The Employee Polygraph Protection Act (EPPA) of 1988 applies to most private employers, prohibiting most private employers from using lie detector tests, either for pre-employment screening or during the course of employment, and providing civil money penalties for violations as well as the ability to bring a lawsuit, so employees who believe their employer is making unfair demands for a polygraph or lie detector test may consult the U.S. Department of Labor at 1-866-4-USA-DOL or an attorney.  For more information see, http://www.dol.gov/compliance/guide/eppa.htm .  Since the Wage and Hour Division of the Employment Standards Administration administers and enforces the EPPA, employees may also call there at 1-866-4USWAGE.  Id.  According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the Wage and Hour Division accepts lie detector violation complaints made by employees.  Id.

The EPPA does not cover federal, state and local governments and there are exceptions to the prohibition on private employers using lie detector or polygraph tests, meaning there are circumstances under which a private employer can request a lie detector test.  Id.  Where polygraphs are allowed, they are subject to strict standards for the conduct of the test, including the pretest, testing and post-testing phases.  Id.  There are, this regard, limitations and additional rules the employer must follow where the test is authorized by the Act.  Id.  An examiner must be licensed and bonded or have professional liability coverage.  Id.  Further, the Act strictly limits the disclosure of information obtained during a polygraph test, according to the U. S. Department of Labor.  Id.  The EPPA provides employees the right to file a lawsuit for violations of the Act.  Id.

Whether violation of rules restricting lie detector use by employers occurs in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio or elsewhere, polygraph protection act complainants can contact the Department of Labor or consult an attorney to determine whether a formal complaint or lawsuit is appropriate under the facts and circumstances of the potential case.

In Houston and nationwide, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is receiving increasing quantities of inquiries about workplace law, employment related discrimination, as well as harassment complaints, and the number of discrimination-based workplace lawsuits has risen in Houston federal courts during the past few months compared with the same period last year, according to the Houston Chronicle.  Flood, Mary, “Job Bias Lawsuits On The Increase,” Houston Chronicle, 8/24/08, p. B1.  One Houston attorney cited in the article who defends businesses against discrimination complaints said he has seen an uptick in the number of discrimination cases and another Houston employment discrimination attorney said he has seen more age discrimination and medical leave complaints.  Id.

As reported by the Houston Chronicle, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission reviews discrimination complaints and files some lawsuits itself while other discrimination cases may be filed by attorneys on behalf of victims and, in some cases, the victim represents themselves in their own case.  Id.

Discrimination charges are at their highest level in five years, according to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and, in this regard, the EEOC reportedly received 82,000 private sector discrimination charges last year, noting that this is the highest volume of incoming charges since 2002 and the largest annual increase (9%) since the early 1990s.  See, Rosenberg, Richard, “Bias Charges Up Sharply As Settlements On The Rise,” San Fernando Valley Business Journal, http://www.entrepreneur.com , 7/21/08. Workplace retaliation claims were the second highest category behind race discrimination while pregnancy discrimination charges and sexual harassment, including sexual harassment charges by men, surged to record high levels.  Id.  According to the EEOC, it resolved a record number of charges through its internal mediation process, with more than 96% of the EEOC mediation participants, including employers, saying they were satisfied with that process.  Id.

One reason for the increase in complaints with the EEOC may be attributable, in part, to the EEOC’s online access, citizen meetings and other educational programs in which citizens are made aware of their rights and what steps they can take to protect their rights.  See, Flood, Mary, “Job Bias Lawsuits On The Rise,” Houston Chronicle, 8/24/08, p. B7.

In Houston,  inquiries about employment discrimination made to the EEOC between April 1, 2007 and August 17, 2007 totaled 2,338 and that number for the same period this year rose to 3,241.  Id.  However, the number of actual formal complaints filed in Houston has remained fairly static, according to the article in the Houston Chronicle.  Id.

