Articles Posted in Wrongful Termination

A federal agency has been ordered to rehire an ex-worker until an appeals board can hold a hearing on his whistleblower claim that he was fired in retaliation for telling his boss two co-workers illegally shot mountain lions from a government airplane in Nevada.

An administrative law judge granted Gary Strader’s motion for reinstatement because Strader presented enough evidence to suggest there is a “substantial likelihood” he will prevail in his case against the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services, where he worked as a professional hunter in northeast Nevada until his firing in April.

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An East Texas company must pay black workers more than $3 million in back pay as damages in a class action lawsuit charging racial discrimination, a federal judge has ruled.

U.S. District Judge Ron Clark said Lufkin Industries Inc. must pay the workers $3.1 million as well as 5 percent interest to compensate them for acts of discrimination dating to 1994.

A bench trial in 2005 found that the company unlawfully made initial assignment and promotion decisions that discriminated against black workers.

“Lufkin Industries has been profiting for years from its policy of unlawful discrimination,” wrote Clark, who succeeded Cobb on the bench in the Eastern District of Texas. “At the same time, as Judge Cobb found, Lufkin’s CEO was indulged with a corporate jet and pilot and in 2002 a paycheck three times that of the president of the United States.”

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The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has sued Kmart Corp., alleging that the discount retailer fired an employee at a store after discovering he uses a cane to help him walk and stand.

Alonzo McGlone worked as a greeter at the Kmart store in Norfolk in September 2004, according to the commission, which filed its lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Norfolk. It charged that Kmart discriminated against McGlone and violated the federal Americans with Disabilities Act by refusing to let him use a cane and denying him work because of his disability, a debilitating back impairment known as spinal stenosis.

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Starbucks agreed to pay a former lead network engineer in Seattle $120,000 plus a mediator’s fee to settle a lawsuit that alleges racial discrimination and retaliation “so severe that it required him to take a medical leave of absence.”

Victor Washington, who is African-American and worked for Starbucks from September 2006 until May 2008, alleges in the July 2008 lawsuit that a white co-worker made racist comments to him such as repeatedly telling him to “fetch” the co-worker’s umbrella and tie his shoes for him. In the lawsuit, Washington says he complained to his supervisor and to Starbucks’ human resources department, and that they took no action, although the supervisor increased his workload and gave him undesirable assignments.

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A federal court jury in Denver awarded $3 million to a former United Airlines employee after finding the company retaliated against her for complaining about discrimination.

The jury deliberated about seven hours before reaching a verdict.

Jennifer McInerney, 37, of Centennial lost her job as a United ramp-services supervisor in March 2006 after 12 years with the company. She has a disabled 3-year-old son.

McInerney asked for alternative jobs in May 2005 because she anticipated complications with her pregnancy. She said the request was denied and her son was born 11 weeks premature.

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Attorneys for 14 female Hayward police officers who said they had faced systematic harassment based on their gender or sexual orientation announced today the case has been settled for nearly $5 million.

The officers had been seeking unspecified damages for discrimination that they said went back to 1982 and continued up through early 2008, said attorney Stan Casper.

Hayward officials said attorneys will determine how the money will be divvied up among the officers.

The lawsuit was settled through the city’s insurance companies, which are responsible for paying it.

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An Arizona woman has filed suit against GoDaddy.com Inc., alleging the Scottsdale company failed to stop a co-worker from sexually harassing her and that it fired her when she complained.

Rachel R. Pearson filed the suit in U.S. District Court for Arizona. She seeks an unspecified amount for back pay, compensation for emotional pain and other losses, and punitive damages.

Go Daddy general counsel Christine Jones denied that Pearson was subjected to sexual harassment or retaliation and said the company intends to vigorously defend itself.

“Go Daddy takes all complaints of employee misconduct seriously. We thoroughly investigated Ms. Pearson’s allegations and could not substantiate them,” Jones said.

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A Texas tubing company agreed to pay $175,000 to a former employee it fired less than a month after he complained of racially offensive comments.

The recent agreement settles a lawsuit that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed against Maverick Tube Corp. in 2007 for retaliation, according to the consent decree.

Maverick Tube, which is a supplier of tubes to the energy industry, denies the allegations but entered into the settlement to avoid protracted litigation, according to the agreement.

Karen Gillen Allen, said the allegations were made by a former employee who was dismissed.

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The late Harris County Constable Glen Cheek regularly referred to women in derogatory and obscene terms, made female employees do his personal shopping, did not properly promote them and fired a female deputy constable for something he would have forgiven a man.

But jurors in the federal sexual harassment and discrimination lawsuit filed by Kimberly Owen also heard Harris County attorney Lina Garcia say Owen was fired solely because she was charged with drunken driving. Garcia said Owen raised the gender allegations later because she won’t take responsibility for her own actions.

Opening statements were made in the case before U.S. District Judge Vanessa Gilmore Monday afternoon. Scott Newar, Owen’s lawyer, said this lawsuit against Harris County is about the way woman are treated in law enforcement throughout the county.

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A federal jury in Montgomery returned a $5.79 million verdict against Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama and a mid-level manager for sexual harassment, negligence and retaliation.

“The jury awarded double what we were asking for,” said Birmingham attorney Alicia Haynes, represented former Hyundai employee Tammy Edwards. “They were upset at the negligence.”

The jury, which returned its verdict, awarded $795,000 in compensatory and $5 million in punitive damages against Hyundai. The jury also returned a $10,000 punitive verdict against manager Mike Swindle after a nearly two-week trial before the U.S. District Court.

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