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As head of the National Restaurant Association in the 1990s, two women accused Herman Cain, now running for president, of inappropriate behavior after complaining to colleagues and officials and leading to a settlement, Politico reported recently.

As the Los Angeles Times points out, Cain’s defense on the matter has varied. During his first media interview following the story breaking, Cain said he didn’t know if the case was settled. Later that day, he said he was falsely accused and allowed the trade group to handle the situation. In two other interviews that day, Cain said one woman may have gotten two or three months’ salary as part of a settlement and then said he didn’t act inappropriately, “but as you would imagine, it’s in the eye of the person who thinks that maybe I crossed the line.”
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Other than the fact that the person allegedly involved is a presidential candidate, we know of many incidents like this, including charges of sexual harassment in Huntington Beach. Most commonly, sexual harassment charges stem from incidents or alleged incidents in the workplace. A co-worker or a boss sends out an inappropriate e-mail with sexual connotations that makes a person feel uncomfortable. Or maybe during the course of a typical work day, a manager or business owner makes a sexually offensive joke or touches someone in a manner that many would consider inappropriate.

These are all issues that must be taken up with an experienced Huntington Beach sexual harassment lawyer. Voicing one’s opinions and asking that the behavior stop may be one way to address the matter, but that can also open up the person to potential retaliation if the accused doesn’t take kindly to their words. A lawyer will ensure your rights are upheld.

Details of the situation with Cain aren’t clear. Politico reports that they chose not to include the identities of the two restaurant association employees citing privacy concerns. The news report states that the women received separation packages reaching hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Politico reports that the allegations stem from conversations filled with innuendo or sexually suggestive questions during conferences and at hotels on association business. The allegations also include physical gestures that weren’t sexual, but made women uncomfortable and they considered them improper.

Cain has tried to play off the allegations as false, but the association clearly didn’t want any part of it and decided to settle with the victims instead. This sort of thing happens in corporate America, when high-ranking officials believe they can say or do anything without getting caught.

But the time of sexual harassment in the workplace needs to come to an end. No longer should people with power use their influence or position to make the lives of their subordinates frustrating and uncomfortable.

The landscape is changing, but it is still old-school in some places. They need to change and get with the times, but it often takes an example to make that happen. If the culture in a workplace isn’t right, it won’t change overnight. It takes time, but it has to start someplace.
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CNN is reporting that tens of thousands of farmers who faced racial discrimination from the U.S. Agriculture Department in the 1980s and 1990s could start to get $1.25 billion in compensation after a recent federal settlement.

While not usually on this grand a scale, racial discrimination in Irvine and elsewhere happens every day. Employees are fired or not hired not based on their skills, but based on their skin color. Sadly, Orange County employment lawyers have seen many Americans whose lives have been disrupted because of discrimination in the workplace.
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Race is a characteristic that is part of a protected class where discrimination cannot be tolerated and the class includes disability, religion, age and sexual orientation, to name a few. In 2010, there were nearly 36,000 race-based claims of discrimination in the United States, according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. That was up from nearly 34,000 in 2009 and 29,000 in 2000.

In this case, as many as 68,000 African-American farmers could receive either $50,000 or $250,000, depending on the circumstances of their case. In the class-action lawsuit, a judge ruled that the settlement is fair in helping black farmers who can prove they were discriminated against in the department’s support and programs.

“Historical discrimination cannot be undone,” the judge wrote, citing a basis to establish payments, “for the broken promise to those African-American farmers and their descendants.”

A review panel of retired judges and neutral parties will look at each case to determine the amount of aid the farmers can get. This will no doubt go a long way toward helping farmers whose livelihoods were shattered because of discrimination.

Many who faced discrimination lost their farms when they were not given equal opportunity to get aid from the government-backed department. When competitors, who were not black, got the needed support, they were able to put black farmers out of business.

Our country runs on farmers who are able to create produce, meat and other animal products that feed our families and keep the grocery business competitive. But if they aren’t able to thrive because of racial bias, the entire system struggles.

On a smaller scale, discrimination in the workplace can be equally disruptive. When bosses make decisions of hiring, firing, promotions and training not based on a person’s skills, experience or abilities, but rather on the color of their skin, that is a major inequality.

Many examples of outright racial discrimination in Irvine workplaces require the help of a whistle-blower — a person who is willing to stand up to what is wrong. In many racial discrimination situations, an insider can help change the culture of a business that has for years operated in the wrong.