Historically, race has been the charge most frequently filed since the EEOC became operational in 1965.  See, Rosenberg, Richard, “Bias Charges Up Sharply As Settlements On The Rise,” San Fernando Valley Business Journal, http://www.entrepreneur.com , 7/21/08. 

Whether workplace discrimination or retaliation occurs in Beaumont, Dallas, Houston or elsewhere, victims of bias may contact the EEOC or an attorney to discuss their rights.

Sex discrimination violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  “Some may think that sex sells drinks, but gender ratios are illegal,” said Suzanne Anderson, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) supervisory trial attorney and lead counsel for a federal sex discrimination lawsuit filed in Dallas that settled in May, 2008, acording to an EEOC press release.  See, http://www.eeoc.gov/press/5-7-08.html , “Razzoo’s To Pay $1 Million For Sex Bias Against Men,” 5/7/08.  In the lawsuit, the EEOC sued Razzoo’s, a Dallas and Fort Worth based Cajun food restaurant, alleging that the restaurant refused to hire and promote males to bartender jobs and communicated among management by email a plan for an 80-20 ration of women to men behind the bar.  Id.  As reported in the press release, applicants and servers were expected to testify at trial that restaurant managers told them the restaurant wanted mostly girls behind the bar.  Id.  Further, the press release stated that men who worked as servers at the restaurants were generally denied promotions to bartender because of their gender and the few men who were promoted to bartender were not allowed to work lucrative “girls-only” events.  Id. 

Razzoo’s operates 11 Cajun food restaurants throughout Dallas and Fort Worth and also has locations in Houston and Concord, North Carolina, according to the EEOC.  Id.

Whether sex discrimination or gender discrimination occurs in Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston or elsewhere, sex discrimination at work is illegal.  The EEOC may be contacted to file a charge of gender discrimination.  In addition, an attorney may be consulted to determine whether a lawsuit for sex discrimination may ultimately be appropriate in Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston or elsewhere under the facts and circumstances of the potential case.

On May 5, 2008, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced, in a press release, that the EEOC settled a racial harassment lawsuit involving hangman’s nooses, KKK graffiti and racial slurs at a construction site in Pennsylvania.  See,  EEOC Press Release,  http://www.eeoc,gov/press/5-5-08.html , 5/5/08.  The EEOC said that the racial harassment included a life size noose made of heavy rope hung from a beam, the regular use of the “N-word,” racially offensive comments made to black individuals, including “I think everyone should own one,” as well as racist graffiti such as “coon,” and “I love the Ku Klux Klan.”  Id.  The EEOC’s Philadelphia District Director, who oversaw the investigation that preceded the lawsuit, said “It should be obvious to construction companies that employees in this industry have the same legal protections against discrimination as those who work in an office setting.”  Id.  A trial attorney responsible for handling the lawsuit for the EEOC added as follows: “The class members had the courage to come forward and complain, first to supervisors, who did not take action, and then to the EEOC, which did.”  Id.

Whether construction company race discrimination occurs in Beaumont, Dallas, Houston or elsewhere, victims of construction site racial harassment and race discrimination are protected by federal law and can report race discrimination in the construction industry to the EEOC and consult an attorney to investigate whether a race discrimination lawsuit in Beaumont, Dallas, Houston or elsewhere may ultimately be appropriate under the facts and circumstances of the potential construction site race discrimination case.

