04
November
Andrew Cuomo Charged with Sexual Harassment
This Thursday, October 28, Former Governor Andrew Cuomo was charged with the misdemeanor criminal complaint of forcible touching. This complaint was based on the account of one of roughly a dozen women whose accusations of sexual harassment resulted in Cuomo’s resignation from office in August.
Sexual Harassment Allegations
In an investigation report released on August 3, 2021, New York Attorney General Letitia James concluded that former Governor Andrew Cuomo “sexually harassed multiple women and violated state law.” The investigation found that Cuomo
28
October
Invesco Seeking New Trial after Fired Employee Receives $1 Million in FMLA Lawsuit
Raslyn Cobbin-Wooten, a former media relations director at Invesco Ltd, filed a lawsuit against her former employer claiming she was fired for taking time off under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). She had originally sued the company in 2019 for racial discrimination, claiming that she was denied certain amenities and privileges that a white counterpart was offered. She met with her supervisor in 2017 to discuss these disparities, and her supervisor never passed her complaints along to Human
25
October
Facebook Agrees to Pay $14.25 Million to Settle A Discrimination Lawsuit Filed by the Justice Department
Last week, Facebook finally settled a discrimination lawsuit filed against the social media site in December of 2020. The complaint, filed by the Department of Justice, alleged that the company had refused to “recruit, consider or hire qualified and available U.S. workers.” Instead, the company offered to give more than 2,000 job positions to foreign workers who held temporary visas. According to an article published in the New York Times, the $14.25 million settlement includes a $4.75 million payment to
13
October
Chipotle Finally Reaches an $8 Million Settlement After a Lengthy Overtime Class-Action Lawsuit
After an eight-year long overtime class-action lawsuit, Chipotle has finally agreed to an $8 million settlement. The nationwide lawsuit, which began in 2012, was filed by former employee Maxcimo Scott, who worked in one of the fast-food’s NY chains. Scott— along with several other employees who were similarly situated—alleged to have experienced a violation of their rights under the Wages and the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and New York labor law violations. The seven employees who are listed on
11
October
Syracuse University to Pay $3.7 Million to Settle Pay Bias Lawsuit
Syracuse University will pay $3.7 million to settle a proposed class action lawsuit filed on Friday on behalf of five female faculty members at the university, Fiona Chew, Tula Goenka, Barbara Jones, Audie Klotz and Elisabeth Lasch-Quinn. The suit alleges that the university violated state and federal anti-discrimination laws by paying and promoting female faculty members less than their male counterparts. Later in the day on Friday, the faculty members filed a memorandum in Kings County Supreme Court requesting approval
08
October
Tesla Ordered to Pay Roughly $130 Million in Damages in Racial Harassment Lawsuit
A federal jury found that Tesla Inc. subjected an employee to racial harassment and did not take the appropriate steps to prevent said employee from being harassed. The jury awarded the employee, Mr. Owen Diaz, more than $130 million dollars in damages.
A Racially Hostile Environment
Owen Diaz worked as an elevator operator at Tesla’s Fremont, California factory in 2015 and 2016. In his lawsuit, Diaz stated that he and other employees were called the N-word and told to “go back to