workplace discrimination news stories on Newser

Female Workers Hit Walmart With New Class-Action Suits

Rob Quinn — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 05:32:52 CDT

Four months after the Supreme Court decided that 1.5 million past and present female workers at Walmart couldn't be lumped together in a single class-action suit , the first of what promises to be a flood of fresh lawsuits have begun. The original plaintiffs—who say they were denied pay...

Busty Woman Told She Was 'Too Sensual' to Be Promoted

Nick McMaster — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 16:16:45 CST

In a story that echoes that of Citibank's 'too hot' banker , a Florida woman has sued her former employer of 13 years for discriminating against her—because she was too busty. Managers at the Devereux Foundation allegedly told Amy-Erin Blakely that co-workers couldn't concentrate in meetings because they were distracted...

Muslims See More Workplace Discrimination

Kevin Spak — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 08:20:58 CDT

A growing number of Muslims were reporting discrimination in the workplace even before the so-called “Ground Zero mosque” hysteria swept the country, the New York Times reports. In the year that ended last September, 803 Muslims filed federal complaints, with many alleging that co-workers had called them “Osama” or “terrorist....

'Macho' Goldman Sued for Sex Discrimination

Rob Quinn — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 03:46:48 CDT

Three former employees who say the macho culture at Goldman Sachs scuttled their careers have launched a lawsuit against the bank and urged others to join them. The women's suit describes a testosterone-driven corporate culture of strip clubs, groping, boys-only golf outings, and macho displays like push-up contests on the...

Beware the 'Tyranny' of Beauty

John Johnson — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 11:20:02 CDT

Apparently, "looksism" is the new buzzword. We've got Debrahlee Lorenzana , the Citibank worker who says she was fired for being too hot, and American Apparel accused of weeding out job applicants for not being hot enough. Now Meghan Daum takes note of a new book (the Beauty Bias , by Deborah...

Hooters to Waitress: Get Fit or Get Fired

Nick McMaster — Wed, 19 May 2010 17:33:52 CDT

A Hooters server is considering a weight discrimination suit against the company after bosses told her she needed to slim down. Cassie Smith, who is 5-8 and 132 pounds, says she was told, "Your shorts and shirt size could use some improvement." The company gave her a free gym membership...

Strip Clubs, Lap Dances Part of Corporate Life in UK

Rob Quinn — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 06:00:56 CDT

The sex industry has become a mainstream part of corporate culture in Britain and is damaging workplace equality, a report from a women's group finds. Researchers found that many firms authorize the use of expense accounts for entertaining clients in lap dancing and strip clubs, and that most strip clubs...

Fired Disabled Woman: Abercrombie a 'Sweatshop'

Matt Cantor — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 15:00:01 CDT

The 22-year-old British student with a prosthetic arm who won nearly $15,000 in a discrimination lawsuit against Abercrombie & Fitch compares its working conditions to a sweatshop. “I found it disturbing,” Riam Dean tells the Daily Mail . “There were so many people in such a tiny space. People were...

Abercrombie Loses Lawsuit Over Clerk's Prosthetic Arm

Harry Kimball — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 15:13:20 CDT

The London woman banished to the Abercrombie & Fitch stockroom because of her prosthetic arm has been awarded more $13,000 by an employment tribunal, the BBC reports. Riam Dean wore a cardigan to cover the joint between her prosthesis and her body, but the sweater clashed with the retailer’s...