New York Governor George E. Pataki recently signed a bill (A. 7340) that expands existing protections for employees by making it an unlawful discriminatory practice to impose circumstances where an employee would have to forgo religious observances as a condition of employment or promotion. The law prohibits employers from refusing to allow an employee [...]
New York Governor George Pataki (R), signed a bill that prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation in employment, housing, public accommodations, education and credit. The bill defines “sexual orientation” as “heterosexuality, homosexuality, bisexuality, or asexuality, whether actual or perceived.” The Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Act covers public and private sector employees, since state employees have [...]
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. recently abandoned its employee performance rating system, just as a class-action age discrimination lawsuit regarding the system was filed. The so-called “ABC” evaluation system rates the performance of employees on a curve, grading the top 10% with an “A,” the middle 80% with a “B,” and the bottom 10% [...]
The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals ordered back pay to two females who were deterred from applying for employment with a famous Miami Beach restaurant, Joe’s Stone Crabs, (“Joe’s”) because of the establishment’s all male staffing policy. EEOC v. Joe’s Stone Crabs Inc., 296 F.3d 1265 (11th Cir. 2002). The case began in 1991, [...]
Despite the Supreme Court’s decision in Hoffman Plastic Compounds v. NLRB, 122 S.Ct. 1275 (2002), holding the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) may not award back pay to an undocumented worker even if the employer improperly fires the employee for union activity, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) announced it will continue to seek back [...]