NEWS & ANALYSIS

By Patrick Hoff

BNSF Railway unlawfully fired an employee who asked to use a smaller hand tool during training to avoid exacerbating a genetic condition that causes chronic pain, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleged in Illinois federal court.

By Grace Elletson and Anne Cullen

A New Hampshire federal judge declined to dismiss a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission lawsuit alleging a Coca-Cola bottling company bucked federal antidiscrimination law by holding a women-only corporate event, unpersuaded by the company's argument that the excluded male workers hadn't endured sufficient injury to warrant a lawsuit.

By Anne Cullen

Most of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's latest crop of Pregnant Workers Fairness Act cases stem from employers penalizing workers for pregnancy-related absences or pushing back on their requests to temporarily forgo strenuous work, shedding light on the statute's contours as its implementing regulations are slated for revision. 

By Grace Elletson

A medical marijuana company will pay an ex-employee $150,000 to resolve a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suit claiming the business fired her less than an hour after she asked to take breaks at work to recover from seizures, according to a Florida federal court filing.

By Grace Elletson

A Smithfield Foods subsidiary reached a deal to resolve a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suit claiming it placed a pregnant employee on unpaid leave and then fired her when she asked for lighter work and occasional breaks, according to a North Carolina federal court filing.

By Patrick Hoff

A heavy machinery dealer agreed to pay $200,000 to resolve a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suit alleging it fired an employee after knee surgery rather than let her return to work with an accommodation, according to a filing in Colorado federal court.

By Grace Elletson

A Kentucky federal judge ordered a limousine company to pay the remaining $85,000 it owes a group of women to resolve claims from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that the business stood by while they were sexually harassed on the job.

By Grace Elletson

A Washington federal judge found a staffing company violated the terms of a $276,000 settlement it reached with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to close a bias investigation, siding with the EEOC's suit that the business failed to pay up more than half the money it owed.

By Patrick Hoff

A Texas car dealership group will pay $430,000 to settle a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suit alleging it excluded two female employees from bonus opportunities and fired a woman who complained about sexist comments, according to a federal court filing.

By Grace Elletson

A Florida flooring company has agreed to pay $175,000 to close a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sex harassment suit claiming its CEO repeatedly propositioned his assistant for sex and groped her following a work event, according to a federal court filing.

By Anne Cullen

The former information governance and strategy director at the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission was cleared to move ahead with his federal suit alleging he was marginalized and pushed out by the agency's internal and external rollback of LGBTQ+ protections.

By Patrick Hoff

A New Jersey nursing home and rehabilitation facility abruptly refused to let a nurse with a permanent back injury work until she could do so without a restriction on lifting more than 20 pounds, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleged in New Jersey federal court.

By Patrick Hoff

A Florida-based medical call center and answering service unlawfully forced pregnant women to resign after giving birth rather than give them time off, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleged in a new lawsuit.

By Grace Elletson

A tree trimming business refused to hire female applicants for field roles even if they had previous experience in the industry, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission told a Texas federal court.

By Grace Elletson

A marketing company reached a $50,000 deal with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to resolve the agency's claims that it canceled an interview with a job applicant after learning she was pregnant, according to federal court filings.

By Patrick Hoff

Bollinger Shipyards unlawfully rescinded workers' job offers because of prescription drugs they took and restricted the jobs available to people taking medication for opioid use disorder, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleged in Mississippi federal court.

By Grace Elletson

A Long Island car dealership will pay $175,000 to resolve a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suit claiming it stood by while a male manager repeatedly groped female workers' breasts and catcalled them on the job, according to a filing in New York federal court.

By Julie Manganis

Two affiliated property management companies in Boston have agreed to pay $112,000 and comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act to settle a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suit alleging they revoked a job offer after learning the applicant had cancer.

By Patrick Hoff

A Virginia Walmart has refused for years to provide a deaf employee with a sign language interpreter despite having the resources and technology to do so, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleged Wednesday in a federal suit.

By Benjamin Morse

A sporting goods retailer unlawfully forced workers age 40 and older to give up vested employee stock ownership plan shares if they failed to work at least 1,000 hours in a year, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleged in Nevada federal court Wednesday.