On Feb. 12, a former employee at the University of California, San Francisco, sued the UC Board of Regents for discrimination. It is the third discrimination lawsuit filed by the plaintiff.
What makes a workplace toxic and potentially unlawful?
Employees are undoubtedly under the authority of those in charge of their workplace. It is a known power imbalance that you agree to when you decide to submit to a new job offer. However, there are differences between what is considered a toxic place to work and when it crosses the line into unlawful acts.
Sexual harassment claims fall for white women, not others
The #MeToo movement has cast a spotlight on sexual harassment in California's entertainment industry, drawing national media attention to an important employment issue. However, these high-profile cases fail to tell the whole story of workplace sexual harassment.
Group seeks to improve working conditions in restaurants
About 70 percent of workers in the food and beverage industry who receive tips and a regular wage are women. Tipped workers in many states are entitled to a federal minimum wage of $2.13 before tips are included. However, California and several other states offer what is referred to as the fair wage. Workers in those states are entitled to the full minimum wage before tips. Research has shown that these people experienced lower levels of sexual harassment compared to others who made $2.13 an hour.
Retaliation claims remain the most common EEOC filings
According to data from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), California residents alleged fewer claims for workplace violations of their civil rights in 2017 than in previous years. The EEOC is in charge of regulating and enforcing federal laws against workplace harassment and discrimination for most employers. Golden State claims are in line with national numbers which have been trending downward since 2010.
U.S. House strives to reform handling of sexual harassment cases
The passage of a bill by the U.S. House of Representatives represents an overhaul of how the legislative body treats workplace claims of harassment or discrimination. For decades, the Congressional Accountability Act has guided the treatment of these claims from staff members and interns, but critics described that process as secretive and difficult for victims. The new bill attempts to streamline the process and hold legislators responsible for the money paid to victims that come from the U.S. Treasury.
Fear of retaliation often keeps sexual harassment victims quiet
It has long been believed that workers in California and around the country are often reluctant to speak up about sexual harassment because they fear retaliation or do not know that their employers have anti-harassment policies in place. A recent survey from the Society for Human Resource Management seems to support these views. The Virginia-based organization found that more than three quarters of the management employees they polled who said that they had experienced some sort of sexual harassment did not step forward because they anticipated sanctions or believed that nothing would change.
Multiple lawsuits target Monster Energy for sexual harassment
Drinks produced by Monster Energy might revive tired people in California, but five women who used to work for the company found their experiences to be real downers. In separate lawsuits, the former female employees accused the company of giving executives a free pass to sexually harass and abuse women on the job. One plaintiff said that the company paid men more than her and excluded her from stock options.
