The Eleventh Circuit has reversed the dismissal of a lawsuit against Dunkin’ Donuts LLC, ruling that a blind plaintiff who alleged the company’s website was not compatible with screen-reading software showed a plausible claim for relief under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Haynes v. Dunkin’ Donuts LLC, No. 18-10373 (11th Cir., entered July 31, 2018). The Southern District of Florida previously dismissed the complaint, reasoning that the plaintiff had "failed to allege a nexus between the barriers to access that he faced on the website and his inability to access goods and services at Dunkin’ Donuts’ physical store." The appellate panel found that “the prohibition on discrimination is not limited to tangible barriers that disabled persons face but can extend to intangible barriers as well. ... It appears that the website is a service that facilitates the use of Dunkin’ Donuts’ shops, which are places of public accommodation. And…
Tag Archives discrimination
A jury in Pennsylvania federal court has awarded $200,000 to a former Mondelez employee who alleged the company discriminated against her because of her age and terminated her after she complained of the alleged discrimination. Konsavage v. Mondelez Global LLC, No. 15-1155 (M.D. Pa., verdict issued March 19, 2018). The plaintiff, who worked for Nabisco and its successor Mondelez for 31 years, reportedly said that beginning in 2013 a new supervisor told her that she should reduce her workload to give younger employees a chance, that she lacked agility and that she had no potential at her age. The following year, she was allegedly demoted and forced to take a $9,000 pay cut before being fired a few months later. The jury awarded her emotional distress damages pursuant to the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act.
The Australian Advertising Standards Bureau (ASB) has upheld complaints that Rusty Yak Ginger Ale's advertising, which urged viewers to “stop the ginger gene” from spreading by looking for bottles of the product hidden in six-packs of beer, was offensive to people with red hair. Carlton and United Breweries ran the television and internet ads for the product and told ASB the ads were intended to launch the product “in an affectionate, light-hearted and humorous way by linking the hair colour with [its] ‘crisp and zingy Rusty Yak gingery flavor.’” The Ad Standards Community Panel considered the ad in relation to its advertising code of ethics, which refers to discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity and other personal characteristics. The panel said, “DNA can be considered to be related to ancestry and descent . . . in this context the reference to people with red hair falls within the definition of…
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has filed a lawsuit alleging Chicago Meat Authority Inc. discriminated against African-Americans, resulting in multiple violations of U.S. civil rights statutes. U.S. Equal Opportunity Emp’t Comm’n v. Chicago Meat Authority, Inc., No. 18-1357 (N.D. Ill., filed February 22, 2018). EEOC alleges that the processor (i) failed to recruit or hire African-Americans because of their race; (ii) engaged in hiring practices that caused a disparate impact on the basis of race; (iii) fired an employee based on his race and in retaliation for engaging in a protected activity; (iv) subjected African-Americans to a hostile work environment that included frequent racial epithets and slurs as well as other offensive comments based on race; and (v) failed to take action to remedy the alleged harassment. EEOC seeks injunctive relief, an order that the defendant provide equal employment opportunities regardless of race and protected activity, back pay, front…
The University of Connecticut’s Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity has conducted a study assessing public support for policies and laws that would prohibit discrimination based on weight. Rebecca M. Puhl, et al., “Potential Policies and Laws to Prohibit Weight Discrimination: Public Views from 4 Countries,” The Milbank Quarterly, December 2015. In an online survey, the researchers questioned 2,866 adults in the United States, Canada, Australia and Iceland about their opinions on several policy measures related to weight discrimination, including (i) “adding body weight to existing civil rights statutes,” (ii) “extending disability protections to persons with obesity,” and (iii) “instituting legal measures to prohibit employers from discriminating against employees because of body weight.” The propositions with the most support referred to protection of employees from discriminatory practices in hiring and wage determinations. A majority of respondents in the United States and Canada supported the inclusion of weight discrimination in…
Advocate General Niilo Jääskinen of the EU Court of Justice has issued an opinion in the case of a morbidly obese child-minder in Denmark who lost his job, allegedly due to unlawful discrimination, finding that “if obesity has reached such a degree that it plainly hinders participation in professional life, then this can be a disability” under the Equal Treatment in Employment Directive. Karsten Kaltoft, who never weighed less than 352 pounds (with a BMI of 54) during his 15-year tenure with the Municipality of Billund taking care of other people’s children in his home until he was terminated, claimed that his dismissal was based on his weight and sought damages for discrimination. The Court of Kolding in Denmark referred the case to the EU Court of Justice, seeking an opinion on whether the EU Treaty and Charter included a “self-standing prohibition on discrimination on the grounds of obesity,” or…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has issued a final rule clarifying “the roles and responsibilities of USDA’s Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (OASCR) and USDA agencies in enforcing nondiscrimination in programs or activities conducted by USDA.” Intended to “strengthen the agency’s civil rights compliance and complaint processing activities to better protect the rights of USDA customers,” the final rule requires OASCR and other USDA agencies to “collect, maintain and annually compile data on the race, ethnicity and gender (REG) of all conducted program applicants and participants by county and State.” To facilitate early resolution of complaints, the agency also stipulates that “OASCR shall offer Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) services to complainants where appropriate.” In addition, the final rule establishes two new protected bases: political beliefs and gender identity. “This amendment is meant to make explicit protections against discrimination based on USDA program customers’ political beliefs or…
A federal court in the District of Columbia has denied the request of the Black Farmers & Agriculturalists Association, Inc. to intervene in lawsuits brought by female and Hispanic farmers against the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) alleging gender and race bias in the administration of farm loan and disaster benefit programs. Love v. Vilsack, No. 00-2502 (D.D.C., decided June 13, 2014). Additional information about the gender discrimination claims appears in Issue 374 of this Update. The association was not a member of the settlement class established to resolve the claims of African-American farmers who failed to file claims for administrative adjudication before the deadline expired in Pigford v. Glickman (Pigford I). Those missing the deadline saw their claims revived under the 2008 Farm Bill and consolidated in litigation collectively known as Pigford II. Details about that litigation appear in Issue 395 of this Update. The association sought (i) a declaration…
A federal court has awarded $90.8 million to the attorneys who represented African-American farmers in litigation against the U.S. Department of Agriculture alleging discrimination in the loan application process. In re Black Farmers Discrimination Litig., No. 08-0511 (D.D.C., decided July 11, 2013). Additional details about class counsels’ request appear in Issue 405 of this Update. Explaining the challenges counsel faced, their extensive efforts to secure an award for the class of farmers in excess of $1 billion, the millions they incurred in unreimbursed expenses, as well as the hours devoted to assisting the Claims Administrator during the claims process, the court found an award representing 7.4 percent of the claims fund reasonable. According to the court, “Class counsel have undertaken the immense challenge presented by this action with the utmost professionalism and integrity, exhibiting skill, diligence, and efficiency in all aspects of their duties.”
A salesman has reportedly filed a discrimination lawsuit against his former employer in a New York state court alleging that the employer, who had invited the salesman to return to his job in a frame shop, asked him to leave when he saw how much weight the salesman had gained since leaving the shop in 2008. Bogadanove v. Frame It In Brooklyn, No. ___ (N.Y. Sup. Ct., Kings Cty., filing date n/a). According to the complaint, former employer Jerry Greenberg took one look at Seth Bogadanove on his return and said “Oh my God, what happened to you, you got so fat!” When Bogadanove attempted to explain that medication he was taking caused the weight gain, Greenberg allegedly said, “Oh my God, I am so sorry, I can’t use you, there is no way you can work here at your size. You wouldn’t fit between the aisles.” Bogadanove then purportedly…
