California Employment Lawyers Blog

In a previous Orange County, California employment lawyers blog, Vincent Howard reported on a sexual harassment lawsuit settlement involving coffee giant Starbucks and a teenage barista--who accused Starbucks of failing to neglect her from sexual harassment and discrimination by a store manager.

In recent news, Starbucks is being sued again by a former employee for sexual harassment. According to the lawsuit, Kari Smith was constantly harassed and ridiculed by her co-workers at Starbucks. Smith claims that male baristas would hold her against the wall and grind against her with their bottoms. The lawsuit also states that her colleagues joked about the dark basement of the Starbucks café, calling it the "rape room" because there were no cameras there. Smith also claims that she was ridiculed for her tendency to faint, and her co-workers would make jokes about her disability in a derogatory and sexual manner.

According to the lawsuit, after Smith filed a complaint with her supervisors, she was fired abruptly in April without any explanation. She is seeking damages for discrimination and sexual harassment.

Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, sexual harassment in the workplace is against the law. According to Vincent Howard, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission defines sexual harassment as any verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature, sexual requests in the workplace environment, any sexual advances that are unwelcome, and can also include any offensive remarks about a person's sex. Retaliation against employees who stand up for their workplace rights is also against the law.

Continue reading "Former Starbucks Barista Sues Starbucks for Sexual Harassment" »

In a landmark U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity (EEOC) disability discrimination lawsuit verdict issued last week, an Iowa jury awarded the EEOC damages that totaled $240 million--reportedly the largest in the EEOC's history for disability discrimination and severe workplace abuse.

According to the lawsuit, that Costa Mesa, California-based attorney Vincent Howard has been closely watching, the jury sided with the EEOC, who filed a disability discrimination lawsuit against Hill County Farms, doing business as Henry's Turkey Service--claiming that the company subjected a group of 32 male workers with intellectual disabilities to massive abuse and disability discrimination from 2007 until 2009, after twenty years of similar illegal abuse and mistreatment. The company is based in Texas, but the work abuse occurred in Iowa.

The EEOC reportedly presented evidence that Henry's Turkey exploited these disabled and vulnerable workers for years, because their disabilities made them completely unaware that their legal rights were being denied. The evidence reportedly showed that the staffers and owners of the company subjected the workers, whose job responsibilities included eviscerating turkeys for twenty years, to constant physical and verbal harassment and abuse, restricted their freedom of movement, subjected them to other harsh conditions of employment such as forcing them to live in isolated, cruel, and sub-standard living conditions, and failed to provide them with proper medical care when necessary.

Among the verbal harassment and abuses frequently administered, the workers were referred to as "stupid," and "retarded," and were reportedly subjected to physical abuse that included kicking, hitting, and at least one instance of handcuffing. The workers were also forced to carry heavy weights to serve as punishment, and when they complained of injuries or pain, their complaints were dismissed by the supervisors and workers' caretakers.

Continue reading "Jury Awards Intellectually Disabled Workers $240M for Poultry Plant Abuse and Harassment" »

Presrite Corporation, a Cleveland-based industrial parts manufacturer, will reportedly pay $700,000 to settle a class action gender discrimination lawsuit, according to an EEOC press release that Riverside, California-based attorney Vincent Howard has been following.

According to the EEOC lawsuit, Presrite is responsible for widespread gender discrimination against female applicants. The EEOC found that the company consistently denied female applicants entry level positions at the company's three plants--instead giving the jobs to less-qualified male applicants. The commission also found that many women who were hired in entry level positions experienced harassment. One female employee claimed that her male colleagues told her that women should not work at the plant, drew pictures of her that were degrading, called her derogatory names, and told her she should open her uniform to show her chest for a photo.

The company was also charged with failing to keep employee data and applications--another violation of federal law. Presrite reportedly failed to produce more than a thousand employment applications for workers that the company hired, and also did not maintain information about the applicants that was accurate--making it impossible for the EEOC to properly identify the large number female applicants who were illegally denied employment because of their gender.

According to Vincent Howard, under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, discrimination based on sex is against the law. Title VII also mandates that employers must create and keep employment records that are relevant to whether or not an employer has engaged in practices that are unlawful--which includes hiring discrimination based on gender.

Continue reading "Presrite to Pay $700K to Settle Gender Discrimination Lawsuit" »

In a recent Riverside, California employment lawyers blog, Vincent Howard reported on a Hollywood pregnancy discrimination and wrongful termination lawsuit, after former model Brandi Cochran, from the popular game show, The Price is Right, was awarded $7.7 million in monetary damages by a Los Angeles jury. The award was overturned by a trial judge in March, who stated that he didn't properly instruct the jury. Cochran's attorney expects the damages to be higher in the re-trial.

