In an August 20, 2009 Press Release, the U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (”EEOC”) announced that it has filed an age discrimination lawsuit against AT&T, Inc., a company based in Dallas, Texas, alleging that a class of retired workers were discriminated against by denying them the ability for reemployment solely because they retired under early retirement plans, including the Voluntary Retirement Incentive Program, the Enhanced Pension and Retirement Program or other retirement plan.  See, http://www.eeoc.gov/press/8-20-09.html .  As stated in the Press Release, the effect of this denial of reemployment results in a disproportionate number of older workers not having the same opportunity to apply for reemployment, in violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA).  According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, the result of the company’s policy is to exclude a class of older workers because of their age from being reemployed by the company regardless of their qualifications.  EEOC Acting Chairman Stuart Ishimaru said, in part, that “This particular case highlights the Commission’s commitment to combating age-based disparate impact discrimination.”  For further information about the EEOC, see the agency’s website at www.eeoc.gov .

The U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (”EEOC”) announced in an August 18, 2009 Press Release that a Kansas-based staffing company unlawfully discriminated against a 55-year-old Caucasian employee because of her race and age.  According to the EEOC Press Release, the company provides staffing and administrative services to the federal General Services Administration.  As stated in the Press Release, the EEOC charges in a federal lawsuit that the company violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act by subjecting the female employee to discrimination due to her race and age, and then firing her in retaliation for reporting the unlawful conduct.  More specifically, the lawsuit contends that the employee was subjected to differential treatment by her younger African American supervisor and fired one day after making a complaint.  In this regard, an EEOC attorney quoted in the Press Release said that the female, Caucasion employee “was singled out for unfair treatment by her supervisor [and] … fired after reporting discrimination to her employer.” 

See, http://www.eeoc.gov/press/8-18-09.html .

Whether race and age employment related discrimination occurs in Baytown, Galveston, League City or elsewhere, vicitims of unlawful workplace discrimination may contact the EEOC and an attorney to determine if a race and age discrimination lawsuit is ultimately appopriate under the particular facts and circumstances of the potential employment discrimination claim.

The U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (”EEOC”) announced in a July 31, 2009 Press Release that EEOC attorneys filed an age discrimination lawsuit against the City of Greensboro, alleging that the city violated federal law by refusing to hire a qualified 58-year-old job applicant because of his age and, instead, hired younger, less qualified applicants.  More specifically, the Press Release states that the 58-year-old applicant applied for a position with the city as an Electronic Processes Specialist in June 2007.  According to the EEOC, the position generally involved maintenance of the city’s radio communication systems for first responders, and, although the person was qualified for the position, the city selected three substantially younger applicants, all under the age of 40, at least one of whom was less qualified.  See, http://www.eeoc.gov/press/7-31-09b.html .  The EEOC is a federal agency which enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination, including discrimination against persons age 40 and over under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act or ADEA.  In July, the EEOC held a public hearing on age discrimination and barriers to the employment of older workers.  In this regard, information about that hearing may be found at http://www.eeoc.gov/abouteeoc/meetings/7-15-09/index.html .  An EEOC attorney quoted in the Press Release about the age discrimination lawsuit stated as follows: “It is not only unfair for employers to make unfounded assumptions about an individual’s ability to perform based on age, it’s illegal and might subject employers to federal lawsuits.”  As such, victims of age discrimination in the workplace may contact the EEOC and an attorney to determine if an age discrimination lawsuit is ultimately appropriate under the particular facts and circumstances of the potential age discrimination claim.

In two separate lawsuits, the U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (”EEOC”) charged municipalities in New York with discriminating against older volunteer firefighters because of their age in violation of federal law, according to a July 30, 2009 EEOC Press Release.  The age discrimination lawsuits filed by EEOC attorneys against the Oyster Bay Fire Department and the Brentwood Fire Department charge the respondents with refusing to allow volunteer firefighters over the age of 62 to accrue credit toward a Length of Service Program, the equivalent of a retirement pension, because of their age.  As a result, senior firefighters lost pension amounts after they turned 62, in violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, as stated in the Press Release.  See, http://www.eeoc.gov/press/7-30-09a.html .  An EEOC trial attorney quoted in the EEOC Press Release said that “Firefighters, who volunteer to help people in need, are entitled to fair retirement benefits that are calculated solely based on their service, without regard to their age.” 

Earlier this month, the EEOC held a public hearing on age discrimination and barriers to the employment of older workers.  Additional information about the hearing may be found on the EEOC’s website at http://www.eeoc.gov/abouteeoc/meetings/7-15-09/index.html .

Officials in the east Texas town of Paris said Thursday they are preparing for an influx of black separatists and white supremacists at a planned protest next week over the death of a black man who was run over by a truck and dragged. The Lamar County Commissioner’s Court has created designated zones for protesters to help police maintain order Tuesday, the day a rally organized by the Nation of Islam and the New Black Panther Party is scheduled outside the county courthouse.

The protest is the third related to the death of 24-year-old Brandon McClelland, whose mangled body was found Sept. 16 on a country road outside Paris, about 90 miles northeast of Dallas. Authorities estimated McClelland’s body had been dragged more than 70 feet beneath a vehicle.

