"This & That" Tuesday: Racial Harassment and National Origin Discrimination

July 28, 2015

 

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

 

Announcements

Special Announcement: If you have Independent Contractors, you need to review the latest Department of Labor Guidelines. They can be found on my website under the Resoures page.  http://www.humanresources4u.com/resources

 

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 Events

August 27, 2015

Frederick’s Benefits

Leave of Absence Laws in CA

Information can be found on my website.

 

September 15, 2015

Irwindale Chamber of Commerce

Hiring Talent for Consistent Performance

Information can be found on my website.

 

Appeals Court Upholds Racial Harassment Jury Verdict 

In the latest of a series of successes in the EEOC’s challenges to workplace racial harassment, the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld the EEOC's victory in obtaining a jury verdict and more than $243,000 and injunctive relief for victims of racial harassment and retaliation perpetrated by A.C. Widenhouse, Inc., a Concord, N.C.-based trucking company, the agency announced today.

 

According to the EEOC's lawsuit, Contonius Gill and Robert Floyd, Jr., African-Americans, worked as truck drivers for A.C. Widenhouse. From as early as May 2007 through at least June 2008, Gill was repeatedly subjected to unwelcome derogatory racial comments and slurs by the facility's general manager, (who was also his supervisor), the company's dispatcher, several mechanics and other truck drivers, all of whom are white. The comments and slurs included the "N" word, "monkey" and "boy." Gill testified that on one occasion he was approached by a co-worker with a noose and was told, "This is for you. Do you want to hang from the family tree?" Gill further testified that he was asked by white employees if he wanted to be the "coon" in their "coon hunt."  

 

Floyd testified that he also was subjected to repeated derogatory racial comments and slurs by the company's general manager and white employees. Floyd testified that when was hired in 2005, he was the only African-American working at the company. According to Floyd, the company's general manager told Floyd that he was the company's "token black." Floyd testified that on another occasion the general manager told Floyd, "Don't find a noose with your name on it," and talked about having some of his "friends" visit Floyd in the middle of the night. Gill repeatedly complained about racial harassment to the company's dispatcher and general manager and Floyd complained to an owner of A.C. Widenhouse, but both men testified that the harassment continued.  

 

The district court ruled that the EEOC should recover $50,000 in compensatory and punitive damages on behalf of Floyd, and that Gill should recover $193,509 in compensatory and punitive damages, back pay, and pre-judgment interest. The court further enjoined A.C. Widenhouse from discriminating against any person on the basis of race or in retaliation for opposing practices unlawful under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The three-year injunction also requires A.C. Widenhouse to implement a written anti-discrimination policy; conduct training on Title VII to all employees and to all owners involved in the company's operations; post the anti-discrimination policy and a notice to employees regarding the lawsuit; and provide the EEOC with periodic reports regarding complaints about racial harassment.  

 

The court of appeals firmly rejected the appeal, saying that the company's challenges to the EEOC's case were without merit and that the trial court had not abused its discretion in any way in its conduct of the trial.

 

Rizza Cadillac Pays $100K for National Origin Discrimination

The federal district court in Chicago has entered a consent decree requiring Rizza Buick GMC Cadillac, Inc., a Tinley Park car dealership, to pay $100,000 and provide other relief in order to resolve a national origin and religious discrimination lawsuit brought by the EEOC.  

 

In its lawsuit, the EEOC charged that Rizza Cadillac violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by subjecting three Arab Muslim employees to a hostile work environment based upon their national origin and religion.  Rizza Cadillac is part of the Rizza cars conglomerate that includes eight new car franchises located throughout the Chicagoland area and that sells new and used vehicles online.  

 

"What we found was that Rizza's managers allegedly used offensive slurs, such as 'terrorist,' 'sand n—-r' and 'Hezbollah,' and made mocking and insulting references to the Qur'an and the manner in which Muslims pray," said John Rowe, the director of the federal agency's Chicago District Office.

 

The affected employees will share $100,000 in monetary relief, and Rizza Cadillac will be taking affirmative steps to ensure a change in the work environment at the dealership, including providing training to all employees regarding compliance with Title VII; submitting periodic reports to the EEOC about any complaints of national origin or religious discrimination; and posting a notice regarding the outcome of the lawsuit on its employee bulletin board for two years.

 

Factoids

• 30% of Fortune 500 CEOs are 6-foot-2 while only 3.9% of adult Americans are that tall.
• The salaries of blond women are 7% higher than for brunettes or redheads.
• For every 1% increase in a women’s body mass there is a corresponding decrease in family income of 0.6%
• Resumes with “white-sounding” names receive 50% more callbacks than those with “black-sounding” names
• All things being equal, for each child a women has her wages will decrease by 4% while for men it increases by 6%

 

Quote of the Blog

“You don’t learn to walk by following the rules. You learn by doing, and falling over.”

~Richard Branson~