Indianapolis Personal Injury Lawyer - Workplace Discrimination

Worker Crushed To Death By Bulldozer

Chrissie Cole — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 13:45:00 GMT

A construction worker was run over and crushed to death by a bulldozer at a construction site in northeastern Indiana, on Monday, according to police.

The man, 46, of Auburn, was conversing with a bulldozer driver when he failed to notice that another bulldozer was backing up and stepped into its path. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Monarch Development Inc. was on site building a new Dexter Axle building in the town of Albion, which is located about 30 miles north of Fort Wayne.

The accident happened just after sunset at 6:30 p.m., but several light towers kept the construction site well-lit, according to Chad Jacob, an Albion police officer.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Chrissie Cole

Indiana Construction Worker Killed In Accident

Chrissie Cole — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 07:22:00 GMT

Preliminary results from an autopsy show a 41-year-old Fort Wayne man died of blunt-force trauma to the head in a construction accident at a New Haven business.

The man, an employee of Advanced Foundation Systems, was working in a hole at a building site when he was struck in the head with a piece of construction equipment.

He died instantly, according to Officer Scott Adam, a spokesman for the New Haven Police Department. The accident occurred at Don R. Fruchey Inc. where construction was being done on one of its buildings.

The Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), is investigating the accident and will be interviewing employees and witnesses. Investigators will later determine if any citations or fines should be issued to the contractors or companies involved.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Chrissie Cole

Workplace Discrimination Advice

Chrissie Cole — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 01:18:00 GMT

There are no federal laws that specifically target gender identity or sexual orientation, however, the Civil Rights Act does ban discrimination by sex.

A 1989 court ruling set a precedent that employees could not be discriminated against based upon sex stereotyping, or not acting in accordance with societal expectations.

Managers should be careful to consider there are many areas of behavior and identity, while not covered entirely by name in legislation – that can result in litigation.

Advice for navigating discrimination laws in the workplace:

First and foremost, know the laws in your city and state. Many states have their own specific anti-discrimination laws that go beyond federal protections on age, disability, gender, race, national origin and religion.

If possible, having a good employment attorney on retainer is a smart idea. New laws are always evolving and having legal counsel available is an asset to your company.

The most basic of principles is to focus on specific job qualifications and exclude everything else about the candidate, says Debra Raskin, a plaintiff's employment lawyer.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Chrissie Cole

Supreme Northwest Settles National EEOC Discrimnation Lawsuit

Chrissie Cole — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 01:37:07 GMT

A national discrimination lawsuit brought against Supreme Corporation and Northwest LLC, by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), has reached a settlement.

The EEOC had charged the Indiana-based automotive manufacturer harassed and subjected seven employees at its Woodburn, Ore., facility to disparate treatment (demotion, discriminatory termination, and/or involuntary resignation) by the plant manager because of their national original, Hispanic/Mexican.

The EEOC's suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Supreme Corporation and Supreme Northwest LLC, CV 07-1047 MO).

The alleged conduct is a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The EEOC filed a lawsuit after failing to reach a voluntary settlement with the company.

The settlment terms include: Supreme Northwest agreeing to pay $427,000; review its discrimination, harassment and retaliation policies, train its managers, employees and supervisors about harassment, discrimination and other such relief.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Chrissie Cole

Indiana Realtors Take a Stand Against Discrimination

Chrissie Cole — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 23:30:48 GMT

The Greater Northwest Indiana Association of Realtors is taking a stand against discrimination in housing, in Northwest Indiana, and says they will provide equal opportunity to anyone and everyone.

Discrimination complaints logged by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development increased 12% from last year to over 10,000 throughout the country. This is the highest increase since 1990, when the agency started tracking them.

The Realtors adopted a code on inclusiveness that was developed by the Race Relations Council of Northwest Indiana, which works to fight racism within the region.

