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.

 

August 6, Sierra Madre, “The Big Seven Employment Trouble Spots” Click here for more information.

 

 

Court Upholds $1M for Workers Who Say Black Supervisor Used N-Word

A federal appeals court has upheld a $1 million bias award on behalf of three black or biracial employees of Alabama State University who claim their former superior, who is also black, used the N-word.

 

Writing for the panel, Judge Joel Dubina recounts the alleged racial slurs by associate executive director LaVonette Bartley, who is African-American, and alleged sexually inappropriate remarks by the official for whom she worked, Dr. John Knight. Knight, a member of the Alabama State Legislature, was special assistant to the president, acting president and later the chief operating officer of ASU.

 

The opinion upheld a collective award of more than $1 million in back pay and lost wages to the three women, who claimed they were subjected to a hostile work environment and retaliation. One of the plaintiffs filed a complaint with ASU's human resources department and then the EEOC; she was able to transfer to another department. Two others were fired after complaining to human resources.

 

Bartley was accused of telling employees “we don’t dress like N——“and “I’m sick of this n—– shit.” In one instance, she was accused of calling an employee’s 7-year-old son the N-word, causing him to crawl under his mother’s desk and curl up in the fetal position. Bartley and Knight were also accused of sexual remarks; in one instance Knight allegedly told an employee she was pretty and, according to the employee’s testimony, “he liked his coffee sweet like [her] and the color of [her] complexion.”

 

Knight was also accused of threatening retribution for employees who cooperated with a complaint filed with the EEOC. One employee who tried to complain to human resources about Bartley says she was told the office wasn’t taking any more complaints.

 

Property Management Co. Pays $140,000 to Settle EEOC Age Discrimination Lawsuit

Kanbar Property Management LLC (KPM), the property management company for several downtown commercial office buildings in Tulsa, will pay $140,000 and furnish other relief to settle an age discrimination lawsuit filed by the EEOC.  The EEOC had charged that KPM violated federal law by firing Toni Strength because of her age, 53, and favoring younger people to replace her.

 

According to the EEOC's suit, Toni Strength was one of KPM's long-time veteran property managers who had been with KPM and its predecessor property management companies since 1992.  KPM notified Strength, who was 53 at the time that she was being terminated on Oct. 29, 2010, because her position was being eliminated.  The EEOC charged that Strength was in fact deliberately replaced with younger women, including placing a 23-year-old clerical employee in the property manager position, and the younger replacements were then assigned seven of the ten buildings that Strength had managed.  The EEOC said these actions were taken because KPM's former CEO wanted "younger and prettier" property managers to meet with potential tenants and entertain potential tenants after regular work hours, and characterized Strength as "too old and ugly."  

 

Such alleged conduct violates the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), which prohibits basing employment decisions on a person's age if he or she is over 40.  The EEOC filed suit after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.   The consent decree settling the suit provides that KPM will pay $140,000 to Strength, update its anti-discrimination policies to recognize the importance of older employees in the workforce and furnish companywide ADEA training for all of its management personnel with hiring and firing authority, as part of the settlement.

 

"This former CEO's ageist and sexist marketing strategy – the use of young attractive women to market commercial lease space in downtown Tulsa – is obnoxious and insulting enough, but firing older employees to make room for younger ones is clearly unlawful," said the trial attorney for the EEOC.

 

Burke Williams Pays $285,000 to Former Employee for Harassment

A jury last week ordered an upscale massage chain to pay $285,000 to a former employee who alleged she was sexually harassed by male customers and that the company did not take steps to stop the behavior.

 

The Court panel found in favor of Domaniqueca Dickson of West Hollywood, who sued Burke Williams in July 2011. The major portion of her award consisted of $250,000 in punitive damages based on the conclusion by the jury that Burke Williams acted with malice toward her. The remaining $35,000 compensates her for lost wages and her emotional distress.

 

According to her attorney, Arthur Kim, Dickson was a certified masseuse who enjoyed her work, wanted to stay at Burke Williams after she began work there in August 2009 and had never before sued anyone. But the company turned a blind eye when she complained about alleged actions by two male customers in 2010, he told jurors in his opening statement.

 

In October of that year, a male guest groaned during a massage and made a sexually oriented movement on the table, Kim said. Although she complained to management, the matter was never investigated, according to Kim.

 

Two months later, a physician receiving a massage exposed himself to Dickson and she also reported that incident to management. But Burke Williams management neither acted responsibly nor did it have in place a policy to deal with such conduct by male clients, Kim said.

Kim also said Dickson was subjected to overhearing comments in the workplace that she found offensive, including the terms "negro," "colored" and "you people." Kim also said his client was forbidden to wear a shower cap that she used to protect her hair.

 

Factoids

Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI)

• 65% of initial claims are denied
• $1130 per month is the average benefit
• Less than 5% of disabling accidents or illnesses are work related (i.e. no workers’ comp)

Disabilities

• Employment to population ratio decreased from 27.2% in 2012 to 25.2% in 2013 for the disabled
• Employment to population ratio increased from 70.6% in 2012 to 70.9% in 2013 for the non-disabled

Quotes

“Every day I get up and look through the Forbes list of the richest people in America. If I'm not there, I go to work.”

~Robert Orben~