Employment Law Information

Archive for April, 2009

Company Fired Female Worker Based on Gender, Federal Agency Says
PRESS RELEASE
4-23-09

RALEIGH, N.C. – A Garner, N.C.-based engineering and design company will pay $10,250 and furnish other relief to settle a sex discrimination lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today. The EEOC had charged that Tyndall Engineering and Design, P.A. disciplined workers in a discriminatory fashion based on gender when it fired a female employee at its Raleigh facility after she returned from a leave of absence, while not firing men in similar situations.

According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, Tyndall fired Jaime Senter when she did not provide medical documentation for her leave of absence. However, Tyndall previously allowed a similarly situated male employee to take a leave of absence without providing any medical documentation, and he was not fired.  Read the rest of this entry »

Panelists Discuss Importance of Caregiver-Friendly Policies During Recession
PRESS RELEASE
4-22-09

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today issued a document on best practices to avoid discrimination against workers with caregiving responsibilities, and held a public meeting to discuss the importance of policies that protect caregivers in an economic downturn.

The technical assistance document, Employer Best Practices for Workers with Caregiving Responsibilities, is available online at http://www.eeoc/policy/docs/caregiver-best-practices.html. The best practices document supplements Unlawful Disparate Treatment of Workers with Caregiving Responsibilities, a guidance document issued by the Commission in 2007. The 2007 guidance, available online at http://www.eeoc.gov/policy/docs/caregiving.html, examines how federal anti-discrimination laws apply to workers with caregiving responsibilities.  Read the rest of this entry »

Supervisor on Road Construction Crew Harassed Two Women, Federal Agency Charges

PRESS RELEASE
4-1-09

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Fisher Sand & Gravel Co., which engages in business activities related to road construction, violated federal law by subjecting a class of women to sexual harassment and firing one woman for complaining about it, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit it filed today.

In its suit, the EEOC said that a supervisor employed by Fisher subjected Melony Encinias and a class of women working on a highway project near Mora, N.M., to sexual harassment, including a barrage of sexual comments and innuendo creating a hostile work environment. The agency also charged that Encinias suffered retaliation because she opposed the supervisor’s unwelcome conduct and was forced to resign because of the harassment, retaliation, and the employer’s failure to provide appropriate preventive or remedial relief.  Read the rest of this entry »