Darren Washington, co-chairman of the council, says the two groups came together after a Lake County real estate agent last year distributed letters to north Merrillville homeowners suggesting they sell their properties because Gary planned to annex their neighborhoods. Gary and Merrillville officials complained, the agent was fired and the state Attorney General's Office suspended her license.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Chrissie Cole

City to Pay Fire Captain $350,000 to Settle Discrimination Lawsuit

Chrissie Cole — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 01:15:33 GMT

The city has agreed to pay a female fire captain $350,000 to settle a discrimination lawsuit that claimed she was ridiculed, unfairly disciplined and wrongly passed over for promotion in a male-dominated fire department.

The lawsuit was set to go to trial in U.S. District Court, Wednesday, in Indianapolis, prior to the deal being reached.

"What happened to the Captain was bad and unfortunate and an unacceptable situation, and she should not have been subjected to the behavior she was subjected to," said, the city and county's lead attorney. "That behavior was not consistent with the city's policy of equal opportunity employment or the values it requires of its employees."

Along with the settlement, disciplinary action will be brought against Indianapolis Fire Department employees that were involved in the discrimination. It is unknown who will be disciplined at this time.

While gender sensitivity training is in place, the settlement requires the city to increase awareness and training. The Captain is one of 59 women out of 989 firefighters.

For more information on this subject matter, please refer to the section on Workers Compensation & Workplace Discrimination.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Chrissie Cole

Justice Department Files Discrimination Lawsuit Against Indianapolis

Chrissie Cole — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 01:59:09 GMT

A discrimination lawsuit has been filed against the City of Indianapolis by The U.S. Justice Department, alleging several Indianapolis police officers were discriminated against on the basis of gender or race.

The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Indiana in Indianapolis on Wednesday.

In the suit, the officers, white males, allege in 2005 black male officers and white female officers listed on promotions eligibility lists were promoted before other officers ranked higher on the list.

Eight officers claim they were discriminated against.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Chrissie Cole

Mother Files Racial Discrimination Complaint Against School

Chrissie Cole — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 02:13:15 GMT

The mother of a Penn High School freshman has filed a racial discrimination complaint against the school alleging her daughter was treated unfairly by high school administrators after an altercation in April.

The Mother contends the school treated her daughter differently than the white female student with whom she fought, after the student allegedly called her the "n-word." Her daughter was suspended for five days while the other student was not.

The complaint was filed with the Indiana Civil Rights Commission through the South Bend Human Rights Commission.

In a response to the complaint, the district admits that "a daughter was suspended for five days due to her involvement in a physical altercation and that the white female student referenced in the complaint was not suspended."

Another Penn High School parent, whose daughter was also involved in the altercation was suspended and has also filed a discrimination complaint against the school district with the Indiana Civil Rights Commission.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Chrissie Cole

School District Discrimination Case Under Review by Justice Department

Christina Cole — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 19:37:40 GMT

The Justice Department is deciding whether or not to pursue a discrimination case against an Indiana school district that is being accused of discriminating against women.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, ruled last month, that East Allen County Schools may have discriminated by announcing it will no longer negotiate contracts with food service workers, nurses, paraprofessionals and secretaries.

The Justice Department may sue the school district or they could send the case back to the four women to file suit. A deputy director with the Indianapolis EEOC Office said he can't talk about any of the complaints. He did say the commission attempts to meet with accused parties prior to sending cases to the Justice Department.

The district has continued negotiating with maintenance workers, custodians and bus drivers, whose workers are mostly male.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Christina Cole

Auto Dealer to Pay $2.3 Million in Discrimination Lawsuit

Christina Cole — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 17:07:34 GMT

One of the biggest car dealerships in Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky has agreed to pay out $2.3 million to 39 women who claim sex discrimination because they were not hired for any sales positions, said the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

The consent decree in federal court, resolved an EEOC lawsuit from 2003 alleging 11 of their dealerships owned by Jeff Wyler had discriminated against women. The companies which are privately owned sells 15,000 new automobiles annually at nearby dealerships in Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio.

The settlement further requires the dealerships to provide anti-discrimination training to their managers and supervisors while also proving a written explanation if a man is hired, not a woman, for a sales position over the next three years.

Under the terms of the agreement, the Dealership did not admit to any wrongdoings.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Christina Cole