Sometimes, however, the culture is such that bosses are open about their discrimination and use their power to influence others to stay quiet. The threat of losing a job, especially in this difficult economy can be an intimidating force.
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As the California Employment Lawyer Blog reported recently, older Americans seeking jobs are facing discrimination from employers who refuse to put them on equal footing with younger job seekers.

As the New York Daily News and The New York Times report, those who are unemployed are also facing an unprecedented form of unemployment discrimination in Santa Ana and nationwide.
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More and more job ads have phrases like “must be employed” and “if unemployed, don’t apply,” which are clearly discriminatory. But most states don’t include the unemployed in a protected class along with disability, gender, sex and others that cannot be the basis for hiring and firing practices.

Santa Ana employment lawyers have seen more and more jobless turned away simply because they don’t have a job. And with employment so high in California — hovering around 12 percent — odds are this practice is rampant in our area of the country. And it has to stop.

Businesses certainly have the right to hire the best candidates and if they believe one candidate is better than another, they should be able to hire that person. But, they shouldn’t turn down people simply for not having a job. Millions of people are unemployed right now and their skills aren’t necessarily the reason they were let go.

They may have performed well, but their branch or particular department overall didn’t. The boss may have had an issue with one employee and chose to keep another when times got tight. It’s possible that the unemployed worker did nothing wrong, and now he or she is facing another uphill battle.

New York state lawmakers have already pushed to include the unemployed in a protected list of those who can’t face discrimination for jobs. New York Daily News reports that a city councilman is pushing to add the unemployed to a protected class citywide as well.

The New York Times reported in July that New Jersey lawmakers had passed a law that bans job ads for companies that bar unemployed workers from applying. That law went into effect in June.

Let’s hope California lawmakers are paying attention. Discrimination comes in many forms and when applying for jobs, every job seeker should get every opportunity to succeed. As tough as the economy is right now and how desperate people are for work, the unemployed must not face even greater challenges from those who want to boot them off the unemployment line.

Every area of employment discrimination had to start somewhere. Whether discrimination based on religion, race, gender, age or sexual orientation, there were people who faced that discrimination and took the issue to the courts to get it banned. Now is the time for unemployment discrimination to end. People are hurting and they need jobs. Businesses shouldn’t have another unjust way to weed out prospective employees.
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A federal judge recently ruled that Mexican fast food chain Taco Bell violated both federal and California laws protecting the disabled from discrimination at its restaurants, the Associated Press reports.

While this ruling is based on customer complaints, the same goes for employees at companies where they don’t provide the proper access for people with disabilities. And job-seekers who are disabled should get equal access to job opportunities as able-bodied prospective employees as well.
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While there have been great strides made in terms of improvements for those who have difficulties getting around based on physical or mental issues, disability discrimination in Orange County is still a serious problem. Whether intentional or not, many businesses simply don’t do enough to ensure disabled Americans have the same opportunities as others.

Financial reasons or otherwise, it doesn’t matter. All Americans should have the same chance at jobs and in commerce, regardless of their circumstances. An Orange County employment lawyer, with experience in handling discrimination matters must be consulted in order to determine the extent of the discrimination.

According to the federal judge’s ruling, the 220 stores in California must undergo major changes in order to ensure its customers with wheelchairs and scooters be accommodated. The judge must also decide how much money the victims in the lawsuit must receive.

The customers filed the class-action lawsuit in 2002, alleging that the California stores didn’t offer proper handicap parking, wheelchair-accessible restrooms and tables and other requirements for disabled patrons. Taco Bell could appeal the ruling, though a company spokesman declined comment to the news wire service.

The customers are represented by a Denver attorney who filed a lawsuit against the fast food chain in 2000 which was settled and resulted in the company agreeing to improve its restaurants.

Taco Bell argued throughout the life of this lawsuit that it had fixed many of the alleged violations during the last nine years, which includes compliance with a 2007 judge’s order to fix issues with lines, tables and doors. But the judge said the company is still out of compliance in many areas and hasn’t even followed its own policies and has shown a history of not doing so.

The ruling by the federal judge came after a week-long trial without a jury looking at a San Pablo store specifically as an example of the rest of the company’s stores in California.

While this particular lawsuit applies to customers, employees or potential employees have the same rights as customers regarding disability access. Any person who gets a job with a company must have the same access to equipment as anyone else.

A person also shouldn’t be disqualified for a job based on their disability. Obviously, a person in a wheelchair probably wouldn’t make a good professional football player, but that is a specialized skill set unlike a fast food chain cashier or department store customer service representative. The skills of a person, not their physical ability should be the criteria for hiring and firing, though sometimes it isn’t.
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For a country that was built on religious freedoms, many states and companies in the United States seem to be years behind in their acceptance of the world’s religions.

