Articles Posted in Discrimination

A former Cal Poly dean has filed an employment lawsuit in Southern California, alleging religious and racial discrimination, defamation and wrongful termination, according to Cal Coast News.

Consulting an Orange County employment attorney or Riverside employment lawyer is critical to protecting your rights when unfair labor issues occur in a university setting. Frequently, an employee has invested years or decades earning the protection of tenure. When promotional or advancement issues arise under such a system, discrimination issues can result in an employee being unfairly passed over for a promotion or other recognition.

In this case the former dean of the College of Engineering filed the employment lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court on Dec. 7. The suit involves his unsuccessful effort in 2008 to assist a Saudi Arabia university in establishing an engineering program. The complaint lists as defendants Cal Poly’s Provost and Vice Principal of Academic Affairs as well as an engineering professor and a blogger.

He is seeking an order forcing the university to reinstate him to his previous position, as well as unspecified monetary damages. He was hired as dean in 2005 and demoted in June of this year. The lawsuit alleges the defendants were responsible for a series of racist and defamatory attacks during negotiations with the University of Saudi Arabia.

The CalCoastNews reported in 2008 that the project with the Saudi Arabia university was itself discriminatory, indicating it would not welcome women, Jews or gays.

Other media reporting on the issue included the Los Angeles Times and NPR’s California Report. A media report indicated that the dean was let go “after years of controversy, high staff turnover and faculty discontent.”

He was also forced to step down as the head of the department of mechanical and aeronautical engineering at North Carolina State University, amid similar reports of dissatisfaction, according to media accounts. He held that position from 1999 to 2004.

The blogger is accused, among other things, of circulating a picture of Osama Bin Laden wearing a Cal Poly jersey. He contends it was in reference to Cal Poly’s proposed relationship with the Saudi Arabian university.
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Women hold fewer than 1 in 10 of the top executive positions at California’s 400 largest companies, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Our Orange County employment discrimination attorneys have seen improvements in the wage and income gap between male and female executives. And we are seeing more women rise to hold top executive positions. But each time one of these surveys is conducted it is a reminder that sexual discrimination in the workplace is still an ongoing issue nationwide.

When women are passed over for promotions at work based on their gender, they can and should consult an experienced employment attorney in Los Angeles. Over the course of a career, promotion delays and smaller wages can have a drastic impact on your financial status, quality of life and peace of mind. And, cumulatively, such tactics in the workplace can even threaten your security in retirement.

The latest study by UC Davis found that women accounted for 12 percent of directors and 12.3 percent of the highest-paid executives at the 79 Los Angeles firms on the list.

Statewide, just 16 of the 400 companies had a female chief executive, although that is up from 15 in 2009 and 11 in 2006. The study did find, however, that the percentage of women on the boards of most company coincides with the percentage of women in top management positions, which at least suggests that discrimination is less likely to occur once an executive has reached the top.

“What this suggests is that once you make it into top management, the chances of getting appointed to the board are roughly the same whether you’re a man or a woman,” said Donald Palmer, a UC Davis profession involved in the study. “If discrimination is taking place, and I think it is, it’s likely taking place at the many lower levels in an organization.”

The survey found that one-third of California’s 400 largest public companies had no women among directors or top executives. Silicon Valley tech companies had the worst record of selecting women for these positions.
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A vacation-home rental company will pay $165,000 to settle an employment discrimination lawsuit alleging that it discriminated against Latino employees, according to the Sierra Star.

The Los Angeles office of the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission reported that “An investigation was undertaken that led to a finding of discrimination, harassment and retaliation.”

Our Orange County employment attorneys understand the anger and frustration that can come with discrimination in the workplace. Such discrimination, whether based on age, religion, sex or race, can make even the most capable employees feel powerless. Frequently, an employee is hesitant to say anything, or to take action — particularly in a today’s economic environment, where good jobs are scarce. We understand. And we offer confidential consultations to discuss your rights if you feel you have been discriminated against in the workplace.

Wawona Property Management Inc, doing business as The Redwoods — a vacation home rental company in Yosemite National Park — was sued in September by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The suit claimed five Latino employees were targeted for harassment, discrimination, increased scrutiny and eventual termination. The suit claimed an operations manager favored non-Latino staff.

The suit also claimed the company’s general manager was fired after reporting discriminatory conduct to the company’s board of directors.

The California employment lawsuit said the employees were seasonal workers of Mexican and Salvadoran descent, who worked in housekeeping and maintenance. When a new operations manager was hired, the lawsuit claims he took disciplinary action against Latino workers after making disparaging remarks about them. Meanwhile, non-Latino employees who violated company policies were nevertheless promoted.

The EEOC filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, claiming that the discrimination against national origin and harassment and retaliation where a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The Redwood has subsequently agreed to revise its policies with respect to discrimination, harassment, retaliation and employee evaluations.

The EEOC reports that cases of discrimination of national origin are up 20 to 40 percent nationwide.
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The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has filed a federal lawsuit accusing Chapman University of discrimination, the San Jose Mercury News reported.

Our Los Angeles employment attorneys represents clients facing discrimination, wrongful termination and other employment issues throughout the Los Angeles area, including Santa Ana, Orange County and Riverside.

Chapman University, which is located in Orange, California, is accused of denying tenure to a black professor because of race. The University later fired the woman.

The lawsuit claims the private Southern California university denied tenure in 2006 to the business school’s only black faculty member, who was highly regarded by colleagues. The woman was fired in 2008.

Meanwhile, the lawsuit accuses the university of promoting professors with worse performance. The lawsuit seeks punitive damages and a court order prohibiting future acts of employment discrimination by the university.

The OC Weekly reports that the professor was hired by the Chapman Argyros School of Business in 2001 and applied for tenure and promotion from assistant professor to associate professor in 2006. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, alleges she did not advance because of her race. It states she was the only black faculty member in a department of about 30 people.
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