P.I.S.S.D. -- Personal Injury, Social Security Disability. Dallas Texas Lawyers » Employment Law

EEOC Finds Increase in Job Discrimination Claims Based on Disability

Bob Kraft — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 23:40:58 +0000

The Associated Press reported, “The number of workers claiming job discrimination based on disability, religion or national origin surged to new highs last year, as federal job bias complaints overall stayed at near-record levels. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said Wednesday that charges of disability discrimination rose by about 10 percent to 21,451 claims, the largest increase of any category.” As in previous years, “claims based on race, sex and retaliation were the most frequent.”

From the American Association for Justice news release.

EEOC Considering New Rules as Age Discrimination Complaints Surge

Bob Kraft — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 11:32:06 +0000

The Washington Post reports that during a public hearing at the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission headquarters, experts said that “rising unemployment has left older workers vulnerable to layoffs, because they are often stereotyped by employers as costing more money and being less adaptable to change. … The hearing included emotional testimony from several people who told of losing their jobs because of their age.” In addition, “witnesses testified that the Age Discrimination Act in Employment, passed by Congress in 1967, has been decimated by several recent Supreme Court decisions that curtail the ability of older workers to challenge age discrimination.” Therefore, “they urged the commission to issue regulations and guidance that would give workers better legal standing. But, unless Congress works to restore protections, the 1967 age discrimination law will be ‘merely words on paper,’ said Laurie McCann, an attorney for the AARP Foundation.”

According to the Associated Press, EEOC “is considering new rules to protect older workers from job discrimination” following the recent Supreme Court decisions. This “action comes as age discrimination complaints to the agency, which enforces federal employment discrimination laws, rose 29 percent last year, more than any other type of bias claim.”

From the American Association for Justice news release.

EEOC Seen as “Laughingstock” Following Ruling

Bob Kraft — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 12:34:17 +0000

This scathing opinion piece in the New York Times really rips into the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission after a report by an arbitrator finding the agency to be in violations of the laws it is supposed to be enforcing. Here is the short editorial:

It sounds like a grim sweatshop joke, but the federal agency that’s
supposed to enforce justice in the American workplace has been found in
willful violation of its own workers’ rights. The Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission has been blithely violating the Fair Labor
Standards Act, according to an arbitrator who found that the agency has
been forcing its employees to work overtime and not paying them for it.
Instead, according to the arbitrator, the agency concocted a “fiction”
that its workers “requested” only compensatory time instead.

The ruling is one more reminder of how the Bush administration
gutted every regulatory agency it could get its hands on. The
administration apparently saw no political advantage in doing something
about helping workers who dared to complain about bias. On an immediate
level, the arbitrator is presenting the Obama administration with
another high-agenda item for its long list of government repairs.

The E.E.O.C. — once a credible investigator of workplace grievances
— lost about a quarter of its staff across the Bush years. The
commission shed investigators, lawyers and labor specialists — even as
it was increasingly swamped with complaints from workers in the private
sector. In 2008, there were 95,400 allegations of job bias, a rise of
26 percent in just two years. Given the current economic agonies, the
toll continues to rise.

President Obama touched on the E.E.O.C.’s problems in the campaign.
Now that he is in the White House, he needs to repair, replenish and
demand a major attitude change forthwith. And Congress needs to provide
full support to restore the E.E.O.C. to something more than a
laughingstock.

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Sees Rise in Workplace Discrimination Cases

Bob Kraft — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 01:22:28 +0000

The Washington Times reports, "The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission this week said workplace discrimination charge filings in 2008 had spiked by 15 percent over the previous year with an 'unprecedented' 13,000 more cases reported." The acting chairman, Stuart Ishimaru said, "The EEOC has not seen an increase of this magnitude in charges filed for many years" and "while we do not know if it signifies a trend, it is clear that employment discrimination remains a persistent problem."

From the American Association for Justice news release.

Judges Can Adjust Jury Awards in Employment Cases to Account for Tax Burden?

Bob Kraft — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 19:50:00 +0000

The Legal Intelligencer (2/4, Duffy) reports, "Deepening a split in the federal circuits, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that winning plaintiffs in employment discrimination cases may be entitled to an additional award to compensate for the tax consequences of receiving a backpay award in one lump sum." By way of the ruling, "the court made new law by holding for the first time that trial judges have the power to increase a winning plaintiff's award to account for the increased tax burden of receiving a backpay award as a lump sum."

From the American Association for Justice news release.

Obama Signs Equal-Pay Bill Into Law

Bob Kraft — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 18:55:26 +0000

President Obama yesterday signed his first bill into law, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. USA Today (1/30, Jackson) reports the new law "makes it easier for workers to sue companies for pay discrimination and effectively reverses a 2007 Supreme Court decision that had given workers 180 days to file a lawsuit after the pay inequity allegedly first took place. … In 2007, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4" that Lilly Ledbetter "had failed to file a discrimination suit against the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company in a timely manner, citing a 180-day deadline. Earlier this month, the Democratic-run Congress voted largely along party lines to essentially reverse that ruling with a new law that extends the deadline every time a discriminatory pay check is issued."
        The Washington Times (1/30, Bellantoni) reports the President called the bill "an important step, but 'only the beginning,' adding he wants to close pay gaps between men and women." Ledbetter "promised to keep fighting for the Paycheck Fairness Act and to 'make sure that women have equal pay for equal work.'" That bill "passed the House last session." It "would expand lawsuit damages, make it harder for businesses to justify pay disparities between employees, and mandate studies and voluntary guidelines for employers on the issue."
        Lawyers USA (1/30) reports, "President Barack Obama signed his first bill into law this morning, enacting the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which will restart the statute of limitations for unequal pay employment bias claims with the issuance of every disproportionately low paycheck" which "overturns the 2007 U.S. Supreme Court decision Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co." Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee said, "Today's signing ceremony proves that elections make a real difference for real people. The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act will clearly help to end unfair discrimination in the workplace."
        The New York Times (1/30, Stolberg) reports, "President Obama signed his first bill into law on Thursday, approving equal-pay legislation that he said would 'send a clear message that making our economy work means making sure it works for everybody.'" NBC Nightly News (1/29, story 2, 2:40, Guthrie), ABC World News (1/29, story 3, 0:20, Gibson, the CBS Evening News (1/29, story 5, 0:55, Couric) also cover the story.

From the American Association for Justice news release.