"This & That" Tuesday: Male Sex Discrimination, Pregnancy Discrimination

February 17, 2015

Here is the latest issue of “This & That” Tuesday. I hope you find it to be informative and useful.

Announcements

You can always check out my website for upcoming speaking engagements that are guaranteed to be of value to business owners or for a list of topics that I can speak on at Chambers, Clubs, Business Associations, etc. More details about the events, topics and Human Resources 4U, in general, can be found on my website.

Upcoming Events

February 21, Labor Law Update 2015, Institute of Management Accountants, San Gabriel Valley

Information at: Human Resources 4U

March 9, 2015, Time Management,

Mt. Sac Community College

Information at: (909) 274-4027 or workforcetraining@mtsac.edu

March 11, Labor Law Update 2015, National Association of Women in Construction

Information at Human Resources 4U 

March 16, 2015,         

Coaching to Improve Performance,

How to Build a Hiring Process

Human Resource Issues for Business Owners

Leave of Absence Laws in California

Mt. Sac Community College

Information at: (909) 274-4027 or workforcetraining@mtsac.edu

March 23, 2015,       

How to Create and Conduct a Formal Discipline Discussion

How to Build a Salary Structure & Merit Pay System

Cal-OSHA & IIPP Basics

AB 1825 Mandated Harassment Training for Supervisors

Mt. Sac Community College

Information at: (909) 274-4027 or workforcetraining@mtsac.edu

Ventura Corporation Pays $354,250 for Sex Discrimination Against Men

Ventura Corporation, a Puerto Rico-based wholesaler of makeup, beauty products, jewelry and other personal care items to retail sellers, has agreed to settle a sex discrimination lawsuit filed by the EEOC.

The EEOC charged in its suit that Ventura engaged in a pattern or practice of refusing to hire men as Zone Managers and Support Managers. The EEOC also alleged that Ventura promoted Erick Zayas into a Zone Manager position after he complained about its discriminatory practices, only to set him up for failure and termination in retaliation for his opposition to Ventura's sex-based hiring practices.

According to the terms of the consent decree settling the suit, which was approved by the court on March 27, 2014, Ventura will pay $354,250 to settle the lawsuit, including a payment to Zayas of $150,000. The remaining settlement funds will be paid into an account that will be distributed to a class of qualified male job applicants who applied for Zone or Support Manager jobs with Ventura from 2004 to the present, but whom Ventura did not consider for hire. The agreement also requires Ventura to implement a detailed applicant tracking system; actively promote supervisory accountability for discrimination prevention; provide anti-discrimination training to all company employees and anti-discrimination training specific to those Ventura managers and employees who play a role in the hiring process; and provide bi-annual hiring reports to the EEOC for three years.

The EEOC said that the company was responsible for the loss or destruction of a great deal of critical evidence supporting the case. The disappeared evidence included job applications from qualified male applicants for the positions at issue and e-mails from key decision makers. The EEOC asked the court to award sanctions against the company based on the apparent destruction of evidence. The judge, agreed with the EEOC's position.

Weight Watchers Pays $45,000 to Settle Pregnancy Discrimination Suit

The WW Group., Inc., a company based in Farmington Hills, Mich., doing business as Weight Watchers, will pay $45,000 and furnish other relief to settle a pregnancy discrimination lawsuit filed by the EEOC.

According to the EEOC's suit, Weight Watchers' Farmington Hills location violated federal law when it refused to hire an applicant as a group leader because she was pregnant. The applicant was a lifetime member of Weight Watchers who had successfully met and maintained her weight goals before becoming pregnant. When Weight Watchers learned of the applicant's pregnancy, it told her that it did not hire pregnant women and refused to consider her any further, the EEOC said. The agency also claimed that Weight Watchers discriminated against the applicant based on pregnancy-related weight when Weight Watchers disqualified her by using its "goal weight" requirement.

The consent decree settling the suit, in addition to the monetary relief, includes provisions for equal employment opportunity training, posting of anti-discrimination notices and a revision to the company's "goal weight" policy to comply with the PDA.

"Under the PDA, pregnant applicants have the right to fair and equal consideration for employment," said Omar Weaver, senior trial attorney for the EEOC's Detroit Field Office. "The EEOC is committed to ensuring that employers understand that a pregnant applicant's ability or inability to perform the job is the only factor that may be considered."

Factoids

• 77% of companies use social networking sites for recruiting purposes
• $13.4 billion is the estimate of lost productivity due to fantasy football

Why employees leave their jobs:

• not feeling trusted and empowered by their boss
• being expected to work when sick or on vacation
• boss shift blame to employee for problems
• lack of “family” flexibility

Quote  of the Blog

“Be willing to make decisions. That’s the most important quality in a good leader.”

~T. Boone Pickens~