Here is the latest issue of “This & That” Tuesday. I hope you find it to be informative and useful.

 

Announcements

You can always check out my website for upcoming speaking engagements that are guaranteed to be of value to business owners or for a list of topics that I can speak on at Chambers, Clubs, Business Associations, etc. More details about the events, topics and Human Resources 4U, in general, can be found on my website.

Upcoming Talks

July 9, City of Industry “HR4U 101 Full-day Workshop" Click here for more information.

 

July 17, West Covina "Critical Human Resources Issues for Business Owners" Click here for more information.

 

‘Wounded Warrior’ Who Sued FBI Wins $75,000

A wounded army veteran, who sued the FBI for removing him from a program for special agents because of his injuries, won a $75,000 jury award and reinstatement in the training academy.

Justin Slaby, who served two tours of duty in Iraq and one in Afghanistan, had his left hand amputated after it was blown off during a training accident in 2004. Using a prosthetic hand, the 30-year-old passed a basic FBI fitness test in 2011 and was admitted to the FBI’s training academy. But instructors removed him six weeks into the 21-week program, saying that he could not safely fire a gun with his prosthetic hand.

 

He sued the FBI for discrimination to collect damages and to get reinstated. During the trial, Slaby showed the jury that he could hold a gun and pull the trigger with his prosthetic hand, which resembles a mechanical claw. Lawyers for the FBI argued that a piece of the claw could accidentally bump the trigger because of his grip.

 

But Slaby’s attorneys argued that the FBI prejudged Slaby even before he was tested and decided they were not going to give him a chance and that Slaby, who is right-handed, can fire a gun with his uninjured right hand, and that there is no FBI requirement that an agent prove he can fire a gun with his non-dominant hand. They also argued that other FBI agents have injuries similar to Slaby’s.

 

The verdict paves the way for a judge to reinstate Slaby to the special agent training program he was originally accepted for. The judge could also appoint a monitor to make sure his training and tests are conducted fairly.

 

Federal jury awards officer $620,000 in racial discrimination Suit

A white police sergeant who is president of the St. Louis Police Officers Association was awarded $620,000 in a reverse racial discrimination suit Wednesday.  Bonenberger, a sergeant in the department’s sixth district, holds various instructor certifications, became a field training officer in 1997 and was an instructor and academy class supervisor from 2008-2009.

 

A federal jury made the award to Sgt. David Bonenberger, who had sued in January 2012. The civil suit alleged that he was passed over for a leadership post at the city Police Academy. It claimed that academy director told Bonenberger he shouldn’t bother to apply for the assistant director opening and was told that the job was going to a black woman. Bonenberger applied but was not called for an interview.

 

The jury awarded $200,000 in actual damages against all of the defendants for intentional race discrimination and $420,000 in punitive damages.

 

Bonenberger said. “The jury has seen that evidence presented clearly indicated that I was discriminated against and they (the police department) conspired to cover it up.” “Hopefully this sends a clear message that this kind of behavior will not be tolerated and those responsible for it will indeed be held accountable.”

 

Merrill Lynch in Big Payout for Bias Case

Merrill Lynch, one of the biggest brokerage firms on Wall Street, has agreed to pay $160 million to settle a racial bias lawsuit that wound through the federal courts for eight years, including two appeals to the United States Supreme Court.

 

The payout in the suit, which was filed on behalf of 700 black brokers who worked for Merrill, would be the largest sum ever distributed to plaintiffs in a racial discrimination suit against an American employer. Merrill, which was acquired by Bank of America after the suit was filed, also agreed to take advice from black employees on how to improve their chances of succeeding as brokers.

 

The pool of money, available to all black brokers and trainees at the firm since May 2001, is larger than those offered by other corporations sued by employees for racial bias. It also dwarfs recent payouts by other Wall Street firms, including $16 million that Morgan Stanley agreed to pay in 2008 to settle a suit brought by black and Hispanic brokers.

 

When the suit was first filed in 2005, only about one of every 75 brokers at Merrill was black and most of them were considered poor producers. The lead plaintiff, George McReynolds, contended that black brokers received little help from their managers early on and were often ostracized by co-workers. The unequal treatment compounded their disadvantages year after year, he contended.

 

Ms. Friedman said that as many as 1,200 current and former Merrill employees could share in the racial discrimination payout. Persuading colleagues to join him was complicated by how scattered Merrill’s black brokers were: despite a global network of 14,000 brokers, the firm did not have a single black broker in more than 25 states. Like most Wall Street firms, Merrill has been dominated by white men and its history is dotted with disputes about its acceptance of women and minorities.

 

In the 1970s, the firm settled a discrimination suit by consenting to make its work force more diverse but never met that goal. In 1998, Merrill settled another sex-discrimination class action by agreeing to a process for settling disputes with more than 900 women who filed claims. Early on, as the accusations in the case drew attention from the news media, Merrill executives rushed to hire more blacks into the firm’s training program and met with the plaintiffs to try to reach a settlement. But those talks led nowhere.

 

Three years ago, a judge in Chicago denied their motion to be certified as a class. An appellate panel accepted that argument and reversed the lower court’s denial of class certification. Merrill appealed that decision to the Supreme Court but was denied a hearing. A trial date was set for January 2014, but Merrill decided to settle rather than drag the fight on any longer.

 

Factoids

The average projected cost for employee medical coverage for 2014 will be $11,176, up from $10,471 in 2013.

 

2013 Employee health costs

• Employee contribution $2303, 2014 projection $2499
• Employee out of pocket $2239, 2014 projection $247

 

One in ten Americans suffers from “current depression” (CDC study).  The top five most at risk are: 

• People between 45 and 64 years old  
• Women  
• Blacks  
• Hispanics  
• Those with less than a high school education

 

Quotes

“Price is what you pay; value is what you get.”

~Benjamin Graham~