Just a few months ago, the California Employment Lawyer Blog reported that the California city of Walnut had to settle a lawsuit because it showed bias against a Buddhist group that wanted to build a Zen Center, which would have been the only non-Christian religious center in the city.
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It cost a lot of time and money to settle something that should have been handled in the first place. And Georgia recently made news too, Thomson Reuters reports. A city there recently settled a lawsuit filed by a Muslim woman who was placed under arrest and put in jail when she refused to remove her headscarf before entering a courtroom.

It would be nice for cities and companies to realize that they simply cannot tolerate religious discrimination in Los Angeles. While it’s not a problem if officials aren’t familiar with the basis of different religions, not understand them or even not believe in them, but it’s not right for them to treat people differently because of them.

An experienced Santa Ana employment law attorney must be consulted if this has happened to you. Many public and private officials aren’t quick to make policy changes or stop their behavior, but a timely lawsuit can put a stop to the unlawful behavior.

In 2008, a woman was taking her nephew to court in Douglasville, Georgia, when an officer who was using a metal detector told her that headscarves couldn’t be worn in court. The woman told the officer that the policy discriminated against her and she attempted to get out of the courtroom. But the officer arrested her and charged her with contempt.

While the charge was later dropped, she was forced to remove her head covering, was placed in cuffs and carted off to jail like a common criminal. The wearing of headscarves in the Muslim world mark modesty, as they cover up a woman’s hair and neck.

U.S. civil rights advocates say that banning them amounts to religious discrimination, while in France, they have been banned on school grounds.

After settling the lawsuit, the city will have to adopt a new policy permitting people to wear headscarves inside courtrooms and allowing those wearing religious head coverings to go through a private screening area with a person of the same gender.

Many of these policies used by companies and municipalities are borne out of ignorance for a certain religion and aren’t fair to those who practice it. No one wants to be discriminated against, but decision-makers sometimes don’t realize the damage their policies are doing.

Every American enjoys the right to choose their religion and believe what they want. If that means they choose to wear a certain garment in a certain way, a city shouldn’t be allowed to stop them from doing so. Let’s hope that businesses and cities that treat people differently based on their religious choice see this decision and wise up.
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A recent MSNBC article looks at the career of Andy Rooney, famed CBS “60 Minutes” correspondent who worked there for more than 60 years.

It’s a feat many people — young and old — can’t imagine. At a time when Rooney recently retired at age 92, many older workers face age discrimination in Los Angeles and elsewhere.
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Age discrimination while illegal, happens every day. In some cases, potential workers aren’t hired because employers think they are too old to adapt to the job. In other cases, older employees are not offered job improvements or promotions because the company would rather pay to train younger employees. The younger employee can be perceived as a future manager, even if he or she is not as qualified as the more experienced, older person.

This is where an experienced Orange County employment lawyer comes in. Consulting with a lawyer to discuss your case and look at your options is a smart move before storming into your boss’s office and getting into an argument or filing a complaint. Having an objective outsider look at your case can be beneficial.

According to the article, there aren’t many Andy Rooneys anymore. The number of long-term older unemployed Americans is growing. Many have lost their jobs and are having a difficult time finding others. They believe their age is a big factor.

Many companies view age discrimination as acceptable and not against the law, but it is. They believe that older workers are less desirable and therefore they don’t hire them.

According to Equal Employment Opportunity Commission statistics, the number of age discrimination complaints has increased from about 16,000 in 2006 to more than 23,000 in 2010.

In one recent age discrimination case, technology firm 3M was ordered to pay $3 million because it illegally laid off millions of workers who were over 45 years old in favor of younger workers they planned on grooming for management positions.

Experts told MSNBC that perception is the real issue. Some companies perceive older workers as being closer to retirement and having a bigger financial cushion, so they don’t feel as bad laying them off. Others believe that older workers are targeted during large-scale layoffs for no reason other than their age.

Some analysts said younger workers and older workers are relatively equal in terms of adapting to new ideas and being trained. Younger workers — especially women — are costliest because of pregnancy. Younger workers take more time off work, and older workers take longer to recover from injuries.

Some AARP statistics from August:

-The average time of unemployment for workers 55 and over was 52.4 weeks, while it is 37.4 weeks for younger jobless
-More than half of older unemployed Americans — 54.9 percent — were “long-term unemployed” — 27 weeks or more
Many older workers are discouraged because they are finding few opportunities for work, even with more experience and a better track record of employment.
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A high-profile Hollywood producer has been ordered to pay $3 million after being convicted of sexually harassing an assistant.