In related Hollywood employment news, a colleague of Cochran's, Lanisha Cole, another former model on The Price is Right, has settled a Los Angeles sexual harassment lawsuit with the game show's producers and production company, FremantleMedia North America--where she accused a male producer of sexual harassment, and wrongful termination.

According to the lawsuit, Cole began working as a model on the show in 2003. Cole claims in her sexual harassment lawsuit that her mistreatment began in 2009, when one of the show's producers stopped talking to her, and started giving more favorable treatment to another model on the show.

Cole alleges in the lawsuit that after an incident occurred on the show in 2010, where she was unable to respond to an on-stage comment made by Drew Carey because she did not have a microphone--she was reprimanded by the same producer. Cole claims that after the incident, the producer barged into the models' dressing room in the middle of changing during a commercial and harassed and reprimanded her about the incident while she stood in front of the producer and her colleagues naked, only wearing thong underwear. She claims in the suit the producer didn't try to cover his eyes, or apologize about reprimanding her while she was undressed.

Continue reading "Former Price is Right Model Settles Sexual Harassment, Wrongful Termination Lawsuit" »

Vincent Howard has been following a recent Los Angeles, California sexual harassment and discrimination lawsuit filed by a former student of Bikram Choudhury, founder and guru of the popular hot yoga style, Bikram Yoga.

According to the lawsuit, Sarah Baughn, a Bikram student and teacher living in San Francisco, worshipped Choudhury as her mentor and hero, until he made inappropriate sexual advances toward her during her Los Angeles, California Bikram teacher training course in 2005.

Baughn claimed that after dropping out of college as a 20-year-old and paying $7,500 to study with Choudhury, she was initially uncomfortable after noticing how other young female students treated him with physical intimacy, by brushing his hair, washing his feet, and giving him massages, but decided it must be a cultural thing. Then Choudhury allegedly focused his sights on Baughn, offering her expensive gifts, telling her he had known her in a previous life, professing his feelings for her, and propositioning her about having a relationship together.

Baughn reportedly rejected Choudhury's continual sexual advances, trying to redirect the attention to his wife, also a teacher and founder of USA Yoga. Baughn claims that Choudhury pursued her continually for four years, with inappropriate physical contact while adjusting her yoga postures, whispering comments in her ear that were sexually charged, ordering her to publicly kiss him in front of others, and allegedly assaulting her during a teacher training. She reportedly discussed the sexual harassment to senior teachers at Choudhury's Yoga College of India based in Los Angeles, but was told that he was harmless, and that powerful men were often flirtatious.

Continue reading "Hot Yoga Guru Bikram Choudhury Sued for Sexual Harassment, Misconduct" »

An Oceanside, California phlebotomist, a person responsible for drawing blood samples in DUI cases, has recently won a $1.5 million harassment lawsuit, after accusing a former police officer of sexual harassment.

According to the lawsuit filed by phlebotomist Kimberli Hirst, her officer Gil Garcia engaged in verbal sexual harassment that created a hostile work environment in 2008. Garcia, who was fired after Hirst's sexual harassment complaint was filed reportedly, admitted to making comments to Hirst that were inappropriate, but claimed that the comments were consensual--a kind of sexual banter between them.

After learning of Hirst's sexual harassment complaint, the city began an investigation, that took about six weeks, reportedly ended in placing Gil Garcia on leave in October of 2009, with a dismissal in November 2009. During this time, Hirst claims she was forced to endure even more sexual harassment from the police officer.

In the jury's 11-1 verdict, they reportedly placed 25 percent of the blame on Garcia, and 75 percent of the blame on the city for the handling of Hirst's complaints. As Garcia was acting as an Oceanside police officer at the time of the sexual harassment, he reportedly will not be responsible for paying the jury's award.

Continue reading "Oceanside Phlebotomist Wins $1.5M in Sexual Harassment Lawsuit against City" »

The U.S. Equal Employment Commission, (EEOC) the agency responsible for enforcing the federal laws that make it illegal for an employer to discriminate against an employee or job applicant because of the individual's disability, color, race, sex, religion, age, national origin, or genetic information, has recently filed a lawsuit against Wal-Mart--accusing the retail giant of sexual harassment and disability discrimination, for allowing a male worker to sexually harass a disabled female worker. Wal-Mart is also being accused of disability discrimination, for failing to communicate the company's anti discrimination policies to the disabled worker, and for retaliation, by opposing the female worker's sexual misconduct complaint--both of which are against the law.

