CCA settles with EEOC

By Kleinheider Posted on October 14, 2009 at 12:18 pm

From the AP:

The operators of a Colorado private prison have agreed to pay $1.3 million to settle a lawsuit alleging that male officers forced female workers to perform sexual acts to keep their jobs.

The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced the settlement with the Dominion Correctional Services LLC and Nashville, Tenn.-based Corrections Corporation of America on Tuesday.

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Tags: Colorado, Corrections Corp. of America, Dominion Correctional Services LLC, harassment, litigation, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission  

Feds: Health risk assessments violate ADA

By Geert De Lombaerde Posted on May 13, 2009 at 7:21 pm

The labor lawyers at Baker Donelson pass along word of an EEOC ruling that certain pre-employment health risk assessments could run afoul of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

This EEOC opinion is somewhat surprising in light of the fact that programs that merely require all employees to complete a health risk assessment to enroll in a plan are not considered discriminatory under HIPAA nondiscrimination rules. Furthermore, even the EEOC noted that disability-related inquiries and medical exams are permitted as part of voluntary wellness programs.

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Tags: Americans with Disabilities Act, Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz, employment, human resources, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission  

Southern Hills settles discrimination suit

By Geert De Lombaerde Posted on April 29, 2009 at 9:55 pm

The HCA-owned hospital will pay a Muslim ex-employee $70,000 after denying him vacation to go to Mecca. Which prompted a local pastor to say: “We cannot afford for every Christian doctor to not work on Easter.”

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Tags: comparative religion, discrimination, HCA Inc., hospital management, Islam, litigation, Mecca, pilgrimages, Southern Hills Medical Center, TriStar Health System Inc., U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission  

Don’t mess with the feds

By Geert De Lombaerde Posted on December 30, 2008 at 3:48 pm

Knoxville attorney Jack Burgin shares some perspective on the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s fiscal 2009 report. One noteworthy number points to the muscle it brings to the table.

[The] EEOC’s success rate in litigation is statistically better (50 percent v. 38 percent) than that of private attorneys. (That doesn’t reflect on the quality of representation so much as the disparity in litigation resources and the ability to select which lawsuits to bring.)

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Tags: employment, harassment, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, workplace regulation