It’s blatantly obvious that Hollywood is full of egos. And those egos sometimes lead to power trips that result in people facing discrimination or harassment on the job. Sexual harassment in Orange County may be common, but it’s not legal.
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A person shouldn’t be subjected to sexual advances, guarantees of a job in exchange for sexual favors or other unlawful and uncomfortable actions that make them despise where they work. With jobs scarce these days, people are willing to endure more frustrations in the workplace. But that doesn’t mean they should endure harassment.

Our Santa Ana employment lawyers know the frustration and desperate feeling workers get when they face discrimination or harassment on the job. It may feel like a hopeless situation, but it’s not. A lawyer can guide you in determining the best course of action and whether filing a lawsuit will best resolve the unfortunate situation you face.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Jon Peters, who produced “Caddyshack,” “Rain Man” and Superman Returns,” among other films, was convicted of sexually harassing his assistant and subjecting her to a hostile work environment.

At the jury trial, his assistant testified that he inappropriately touched her at his Malibu home, crawled into bed with her while they were in Australia in a hotel, and exposed himself to her and her 2-year-old daughter at an outdoor restroom when they were at his Santa Barbara ranch.

The woman also claimed that Peters’ influence in the industry prevented her from getting another job after she stopped working for him. Peters, in defense, claimed that the woman had no independent eyewitness accounts to verify her allegations.

But jurors sided with the plaintiff. They also found that Peters acted with malice, which spurred a separate hearing to determine whether punitive damages should be awarded. At that hearing, an additional $2.5 million was awarded, NBC News reports.

These are large sums of money for sure, but they aren’t unwarranted. For companies whose leaders discriminate and harass, it provides a lesson they will hopefully take seriously and prevent from happening in the future.

For the victim, aided by an experienced Santa Ana discrimination lawyer, the verdict provides her some closure for suffering through a difficult work environment. It also provides some money to tide her over should she be left without work in an industry that may continue to discriminate.

By and large, jurors get it right. They see the problems with work environments where employees are punished or rewarded for their looks and where bosses get away with inappropriate behavior. They want justice to be done and so do Santa Ana discrimination lawyers. Contact us today so we can help.
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Charter Oak High School recently fired its junior varsity boys water polo coach after discovering what school officials said were inappropriate photos posted on Facebook and MySpace. The coach alleges he was fired because he is gay, the Glendora Patch reports.

There are many forms of discrimination and, unfortunately, they are often used by bosses and co-workers who aim to show power over others unlawfully. Sexual orientation discrimination in Santa Ana is wrong and requires the skills of an experienced Orange County Discrimination Lawyer who is able to sort through the facts and show that the clients have been victimized at work.
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In this case, the openly gay man previously coached water polo in the mid- to late-1990s and returned this summer, only to be fired four months into his new tenure, the Glendora Patch reports. School officials recently discovered pictures taken when he wasn’t on school time that depict him suggestively holding a corndog to his face and posing with men in drag. In none of the photos was he wearing anything sexually suggestive nor were students linked to the pictures, the news story reports.

The coach says that retribution and discrimination is to blame for his firing. The story states that two weeks before school started, half of the swim students hadn’t yet completed their yearly physical, which clears them to compete. But after the week deadline had passed, some students still hadn’t completed the physicals and, as punishment, had to wash the cars of faculty and administrators.

One angry parent approached the coach after practice to complain and shortly after, an anonymous parent sent an envelope to the principal with a letter and the photos, some that were taken years ago.

The coach, a 1993 graduate of the school, is now worried for his daughter, who is a freshman there. She has already been confronted by students who have taunted her about her father after he was fired.

The coach asked administrators whether he would have been fired if he was photographed with cheerleaders in skimpy uniforms and the administrator said no, because that is their uniform. The coach said that for drag queens, that’s their uniform.

Parents have called and written letters of support. Even other coaches have said they support the fired coach because of the talent he brings to the school. He has also been a fundraiser for the aquatics program.

The coach brings up a valid point that shouldn’t be overlooked. While social network sites such as Facebook and MySpace have put employees on edge about facing sanctions if they post “inappropriate” photos or messages, employers can’t be discriminatory in the actions.

While some homophobic employers, or parents in this case, may object to someone based on their sexual orientation, would a teacher or coach who is heterosexual who had pictures leaked of them with a scantily clad woman be fired? They would probably be sanctioned but not fired. Then again, maybe no one would object.

That is discrimination. One person can’t be punished for an action that others have done but not sanctioned for doing.