Two white men, Shannon Finley and Charles Crostley, were charged with murdering McClelland by running him down in Finley’s pickup after the three friends made a late-night beer run from their dry town across state lines to Oklahoma. But a special prosecutor dismissed the charges last month, citing a lack of evidence, and the men were released after more than eight months in jail.

The previous protests by the Panthers and the Nation of Islam were mostly peaceful and resulted in no arrests. But authorities said there were hints of white supremacist groups showing up this time.

“We have some very specific intel that there would be some counter-protestors — white supremacists, KKK, skinheads — who wish to attend,” said Bill Harris, the first assistant county and district attorney for Lamar County.

At the November and June protests, there were a handful of white supremacists led by Rock Banks, a self-professed grand titan of the East Texas Ku Klux Klan. Words flew in June when Banks waded into the crowd holding aloft a patch depicting a Nazi-era Iron Cross. The KKK, the Nation of Islam and the New Black Panther Party are considered hate groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center. The racial implications of the McClelland case have reminded some of the murder of James Byrd, a black man who was chained by the ankles to a pickup by three white men and dragged to death in 1998 in the east Texas town of Jasper.

Lamar County Judge Chuck Superville said the protest zones are designed to separate members of the Nation of Islam and the Panthers from white supremacists. Law enforcement officials requested the zones as a proactive step to avoid conflict.

Main Street, which runs along the east side of the courthouse, will serve as a dividing line, Superville said. He said he is trying to balance free speech rights with public safety concerns and the desire to keep open the courthouse. “We are going to preserve the peace,” the judge said. “This place is more like Mayberry than Jasper.” Brenda Cherry, a community activist in Paris who leads the Concerned Citizens for Racial Equality group, called the commissioners’ decision “racist and ignorant.”

“They are trying to stifle us and violate our constitutional rights,” she said.

Associated Press

In a July 1, 2009 Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (”EEOC”) Press Release, the federal agency announced that EEOC attorneys filed an age harassment and retaliation lawsuit in Hawaii alleging that a retail store violated federal law by subjecting a 73-year-old female pharmacist to age harassment, retaliation and forcing her out of her job.  See, http://www.eeoc.gov/press/7-1-09.html .  As stated in the EEOC Press Release, the lawsuit charges that the pharmacy manager of a company store in Honolulu subjected the woman to age-based insults, such as telling her she was “too old to work,” that she “should retire,” should “retire from pharmacy work now,” and other discriminatory conduct.  According to the EEOC, the company received notice of the harassment but the company failed to take appropriate action to investigate and correct the hostile work environment, as the law requires.  Instead, the EEOC asserts, the company subjected the woman to a hostile work environment by berating her for lack of competence, making discriminatory comments in performance evaluations, telling her again to retire, and wrongfully accusing her of regulatory violations.  Finally, the pharmacist was forced to resign to escape the discriminatory conduct.  Age discrimination and retaliation for complaining about it violate the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and the EEOC filed suit after first attempting to reach a voluntary settlement.  An EEOC attorney quoted in the Press Release said “The EEOC is committed to preventing age harassment against workers.”  Further information about the EEOC is available on the agency’s website at www.eeoc.gov . 

Whether employment related age harassment and retaliation for complaining about it occurs in Cuero, Gonzales, Yoakum or elsewhere, victims of workplace age bias may contact the EEOC and an attorney or lawyer to determine if an age discrimination lawsuit is ultimately appropriate under the particular facts and circumstances of the potential age harassment claim.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (”EEOC”) is a federal agency which enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination, including the Age Discrimination in Employment Act or ADEA which protects people aged 40 and over from employment discrimination.  Recently, EEOC attorneys announced in Press Releases that the EEOC has settled two age discrimination lawsuits.  In a June 18, 2009 EEOC Press Release, the EEOC stated that age discrimination represents the fastest-growing type of charge filing with the EEOC.  See, http://www.eeoc.gov/press/6-18-09b.html .  In this regard, the EEOC received a record 24,582 age discrimination charge filings during Fiscal Year 2008.  According to the June 18, 2009 Press Release, Catholic Charities, one of the largest non-profit providers of social services in the San Francisco Bay Area, agreed to pay $30,000.00 and provide other relief to settle an age discrimination lawsuit brought by EEOC attorneys.  In that case, the EEOC charged that Catholic Charities fired a highly qualified 71-year-old advocate of the aged and replaced him with a less qualified woman half his age and such alleged conduct violates the ADEA.  In addition to agreeing to pay $30,000 in back pay and interest, Catholic Charities also agreed to provide training to its work force on age discrimination prohibitions and periodic reports to the EEOC on work force demographics in terminations and layoffs.  On June 19, 2009, EEOC attorneys announced that the California State University System agreed to settle an age discrimination lawsuit filed on behalf of a longtime San Francisco State University Lecturer for $50,000.00 and other relief.  See, http://www.eeoc.gov/press/6-19-09.html .  In that lawsuit, the EEOC’s investigation reportedly found that despite over 30 years of teaching experience at various Bay Area colleges and universities and a Ph.D. from Stanford in 1976, the lecturer was passed over for a much younger candidate who had not yet received his Ph.D., a requirement for the position.  An EEOC attorney was quoted in that Press Release as saying that “We are pleased that the California State University System worked with the Commission to reach a fair resolution of the case.”

