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Some Chicago businesses post "Se Habla Espanol" signs to boast about their Spanish-speaking employees. But two hair stylists said in a federal lawsuit Thursday that their former bosses at Supercuts posted a different sign: "Speaking a language other than English is not only disrespectful, it's also prohibited." Stylists say the notice was put up in 2003, directed at employees as Supercuts managers allegedly barred them from speaking Spanish anywhere at work -- including in the break room or other places outside the earshot of customers. Supercuts says there is no such ban. "We absolutely, vehemently deny the allegations and believe...

When Christine Drake worked as a Starbucks barista, the Seattle woman with psychiatric disabilities said it was the first time in her life that she "felt a sense of accomplishment." But after two years on the job, a new manager at the Starbucks store at 425 Queen Anne Ave. N. in Seattle allegedly discriminated against Drake, decreased her hours and berated her in front of customers, according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Lisa Cox, an EEOC lawyer, said the world's largest coffee retailer ignored Drake's requests for help and violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by not accommodating...

A female worker's immigration status doesn't bar her from a filing a sexual harassment lawsuit, a federal judge in Minneapolis has ruled. Maria Torres, a cook at the Perkins Restaurant and Bakery in St. Paul's Midway neighborhood, accused her boss of making sexually suggestive remarks, touching her and showing up unannounced at her house. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Torres filed a harassment and retaliation lawsuit, alleging Perkins started investigating her immigration status only after she complained. Attorneys for Perkins tried to have the case dismissed, arguing her suspected status as an undocumented worker barred her and the...

CHARLESTON — In a new twist in American race relations, a federal court has ruled that a white teacher in a predominantly African-American school was subjected to a racially hostile workplace. The case concerned Elizabeth Kandrac, who was routinely verbally abused by black students at Brentwood Middle School in North Charleston. Their slurs make shock jock Don Imus look like a church deacon. * * * * * Although Kandrac clearly suffered — she was suspended from her job shortly after a story about her EEOC complaint appeared in the local newspaper, and her contract was not renewed — her...

A complaint filed at the end of March in the United States District Court District of Massachusetts, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says two Hispanic workers, one's national original is the Dominican Republic, and the other's is El Salvador) were subjected to discrimination by the Salvation Army "on the basis of their national origin (Hispanic) by requiring them to comply with Defendant's English-only rule.

In Framingham, Massachusetts, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is using our Federal tax dollars to sue the Salvation Army. Why? Two Hispanic Salvation Army employees, granted employment with the proviso that they learn English in the next year, failed to do so and thus the Salvation Army fired them. This is understandable, as the employees did not conform to a 2003 ruling from a federal judge in Boston upholding the Salvation Army’s policy requiring their employees to be able, to the best of their ability, to speak and to understand English, the language in which the United States conducts business....

The EEOC has filed a...complaint accusing the Salvation Army of discrimination on the basis of national origin. At issue is a Salvation Army policy that requires its workers to speak English in the workplace. TOM TANCREDO (R): This is America. We speak English. It's better for the people who are here to learn English and actually have the ability to get ahead in life. That's what we should be encouraging. SYLVESTER: In 2003, a federal judge upheld the Salvation Army's English-only policy, ruling that it served a legitimate business purpose, promoting effective communication and helping improve productivity and efficiency. But...

Just when you think you have heard it all, along comes a story that is almost too ridiculous to be true. But it is. The idiocy of federal bureaucracies apparently is never-ending. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which might easily be called the Department of Political Correctness, has decided to take on the Salvation Army. Yes, the Salvation Army, that phenomenally successful assistance organization which began in Great Britain over one hundred and forty-years ago. The Salvation Army, which has helped thousands of people in countries all over the world, is being sued by the EEOC. As most people...

Walgreen, America’s largest drugstore retailer, may call itself “the pharmacy America trusts,” but at least one federal commission would like to disagree. The United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) sued Walgreens on Wednesday afternoon, claiming that the company discriminated against thousands of African American employees by denying promotions and assigning workers to low-performing stores.

PHOENIX -- The Outback Steakhouse restaurant chain was sued Friday by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which accused the company of denying women job opportunities and training needed to reach top management jobs. The federal lawsuit accuses the restaurant chain, owned by Tampa-based OSI Restaurant Partners, Inc., of denying women opportunities to be hired or promoted into management positions. To be considered for top management jobs at the company's restaurants, workers need to have varied assignments, especially in the kitchen, the suit states. But qualified women were denied those posts and passed over for less qualified male workers. "This...

