if not all,  of these lawsuits involve individual defendants and somewhat minor settlements but the EEOC’s effort raises awareness of the problem and, hopefully, puts employers on notice that they are being watched.

 Lawsuits Filed

Here is a sampling of the lawsuits filed this year by the EEOC involving the PDA:

  •  EEOC v. Reed Pierce’s Sportsman’ Grille:  A woman who was four months pregnant with her first child was fired because, her supervisor allegedly said, “The baby is taking its toll on you.”  The EEOC  filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi.  After the defendant lost two motions to dismiss the case, it settled for $20,000.
  • EEOC v. Ramin, Inc.:   Ramin Inc., the owner of a Comfort Inn & Suites, allegedly fired a  housekeeper after she reported her pregnancy because of supposed concerns about potential harm that her job could cause the baby.  The EEOC filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. The defendant agreed to pay $2,500 in back pay and $25,000 in compensatory and punitive damages.
  • EEOC v. Engineering Documentation Systems, Inc.:  A management official allegedly made derogatory remarks about a pregnant worker and  refused her request to move her office closer to the restroom to accommodate her nausea.  While she was out on leave, the company changed her job description and then terminated her.  The EEOC filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada. The defendant agreed to pay $70,000 to settle the case.
  • EEOC v. James E. Brown & Associates, PLLC:  A  Washington based law firm offered Zorayda J. Moreira-Smith a position as an associate attorney in January 2011.  The firm allegedly rescinded its job offer  the same day after when Moreira-Smith told them she was six months pregnant and asked the firm about its maternity leave policies.  The EEOC filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The defendant agreed to pay an $18,000 settlement,  to implement a non-discrimination policy and  to provide training to the firm’s personnel.
  • EEOC v. Platinum P.T.S. Inc. D/B/A/ Platinum Production Testing Services:  A clerk  requested time off for medical treatment relating to her miscarriage.  After she missed five days of work,  the defendant fired her.  The EEOC filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas. The defendant agreed to pay $100,000 to settle the pregnancy discrimination suit.

U.S. Sen. Robert Casey, Jr., of Pennsylvania proposed the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) in 2012 to guarantee pregnant women the right to reasonable accommodation when the short-term physical effects of pregnancy conflict with the demands of a particular job, as long as the accommodation does not impose an undue hardship on the employer. The bill died in committee.

Filed Under: DISPATCHES, EEOC, PREGNANCY DISCRIMINATION Tagged With: , , , , ,

EEOC Whacked Again on Background Checks

October 11, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Ct Rejects Race Discrimination Initiative

Another court has rejected the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s initiative to combat race discrimination by limiting the use of criminal background checks in hiring.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in Michigan this week upheld a lower court ruling requiring the EEOC to pay $751,942.48 in fees and costs to Peoplemark, a temporary-employment agency with offices in Michigan, Tennessee, Kentucky and Florida.

The award includes $526,172 in fees to Peoplemark’s in-house expert, an amount the EEOC  called astounding, inappropriate and poorly documented.

 EEOC Director Jacqueline Berrien recently maintained that the EEOC does not challenge an employers’ decision to conduct criminal background checks but instead challenges screening processes that are not job related and consistent with business necessity and which have a disproportionate impact on African-Americans.

The EEOC filed a complaint in 2008 alleging that Peoplemark had a blanket policy of denying employment opportunities to persons with felony records and that this policy had a disparate impact on African Americans.

Obvious?

Initially, it appeared obvious that Peoplemark had a policy of denying employment to applicants with felony records. Peoplemark used  an application form that asked applicants if they have a felony record and conducted independent investigations into the criminal records of all applicants. Most importantly, Peoplemark’s Associate General Counsel Judd F. Olsten actually admitted to the EEOC that Peoplemark had a company-wide policy of rejecting felon applicants

Peoplemark did not did not deny the existence of a company-wide policy against hiring felons until July 2009 – almost two years after the EEOC began investigating and a year after the  EEOC’ filed its complaint.

The appeals court notes that Peoplemark had  turned over 178,888 discovery documents to the EEOC by Oct. 1, 2010 which showed that Peoplemark had referred felons to job opportunities.  The fee award  dates October 2010.

According to the appeals court: “When discovery clearly indicated (Peoplemark’s Chief Counsel’s) statements belied the facts, the Commission should have reassessed its claim.”

The appeals court also noted the EEOC identified a class of 286 individuals that included applicants that did not have felony convictions and applicants who obtained employment through Peoplemark despite their criminal records.

The EEOC and Peoplemark agreed by joint motion to dismiss the case in March, 2010, with Peoplemark held to he prevailing party for fee purposes.  The EEOC argued it could have filed an amended complaint stating a valid claim against e at that time, an argument the court found to be irrelevant.

The award includes  $219,350.70 in attorney’s fees, $526,172 in expert witness fees (for 123.55 hours of work) and $6,419 in other expenses.

The case involved a complaint by Sherri Scott, an African-American with a felony conviction, submitted an application and was not referred for employment.  She filed a discrimination complaint under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and the EEOC began an investigation.

In August, Judge Roger Titus of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland dismissed a lawsuit brought by the EEOC in 2009 against Freeman, Inc., a service provider for corporate events, which alleged Freeman unlawfully relied upon credit and criminal background checks that caused a disparate impact against African-American, Hispanic, and male job applicants.

The Attorney Generals  of West Virginia, Colorado, Alabama, Georgia, Kansas, Nebraska, Montana, South Carolina and Utah have complained about the EEOC background check policy.

The EEOC last summer filed lawsuits against BMW and Dollar General Store for refusing to hire individuals with felony records. In the Dollar Store case, the individual was incorrectly reported as having a felony record when she did not.

The Bureau of Justice Statistics has estimated that approximately 9 percent of all men will serve time in state or federal prisons, including 28 percent of black males, 16 percent of Hispanic males, and 4 percent of white males.

Filed Under: DISPATCHES, EEOC, TITLE VII Tagged With: , criminal background checks, Equal Emp't Opportunity Comm'n v. Peoplemark, ,