The Kansas City Star reported on August 14, 2008 that two psychology professors at the center of a sexual harassment scandal at the University of Missouri-Kansas City agreed to resign their tenured positions, avoiding the need for a tenure-revocation and dismissal proceeding - a rare occurrence in university settings.  See, Margolies, Dan, “Professors Accused of Sexual Harassment Resign Tenured Positions,” The Kansas City Star, http://www.kansascity.com/105/story/743850.html , 8/14/08.  According to the article, the university agreed to allow both professors to fulfill their remaining academic obligations and to pay them through the end of their contract year, August 31, 2009.  Id.  In turn, both professors agreed not to apply for re-employment with the university.  Id.  The newspaper further reported that the agreement comes a little more than a year after the University of Missouri-Kansas City settled a sexual harassment lawsuit for $1.1 million.  Id.  Filed in 2006, the sexual harassment lawsuit “described in often graphic terms a lab environment in which women were groped, fondled and subjected to unwanted sexual comments and advances.”  Id.  The allegations prompted two internal investigations by the university, and, in a statement quoted in the article, the university said that “because of significantly conflicting testimony among the witnesses, [the second investigator] felt the evidence was inconclusive” as to whether the professors had created a hostile work environment.  Id.

Sexual harassment at work can create a hostile work environment.  Whether sexual harassment occurs on the job in Corpus Christi, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio or elsewhere, hostile work environment victims may contact the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (”EEOC”) to make a formal charge of discrimination.  In addition, victims may consult an attorney to determine whether a sexual harassment and hostile work environment lawsuit may ultimately be appropriate under the facts and circumstances of the potential case.

According to the website http://www.equalrights.org , a publication of the organization called Equal Rights Advocates (”ERA”), women securing restaurant employment face sex discrimination in hiring, promotions and compensation and the restaurant industry is especially susceptible to incidents of sexual harassment.  See, ERA, “Restaurant Discrimination Project,” http://www.equalrights.org/professional/restaurant.asp .  A research study referenced at the site found that over 42% of the female restaurant employees surveyed reported that a customer, manager, or co-worker had sexually harassed them, and over 60% of all those surveyed, including male restaurant employees, stated that sexual harassment occurred more often in the restaurant industry than other industries.  Id.  Occurrences of alleged racial discrimination in the restaurant industry have also been reported.  For example, a Corpus Christi, Texas news station reported in 2007 that a restaurant customer filed a civil rights lawsuit against an Irving, Texas based restaurant chain, alleging she was ordered to leave after complaining about a manager’s behavior toward black customers.  See, Longoria, Richard, “Restaurant Discrimination,” http://www.kiiitv.com/news/txstatenews/6935847.html , 4/9/07. 

Whether restaurant discrimination occurs in Corpus Christi, Dallas, Houston, Irving or elsewhere, sexual harassment and discrimination on the basis of sex, gender or race is wrong and people subjected to mistreatment at restaurants can make written complaints to the responsible employer or restaurant owner and consider consulting an attorney about whether a race, sex or gender discrimination harassment lawsuit against the restaurant may be appropriate under the facts and circumstances of the potential civil rights case.

According to a McClatchy Newspapers article, AT&T has been ordered by a Dallas jury to pay $411,339 to a Fort Worth, Texas woman who was one of three African-American employees to file suit accusing the company of racial discrimination at its Arlington, Texas call center.  See, Shlachter, Barry, “AT&T Ordered To Pay Texas Woman Who Sued For Racial Discrimination,” McClatchy Newspapers, http://www.sunjournal.com and http://www.theolympian.com/nationworld/story/529072.html , 8/2/08.  McClatchy Newspapers also reported that six other minority employees with similar complaints could not file lawsuits because the statute of limitations ran out while they waited for the company’s responses to internally lodged grievances.  Id.  The jury made its award Monday.  Id.  In the Dallas lawsuit, the plaintiff complained that three white co-workers, including two under disciplinary review, allegedly received promotions to positions for which she had applied despite her superior sales performance and greater seniority.  Id.