Lawsuit Filed In Federal Court (STNG) CHICAGO A legally blind man allegedly had a job offer rescinded by a Massachusetts-based technology service provider to work at its Rockford-based facility because of his visual impairment. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Western Division, in Rockford that QualxServ, LLC violated Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act when it refused to hire William Landram of Machesney Park, according to a release from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Landram has retinitis pigmentosa and was diagnosed with the...

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Chair Cari Dominguez announced Monday she will step down, effective Aug. 31. She has not yet announced her plans. EEOC Vice Chair Naomi Earp will be acting chair until a permanent chair is appointed. Earp has held a series of federal leadership positions, including with the National Institute of Science and Technology, the National Institute of Health (NIH), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Nominated by President Bush, Dominguez was sworn in as the 12th commissioner of the EEOC in August 2001 for a five-year term, in which she focused...

The percentage of people of color in the federal work force has steadily increased since 1992, but continuing racial/ethnic disparities at the management level suggest much work is yet to be done. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)'s annual report on the federal work force reveals a disturbing reality. National demographics are changing rapidly, and about a third of the U.S. population is now made up of people of color. While a cursory look at federal-work-force diversity suggests decent representation of people of color in the government's overall work force, a deeper analysis shows the percentage of people of color...

You've probably heard of Hooters -- the restaurant chain known for attracting male customers by hiring waitresses who are well-endowed and dressed to show it.The firm now employs more than 30,000 people. Some would consider this a success story, but our government didn't. Not because Hooters is using sex to sell -- but because its waitresses are -- get ready -- women!"Discrimination!" cried the federal government's Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).The business of Hooters is food, said the government, and "no physical trait unique to women is required to serve food." EEOC lawyers demanded Hooters produce all its hiring data,...

Last month, I received an invitation to testify before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission about affirmative action and diversity in U.S. companies. The testimony was scheduled for today, and I was asked to share my written statement to the commission beforehand, last Thursday, which I did. Late Friday afternoon I received a phone call from the commission, telling me that because of what I had to say, my invitation had been withdrawn by its chairman, Cari M. Dominguez. I urged the commission to reconsider this decision because it would put the commission in general and the chairman in particular in...

An African American producer who had been at CBS News for 13 years is attributing her March termination to racial discrimination, noting that "not one of CBS News' eight broadcasts is in any way directed, influenced, or shaped by an African American or any minority holding a senior position on that broadcast. "There is not one single African American person holding a rank above producer on any of CBS' eight separate broadcasts," states a complaint to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed by Raylena Fields, 52, who said she earned $185,000 a year. "In the last eighteen (18) months,...

LOS ANGELES - The U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment Commission must pay more than $1 million to a Pasadena law firm that it sued unsuccessfully last year for sexual harassment and pregnancy discrimination, a federal judge has ruled. U.S. District Judge Dickran Tevrizian, in a ruling released Monday, found that the EEOC filed a "frivolous" lawsuit against Robert L. Reeves & Associates, which practices immigration law. Reeves maintained that the EEOC should have known that the harassment and discrimination allegations were part of a scheme to destroy his firm by two of his former law associates, according to a statement from...

NEW YORK -- Morgan Stanley has fired a stock-research analyst and three sales staffers in the Wall Street firm's institutional-stock division after they accompanied one or more clients on a visit to an adult-entertainment club, according to people familiar with the matter. The firing of the staffers, all men, sent a message that exclusionary, male-only activities won't be tolerated at the firm, according to people familiar with the matter. In mid-2004, Morgan Stanley agreed to pay $54 million to settle a gender-discrimination case. As part of the settlement, Morgan Stanley denied wrongdoing but agreed to take additional steps to promote...

Indianapolis -- A General Motors program that allows Hispanics, blacks or lesbians — but not Christians — to organize in employee groups is not committing religious discrimination, a federal court ruled. GM's Affinity Group diversity program does not discriminate against Christians because it treats all religions equally, the 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Chicago ruled Thursday. The court upheld a decision by a federal judge in Indianapolis, where the original lawsuit was filed by John Moranski, a born-again Christian who works at GM's Allison Transmission plant in Indianapolis. Moranski applied in December 2002 to start an interdenominational Christian...

Fifteen percent of all workers say they have been discriminated against in their workplace during the past year, according to a new Gallup Organization poll. The survey was conducted to discover workers' perceptions of discrimination in their workplaces during a year that marks the 40th anniversary of the formation of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission after the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The EEOC's chairwoman, Cari M. Dominguez, said the information will help the agency compare employee perceptions of discrimination with complaints actually filed with the agency. For example, 31 percent of Asians surveyed reported incidents of...