According to the EEOC lawsuit, that Riverside, California-based employment attorney Vincent Howard has been following, Jamie Wells, a developmentally disabled worker, had been employed at Wal-Mart for over eleven years in the garden and lawn department. The lawsuit claims that from April 2005 until January 2011, the Akron-based retail chain allowed a male colleague to sexually harass Wells, which allegedly included inappropriate sexual touching while she was working on Wal-Mart's premises. The sexual harassment lawsuit claims that once the store managers were told about the harassment, they not only failed to take the appropriate action, but instead they fired Wells in retaliation, a few weeks after she filed her complaint.

Wal-Mart is being accused of violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by engaging in illegal sexual harassment and retaliation, and is also being accused of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by failing to reasonably accommodate Wells' disability, by giving her proper supervision, training and communication about the company's anti-harassment policies.

The EEOC stated that Wells' disability made her especially vulnerable to workplace sexual harassment, and once Wal-Mart knew about the harassment complaint, it had the legal duty to take immediate action to put an end to the sexual misconduct. According to the EEOC, if an employer fails to take appropriate action in such a case, the employer will be held accountable by the commission.

Continue reading "Wal-Mart Sued for Sexual Harassment, Disability Discrimination and Retaliation" »

In recent Los Angeles, California employment news, Vincent Howard has been watching the unfolding of a high-profile gender and race discrimination lawsuit--filed by a former chef of well-known celebrity hangout Cleo Restaurant, in Hollywood, California.

According to the lawsuit, female chef Keyon Wilson started working as a line cook in 2012, as the only African-American employee in the kitchen. Wilson, who is also gay, claims that soon after joining the Hollywood eatery, the supervising chefs and other colleagues began hurling offensive racial and anti-gay slurs at her.

Wilson claims in her sexual harassment and anti-gay lawsuit that employees who were not African-American and not gay were not treated in the same manner, and after filing a complaint about the severe racial and gender discrimination, she did not receive any support. Instead, according to the lawsuit, Wilson was retaliated against, and was forced to take unpaid days off, with delayed paychecks. Wilson claims she was forced to quit after one month on the job.

As defined by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), sexual harassment can include advances of a sexual nature, requests that are unwelcome, and any other physical or verbal sexual harassment. According to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, harassment or discrimination based on sex or gender is against the law. It is also illegal for employers to retaliate against any employees who stand up to sexual harassment or discrimination.

Continue reading "Anti-Gay, Race Discrimination Lawsuit Hits Hollywood Restaurant" »

Attorney Vincent Howard discussed a recent $1.25 million sexual harassment lawsuit settlement in Howard Law's Riverside employment attorneys blog last week, involving two lesbian Los Angeles, California police officers (LAPD) who claimed they were subjected to consistent harassment by a male LAPD officer.

In related Los Angeles, California employment news, a Los Angeles jury awarded another LAPD police officer $1.2 million recently for his racial harassment and discrimination lawsuit against the city of Los Angeles, and the LAPD.

According to the lawsuit, Earl Wright, a black officer who had worked for the LAPD for twenty-three years, claimed that the police department never took his complaints of racial incidents seriously. Wright claimed that the incidents caused him to miss seven months of work, due to hospitalization for anxiety and stress.

Wright alleged in the lawsuit that the discrimination based on race came in the form of racial slurs, and other harassment that was racially motivated. Wright claimed that in 2009, LAPD sergeant Peter Foster reportedly presented him a cake for his 20 years on the force that was topped with watermelon and fried chicken. Earlier that year, photos of Wright and his partner were also reportedly superimposed on a poster from the television show "Sanford and Son" that was labeled a "family portrait" and distributed around the department.

Continue reading "LAPD Officer Wins Racial Discrimination Lawsuit, Awarded $1.2M" »

In recent news that Carson attorney Vincent Howard has been closely following, the Los Angeles City Council reportedly approved a sexual harassment lawsuit settlement in the amount of $1.25 million, to a female LAPD officer and a female retired officer, both of whom are lesbians--after the officers claim that they were subjected to frequent sexual harassment by an LAPD officer.

According to the Los Angeles Times, this agreement follows in a long line of significant settlements and jury awards that the city of Los Angeles has had to pay to settle discrimination, retaliation and other workplace lawsuits that have been brought by LAPD officers against one another.

