Human Rights Watch (“HRW”) released a 95-page report on Tuesday, May 15, 2012, entitled “Cultivating Fear: The Vulnerability of Immigrant Farmworkers in the US to Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment.”  The report describes rape, stalking, unwanted touching, exhibitionism, and vulgar and obscene language by supervisors, employers, and others in positions of power over farmworkers and [...]

The U.S. Supreme Court has denied certiorari to in a “ministerial exception” case that had been filed in Maryland state court.   In the case, Linklater v. Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, Mary Linklater sued the Prince of Peace Lutheran Church (“PPLC”) for sexual harassment and gender discrimination.  Law360 reported that Linklater previously worked as the [...]

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) has reached a settlement in a sexual harassment lawsuit it brought against Kaizen Restaurants, Inc., a franchisee operating dozens of Burger King restaurants in Oregon and Washington.  Judge Garr M. King of the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon approved a consent decree settling the lawsuit [...]

A former financial advisor of Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC has filed a harassment lawsuit against Morgan Stanley, Law360 reports.  Minh Hong began working at the firm’s Ontario, California branch as a financial adviser trainee in 2003.  From then until she took an extended leave of absence in September 2007, the lawsuit alleges, she experienced [...]

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) filed a petition on Monday, April 9, 2012, asking the Eighth Circuit to reconsider its ruling requiring the agency to identify all potential class members before filing a lawsuit.  The decision came in the case of U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. CRST Van Expedited, Inc., in which [...]

A Miami jury last month awarded a female firefighter $700,000 for enduring years of sexual harassment at the hands of male coworkers and supervisors.  Marlenis Smart became a firefighter and paramedic for the city of Miami Beach in January 2005.  From her first day on the job, she was subjected to sexist remarks and harassment [...]

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit recently vacated and remanded a district court judge’s decision granting summary judgment against an employee who had sued her employer for sexual harassment.  In Dulaney v. Packaging Corp. of America, Carla Dulaney sued her employer after she was allegedly terminated in response to her repeated complaints [...]

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) recently settled a retaliation lawsuit with an insurance company based in Long Island, New York.  The lawsuit was filed by the EEOC on behalf of Rochelle Legette, a sales telemarketer at Sterling and Sterling, Inc.  Ms. Legette had been hired in March 2007.  After facing racial and sexual [...]

The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals struck a blow to workplace retaliation protections on Monday with its decision in Brush v. Sears Holding Corp. The plaintiff in the case, Janet Brush, was an employee of Sears for over fifteen years prior to being fired in November 2007.  Brush was terminated shortly after she criticized the [...]

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) has settled a sexual harassment case with a Minnesota-based music print publishing company.  The EEOC announced on March 14, 2012, that it reached a settlement with Hal Leonard Publishing Company of Winona, Minnesota.  The settlement came after an investigation launched by the EEOC’s Minneapolis office in response to [...]