Even though federal law prohibits racial discrimination and racial harassment at work, it can still occur, and, in this regard, a recent USA Today Gallup Poll found most Americans saying racism is widespread against blacks in the United States.  See, Gallup, Inc., http://www.gallup.com/poll/109258/Majority-Americans-Say-Racism-Against-Blacks-Wide… , 8/4/08. According to the poll, this includes a slim majority of whites, a slightly higher percentage of Hispanics and the vast majority of blacks.  Id.  “Generally speaking, racism in the United States is thought of as a problem that victimizes blacks and members of other racial or ethnic minority groups,” but, according to the Gallup Poll article, at least 41% of Americans believe that there is also racism against whites, including approximately 4 in 10 whites, blacks and Hispanics sharing this opinion.  Id.  The results of the poll are based on a national sample of 1,935 U.S. adults, including large samples of more than 600 blacks and 500 Hispanics, weighted to represent their correct proportions in the U.S. population, according to the article.  Id.

Whether racial discrimination, racism or racial harassment occurs at work in Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio or elsewhere, victims of race based discrimination on the job can contact an attorney or the EEOC to determine whether a racial discrimination claim is appropriate under the facts and circumstances of the potentail racial harassment claim.

In addition, employees who report racial discrimination and racial harassment in the workplace may be protected under federal law against retaliation by their employer, and, in this regard, may consult an attorney or the EEOC to learn more about reporting discrimination and what protection the law provides against retaliation.

Federal law prohibits age discrimination in the workplace whether the age discrimination occurs in Houston, Dallas, El Paso, San Antonio or elsewhere.  When an employee believes they have suffered age discrimination, the employee can contact the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or consult an attorney. 

In this regard, the Associated Press reported recently that an Oregon Circuit Court Judge entered an order allowing a 57-year-old man to start work in the Oregon Secretary of State’s Audits Division after the man filed three age discrimination lawsuits as a result of being turned down a dozen times since applying for employment.  See, http://www.newsregister.com/news/story.cfm?story_no=238732 , 8/2/08.  According to the article, the Judge “said the hiring criteria used by the audits division seemed too subjective.”  Id.  

See also, http://www.statesmanjournal.com .

Guadalupe Gonzalez, an El Paso attorney and the chief counsel for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office in El Paso, filed a discrimination lawsuit in 2005 in which she claimed that she was passed over because she was not politically connected and that immigration judges were being appointed based on their political ties and not on merit.  See, Bracamontes, Ramon, “El Pasoan’s Lawsuit Altered How Immigration Judges Chosen,” El Paso Times, http://www.elpasotimes.com/news/ci_10037168 , 7/30/08.  According to the El Paso Times, the federal government changed the way it filled immigration judge positions in 2007 as a result of the lawsuit.  Id.  The U. S. Department of Justice issued a report reaffirming that the way judges had been seated was illegal.  Id.  A report found that prior to attorney Gonzalez’s complaint the majority of immigration judges being selected were chosen as if the judgeships were political positions instead of career jobs.  Id.  Immigration judge positions are considered career jobs, not political jobs.  Id.

An Addison, Texas based restaurant chain was sued in 2005 by the Dallas office of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), alleging that the restaurant chain routinely declined to hire or promote men who wanted to be bartenders.  See, Tsao, Emily and Karen Robison-Jacobs, “Razzoo’s Settles Sex Discrimination Lawsuit with Male Bartenders,” The Dallas Morning News, http://www.dallasnews.com , 5/8/08.  According to The Dallas Morning News, the restaurant chain agreed to settle the lawsuit in which the EEOC represented 90 male applicants, servers and bartenders claiming that the restaurant tried to keep an 80 - 20 ratio of women to men behind the bar.  Id.  As reported in the article, “[m]ale applicants and servers planned to testify that managers told them [the restaurant] wanted ‘mostly girls behind the bar’.”  Id.  In addition, few men were allegedly promoted to bartender and were not allowed to work lucrative girls-only bartending events.  Id.

Whether sex or gender discrimination occurs at work in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio or elsewhere, United States federal law prohibits sex discrimination in the workplace and victims of sex discrimination may contact the EEOC about filing a charge of discrimination as well as an attorney.  An attorney can also be consulted as to whether a sex or gender discrimination lawsuit may ultimately be appropriate in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio or elsewhere under the facts and circumstances of the potential case.