The two female officers, who are both open about their sexual preference, were reportedly assigned in 2010 to the LAPD's Van Nuys Division, under the supervision of a 25-year LAPD veteran, Sgt. Randy Hoffmaster. The female officers claimed that on many occasions over the period of one year, Hoffmaster made vulgar comments of a sexual nature to them, as well as sexual propositions. After filing numerous complaints to more senior officers, the officials reportedly did nothing to protect the female employees from the sexual harassment.

After the officers filed their sexual harassment lawsuit, the LAPD department officials reportedly opened an internal investigation. Along with the LAPD's findings, the women's claims were supported by other officers who witnessed the sexual abuse, and were willing and prepared to give testimony against Hoffmaster at the trial. After the conclusion of the investigation, Hoffmaster allegedly resigned.

Continue reading "Lesbian Officers Settle LAPD Sexual Harassment Lawsuit for $1.25M" »

Last year, in Howard Law's Riverside, California employment lawyers blog, attorney Vincent Howard reported on a high profile Silicon Valley gender discrimination and sexual harassment lawsuit, filed by former junior partner, Ellen Pao against the well-known California venture capital firm, Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Byers. In her lawsuit, Pao accused the firm of creating a working environment that was dominated by males and filled with discrimination based on sex, sexual harassment and gender retaliation. The lawsuit raised questions about the current state of gender issues in the venture capital and tech industries.

Silicon Valley was recently thrust into the spotlight again, after another sexual harassment lawsuit was filed recently, bringing more attention to the ongoing issue of gender roles in the technology world. Last month, CMEA Capital, a venture capital firm, was sued by former female executive assistants, who accused John Haag, the former president and chief operating partner, of sexual harassment, failure to prevent sexual harassment, and retaliation.

According to the lawsuit, Haag engaged in sexual misconduct by behaving in sexually inappropriate ways. The lawsuit against CMEA lists numerous incidents of sexually explicit behavior as well as inappropriate sexual and racial comments toward the three former employees, along with other female employees in the firm. The lawsuit also accuses CMEA's management of failure to respond to and stop Haag's sexual harassment, and alleges that Haag retaliated against the female employees after learning of the complaints.

The former female employees reportedly claim in the suit that the sexual inappropriate behavior at the firm was ongoing, with a total disregard for employment laws. The lawsuit claims that Haag engaged in harassment that was sexual in nature, with bullying and intimidation tactics and was aware of his inappropriate behavior.

Continue reading "Silicon Valley Firm CMEA Sued for Sexual Harassment, Retaliation" »

Hollywood star Sharon Stone has ended up in Los Angeles, California employment news again, after her former housekeeper Angelica Castillo filed a lawsuit against the actress, alleging that Stone forced her to perform physically strenuous tasks and then wrongfully terminated her employment out of retaliation when Castillo asked for a bed rest period after sustaining an injury on the job.

As Vincent Howard reported in a related Santa Ana employment lawyers blog, this is the second time Stone has been sued by an employee in less than a year. In May of 2012, Stone was sued by her former nanny of four years, Erlinda Elemen, for violations of California and federal labor laws, racial harassment and wrongful termination. Elemen claimed that Stone harassed her with ethnic slurs related to her Filipino heritage, and violated labor laws by initially paying her overtime compensation and then demanding the payment back--by accusing her of stealing.

According to Castillo's lawsuit, filed this week, the former housekeeper injured her back in June of 2012, while grocery shopping for Stone. Castillo claims to have injured her back while loading groceries, and sustained severe back pain. In September of 2012, Castillo reportedly sought medical attention for the injury, and her doctor recommended that the housekeeper have a brief bed rest period, abstaining from lifting heavy things. Stone allegedly ordered her to report back to her job that same day, and demanded that Castillo perform her regular job duties--which included moving and lifting heavy things while cleaning Stone's home.

Castillo claims in her suit that other employees who could have helped her perform the necessary job duties were not allowed to help. In October, during a cleaning session when Castillo was reportedly moving in severe pain, Stone allegedly yelled, calling her derogatory names for moving slowly and not performing her work duties fast enough. Castillo claims that she was fired that same day, after two years of employment. Stone is being accused of engaging in wrongful termination and retaliation, after Castillo sought medical leave for her back injury.

Continue reading "Sharon Stone Sued Again--Former Housekeeper Claims Wrongful Termination, Retaliation" »

Howard Law's Santa Ana, California employment lawyers blog recently discussed the topic of pregnancy discrimination in the California workplace, after Oprah Winfrey's high profile OWN Network was sued recently by a former employee, who claims that she experienced sex and pregnancy discrimination while working for the network.