While California has been more accommodating and accepting of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people and employees, there are still obstacles to overcome. People are still sometimes treated poorly, not hired or inappropriately fired for factors that have nothing to do with their job performance or skills and that needs to end.
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A Novato-based sales manager was fired by an electrical supply company for not spending enough time traveling to meet customers while the man was recovering from cancer.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the man was awarded $846,000 for losses, and a $25,000 fine was levied on the company that let him go for what has been determined to be unjust reasons.
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Sadly enough, some employers will fire a person with such insensitivity as this company and try to get away with this type of disability discrimination in Ontario and elsewhere throughout the great state of California. The good news is that experienced and aggressive Orange County Employment Law Attorneys won’t sit by idly letting these injustices stand as is.

Corporations know that if they are faced with a discrimination lawsuit it not only threatens their dollar figures if a jury finds in favor of the victim, but it can also be a public relations nightmare. In many cases, they may be willing to make a generous settlement offer in order for it to go away. But often these companies will make unacceptable offers in settlement talks, forcing the victim to go to trial and expose all the dirty laundry in public.

In this case, The Fair Employment and Housing Commission, a state agency created to protect citizens’ civil rights, ordered Acme Electronics, a Wisconsin-based company, to make the largest payout the agency has ordered in a discrimination case, the newspaper reports.

The Novato-based salesman, which is outside San Francisco, was a veteran electrical sales manager and headed the company’s largest sales region from 2004 to 2008. He was fired at age 59 after having undergone surgery for kidney cancer and prostate cancer in 2006 and 2007, respectively.

The agency stated that the man limited his travel while he underwent treatment for the cancer and was fired within a year of the second operation. His region led all others in sales growth in 2007, despite the beginning of the economic downturn, and his supervisor gave him a poor review. In it, the supervisor stated the man spent too much time close to his home base and didn’t make enough contact with potential customers.

While the company alleged that the man was fired based on the economy and his poor performance, the agency found that the reason the company provided for firing him were “factually baseless, false, pretextual and shifting.” The company declined to comment and can appeal the ruling in court.

It’s maddening how disloyal companies are to their employees these days. And it would be unbelievable that a company would fire a man while he is recovering from cancer had it not clearly happened, according to the commission.

It’s sad to see that these things do, indeed, happen. But the good news is that there are aggressive and caring Santa Ana Discrimination Lawyers who are willing to fight the big companies and set the record straight in defense of the little guys.
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More good news for employees who could potentially face discrimination whether at work, in applying for housing, education, in public, elections, obtaining a loan, or when seeking health and life insurance.

A new law passed by California lawmakers that went largely unnoticed by the news media was an update to the 52-year-old Unruh Civil Rights Act of 1959. That act banned discrimination based on race, national origin and religion. It has been updated throughout the years to include gender and sexual preference based discrimination as well. It now includes genetic discrimination.
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But genetic discrimination is a new area of protection for California consumers and citizens. While there is a federal genetic discrimination law that has been in place since 2008, it deals only with hiring practices and health insurance coverage. California’s law applies to many areas and is an expansion of rights that will likely be a trendsetter for other states to consider.

This is good news for everyone as it adds a layer of protection for those who could be subjected to mistreatment and discrimination in Santa Ana and elsewhere throughout the state. Yet, if someone faces genetic discrimination, he or she should immediately contact an experienced Orange County Discrimination Lawyer who can help you get justice.

Genetic discrimination is a relatively new term and applies to factors that may apply to a person based on his or her DNA and family member issues. For instance, a person may have a family history of heart issues or breast cancer. The law states that those facts can’t be held against them if they are applying for a job, seeking health insurance or life insurance, or attempting to buy or rent housing anywhere in California.

While it’s hard to believe, some employers will pass on hiring a more qualified candidate because he or she has a potentially life-threatening illness or some other issue. Typically, these employers may be afraid the illness is contagious or that the person could die and the company would lose the position due to budget cuts.

This just isn’t fair and isn’t right. A company can’t make decisions of hiring, firing and promotions based on when a person could potentially get sick, need hospitalization or even die. That’s simply not ethical and now it’s illegal as well.

Discrimination can come in many forms in terms of employment in California. The law bans discrimination based on race, sex, age and other forms. But it shouldn’t be difficult to determine if a person is facing discrimination at work. If other employees are treated better or receive preferential treatment over another person or persons, it’s likely a case of discrimination.

If a person isn’t hired because of one of these factors, it should be pretty obvious that the company has not followed the intent of the law and immediate action must be taken. If you or a loved one is in a situation where you aren’t promoted, were not hired or are fired for reasons not based on your work quality or productivity, you should consult with an experienced Orange County Employment Law Attorney right away.
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