Recently in Employment Discrimination Category

The telecommunications company AT&T has agreed to pay $60,000 to a former employee in order to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit. Occupational Health and Safety News reports that the ADA lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleged that a man that used to work for AT&T was denied a similar job within the company because of his "insulin use" for type 2 diabetes.

The job applicant was reportedly applying to be a cable splicer technician for AT&T in Austin and had the necessary experience and expertise to perform the job. He had also safely performed a similar job for AT&T after he was diagnosed with diabetes. When this applicant was denied the job, EEOC stepped in and accused the company of violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

An employee of Goodwill Industries has filed a lawsuit against the organization, claiming that the Caucasian janitorial workers are getting paid more than the janitorial workers of racial minorities. According to the Southeast Texas Record, the suit was filed on July 28 in the Jefferson County District court by Earnest Sennet, who was making just $6 an hour as a janitor at Goodwill.

In the lawsuit, Earnest Sennet alleges that he was supposed to be paid $11 an hour, as it reportedly says in his contract. However, the defendant in this case told the plaintiff that he would only be getting paid $6 per hour. The plaintiff is a minority male, but the lawsuit does not specify what his exact ethnicity is or when he started his employment at Goodwill.

The largest phone company in the United States has been hit with yet another lawsuit, this time it's over discrimination of age against the company's employees that are over the age of 40.

Reuters reports that AT&T Inc. is in talks of settling the lawsuit that is almost a year old. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has proposed a settlement and both sides are set to meet for a mediation session on August 10 with further proceedings on September 6.

The largest privately owned fitness chain in America is being sued for allegedly passing over promotions on female and minority employees and favoring white workers. Not only is this lawsuit giving the chain 24 Hour Fitness USA Inc. bad publicity, but the lawsuit could end up costing the company millions of dollars.

Because of the lawsuit's class action status, there are many 24 Hour Fitness employees seeking back pay and damages in the case. A press release stated that the case has been filed in Alameda County Superior Court, located in Northern California. The lead plaintiff is Raoul Fulcher Jr., who claims that he was not promoted at 24 Hour Fitness because of his African American race.

University of North Texas employee Allison Timmons Vrana claims that she was a victim of retaliation in the workplace after she filed for an appeal to her own performance review as a college employee. She claimed that her performance review was unfair and discriminatory, but that when she informed her employer of the discrimination, she was simply asked to just stop making complaints.

The Southeast Texas Record reports that the woman has filed a lawsuit against the University in hopes of seeking damages for back pay, front pay, lost benefits, compensatory damages, including recovery for mental distress, punitive damages, costs of court and attorney's fees. The lawsuit was filed in the Sherman Division of the Eastern District of Texas on June 18, where a jury trial has been requested for this case.

As a long-time employee at Christus Hospital St. Mary in Port Arthur, Jada Fobbs was supposed to be honored at an employee awards ceremony for 30 years of service. Yet the Southeast Texas Record reports that a racist joke complaint at the ceremony may have led to retaliation, which caused the woman to quit her job.

At the awards ceremony, an administrator reportedly mixed up names and years while handing out the awards. The administrator apologized and said that he was "acting like a black man without an education."

A former temporary Walmart employee at a Las Vegas Walmart store has filed a complaint with the Nevada Equal Rights Commission, alleging that he faced discrimination based on his sexual orientation at the world's biggest retailer.

The Advocate reports that 18-year-old Fernando Gallardo quit his position at Walmart because of the harassment and humiliation that he faced each day. The teenager claims that a supervisor straight up asked him if he was gay in front of four of his coworkers. After he told his supervisor "yes," he said that he was alienated from then on.