This week, Vincent Howard has been following another California gender discrimination lawsuit, filed against Daiichi Sankyo, the Japanese pharmaceutical company. The $100 million class action gender and pregnancy discrimination lawsuit was filed by six former and current female sales representatives from the Japanese company's U.S. headquarters--who claim that the drug maker discriminates against women by paying them less than men for performing the same work, promoting women in the company more slowly than male employees, and treating pregnant employees or female employees with children less favorably than other male employees.

The complaint states that Daiichi Sankyo counts on the predominately female sales force to make multibillion dollar profits, by using the attractive female representatives as part of their marketing and sales strategy--relying on them to persuade doctors to choose the company's drug brands. Daiichi allegedly asks the female sales reps to take male doctors out for drinks and dinner, and offer gifts and friendships, devoting time and attention to nurture relationships with doctors in an effort to secure their allegiance to the brands. The lawsuit claims that when female sales reps seek promotions or have children, they hit a glass ceiling within the company--as male employees hold nearly all of the management positions in the United States, controlling all decisions on promotions, salary increases and job terminations.

According to the gender discrimination lawsuit, Daiichi warned female sales reps that if they got pregnant, requested maternity leave or sought part-time work schedules within the company after having a baby, they would be committing 'career suicide'. The employees claim that they were subjected to gender and pregnancy discrimination, such as being forced to attend meetings in bars that were smoke filled during pregnancy, being called derogatory names like 'baby makers,' discouraged from breastfeeding, subjected to compensation offsets that were suspect after returning from maternity leave, and demoted in retaliation after complaining about gender or pregnancy discrimination.

Continue reading "Daiichi Sankyo hit with gender, pregnancy discrimination lawsuit " »

According to a recent U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) press release that Orange County-based employment attorney Vincent Howard has been following, a jury recently ruled in an EEOC sexual harassment lawsuit against Finish Line, the footwear, apparel and accessories company. The lawsuit was filed by the commission on behalf of three teenage female employees who were allegedly subjected to severe sexual harassment and abuse by a 38-year-old general manager at a Tennessee store.

The lawsuit accused Finish Line of subjecting at least three teenage female employees to sexual harassment, forcing the employees to quit their jobs as a result of the sexual abuse in the workplace. One employee who resisted the sexual harassment was also retaliated against by the manager, by having her work hours reduced.

As Vincent Howard frequently reports, under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, it is against the law to engage in sexual harassment in the workplace, and illegal to retaliate against any individuals who protest the unlawful treatment. EEOC trial attorney Kenneth Anderson, stated that it is unfortunate that any woman, especially a teenager, should have to deal with sexual harassment in the workplace. According to Anderson, the fact that the harassment came from a much older male supervisor made this case equally reprehensible.

The jury reportedly awarded the three victims of sexual harassment $30,000 in compensatory damages, with additional back pay.

Continue reading "Jury Awards Finish Line Teenage Employees $30K in EEOC Sexual Harassment Lawsuit " »

As Vincent Howard reported in a previous Carson employment lawyers blog, last year, California Labor Commissioner Julie A. Su filed two separate lawsuits in Los Angeles, California against three carwash businesses, seeking over $2 million in damages. The carwashes allegedly violated California labor laws by failing to pay car wash employees minimum wage and overtime compensation for their hard work.

In recent news, a criminal complaint for conspiracy as well as grand theft was filed against Wilshire West Car Wash, one of the car wash companies in the original lawsuit investigation from last year, as a result of a joint wage theft investigation by Commissioner Su and the Santa Monica Consumer Protection Unit. The criminal complaint includes charges against Medhi Soroudi, the business owner, and Gary Pendleton, the general manager, along with two supervisors--who are all charged with wage theft, and conspiring to steal wages from employees.

The Labor Commissioner's Office reportedly launched the original investigation into Wilshire West Car Wash, and uncovered a myriad of deliberate wage theft schemes over a four year period to cheat the car wash workers out of their wages. The labor law violations uncovered reportedly included altering worker time records, creating falsified time records to show that employees worked less time than they did, creating falsified time records to show that meal breaks were taken when they were not, failing to give proper meal and rest breaks, making workers sign documents stating that they had received their paid breaks, forcing workers to pay for fees that were illegal, and harassing, threatening and punishing any workers who stood up to these illegal actions.

The City Attorney's Office of Santa Monica filed charges of eleven counts of criminal activity, which includes labor by false pretenses, grand theft of money, failure to compensate minimum wage, failure to provide proper meal and rest breaks, conspiracy, and making employees give back wages which had been paid. Each charged offense is a misdemeanor.

Continue reading "CA Labor Commissioner Investigation Leads to Criminal Charges for Los Angeles Car Wash Company" »