Whether employment related age bias occurs in Freeport, Galveston, Houston or elsewhere, victims of workplace age discrimination may contact the EEOC and an attorney or lawyer to determine if an age discrimination lawsuit is ultimately appropriate under the particular facts and circumstances of the potential age bias claim.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (”EEOC”) enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination, including violations of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.  During Fiscal Year 2008, the EEOC received a record 24,582 age discrimination charge filings, a 29% increase from the prior year and a 65% jump from the number of filings in Fiscal Year 2005.  Further about the EEOC and federal age discrimination claims may be located in the agency’s website at www.eeoc.gov .

In a June 3, 2009 EEOC Press Release, federal attorneys announced that Alaska’s largest hospital has agreed to pay $220,000.00 to settle an age discrimination lawsuit filed on behalf of five workers laid off and denied rehire because of their age.  See, http://www.eeoc.gov/press/6-3-09a.html .  According to the EEOC Press Release, the hospital laid off and refused to rehire the longtime workers following a restructuring of the hospital’s operating room.  As stated in the Press Release, the five employees had devoted between 11 and 24 years of their careers as surgery aides and anesthesia techicians to the hospital and were replaced by new hires in their twenties and thirties.  Such alleged conduct violates the Age discrimination in Employment Act.  An EEOC attorney was quoted in the Press Release as saying that “Employers have a duty to ensure that they do not run afoul of the law when they restructure their workforce.” 

Whether employment related age bias occurs in New Braunfels, San Marcos, Seguin or elsewhere, victims of workplace age discrimination may contact the EEOC and an attorney or lawyer to determine if an age discrimination lawsuit may ultimately be appropriate under the particular circumstances and facts of the potential employment discrimination claim.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (”EEOC”) enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination.  Age discrimination in the workplace violates the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.  During Fiscal Year 2008, age discrimination charges surged to a record high 24,582 - an increase of 29% from the prior fiscal year.  See, www.eeoc.gov .

In a May 22, 2009 EEOC Press Release, the federal agency charged in an age discrimination lawsuit that a Florida based restaurant and lounge violated federal law when it discriminated against older employees.  According to the Press Release, the EEOC lawsuit alleged that when the restaurant and lounge came under new management in 2007, the new managers stated they would “get rid of all the old and ugly people.”  See, http://www.eeoc.gov/press/5-22-09a.html .  As stated in the Press Release, older employees were told that there were too many old employees and they needed younger ones, so the restaurant began to cut older employees’ hours and wages, take away their responsibilities, assign them to undesirable shifts, and force them out or terminate them outright.  In addition, younger employees were allegedly hired to cover the more desirable shifts and replace the older workers.  In this regard, the EEOC’s lawsuit charged as well that a plaintiff and several other employees over 40 were subjected to a hostile work environment and disparate treatment.

Whether age discrimination in employment occurs in Beaumont, Houston, San Antonio or elsewhere, victims of age related hostile work conditions may contact the EEOC and an attorney or lawyer to determine if an age discrimination lawsuit may ultimately be appropriate under the particular circumstances and facts of the potential age discrimination case.

The Houston Chronicle reported on May 13, 2009 that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (”EEOC”) sued a Houston company, alleging that it fired a waitress because of her age.  See, Sixel, LM, “EEOC Says Age Bias Behind Firing Of Strip-Club Waitress,” Chron.com, 5/13/09.  According to the article, the plaintiff, who was 56 at the time of her termination, worked at Cover Girls where she was allegedly subjected to disparaging remarks, was frequently called “old” by managers and endured comments about experiencing menopause and showing signs of Alzheimer’s disease.  An EEOC lawyer in charge of the age discrimination case said the plaintiff earned high five figures or low six figures as a full-time server until she was terminated in 2006 and that about a year earlier, Cover girls began to hire younger women and gave them the shifts the plaintiff normally worked.  Cover Girls burned down in 2007 and has not been rebuilt, according to the article.  See, http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/6421397.html .

The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination.  Further information about the EEOC is available in the agency’s website at www.eeoc.gov .  In Texas, the Texas Workforce Commission Civil Rights Division (”TWCCRD”) enforces the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act; which has been codified into Texas Labor Code, Chapter 21, and the Texas Labor Code prohibits employment related age discrimination.  Additional information about the TWCCRD and employment discrimination is available in its “Employment Discrimination Fact Sheets” at http://www.twc.state.tx.us/crd/facts.html .

Whether workplace age bias occurs in Beaumont, Corpus Christi, Houston or elsewhere, victims of age discrimination may contact the EEOC and, in Texas, the TWCCRD, as well as an attorney or lawyer to determine if an age bias termination lawsuit may ultimately be appropriate under the particular circumstances and facts of the potential age discrimination claim.