HS Lawyers

Private Sector Bias Charges Hit All-Time High

Shands — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 18:34:34 +0000

Private Sector Bias Charges Hit All-Time High
Pending Inventory Reduced for First Time in 10 Years, Record Amount of Relief Obtained in FY 2011, EEOC Reports
WASHINGTON—The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) received a record 99,947 charges of employment discrimination and obtained $455.6 million in relief through its administrative program and litigation in Fiscal Year 2011, the agency announced today. For the second year in a row, despite a record number of receipts, the Commission resolved more charges than it took in with 112,499 resolutions (7,500 more resolutions than FY 2010—an increase of 7%)—leaving 78,136 pending charges, a ten percent decrease in its inventory, the first year the agency has seen a reduction since 2002.
The FY 2011 data also show:
• Due to EEOC’s enforcement programs in both the private and federal sectors, 5.4 million individuals benefitted from changes in employment policies or practices in their workplace during the past fiscal year.
• Through its combined enforcement, mediation and litigation programs, the EEOC was able to obtain a record $455.6 million in relief for private sector, state, and local employees and applicants, a more than $51 million increase from the past fiscal year and continuing the upward trend of the past three fiscal years.
• The mediation program reached record levels, both in the number of resolutions – 9,831 – which is 5% more than in FY 2010 (9,362), and benefits — $170,053,021– $28 million more than FY 2010.
• The Commission filed 300 lawsuits and its litigation efforts resulted in $91 million of relief, representing the third year in a row that the relief obtained was greater than in the preceding year. Continuing to build on its commitment to systemic litigation, 23 of the lawsuits filed involved systemic allegations involving large numbers of people and an additional 67 had multiple victims (less than 20).
• The Commission also filed 261 “merits” (merits suits include direct suits and interventions alleging violations of the substantive provisions of the statutes enforced by the Commission and suits to enforce administrative settlements) lawsuits.
• EEOC’s public outreach and education programs reached approximately 540,000 persons.
• In the federal sector, where the EEOC has different enforcement obligations, the Commission resolved a total of 7,672 requests for hearings, securing more than $58 million in relief for parties who requested hearings. It also resolved 4,510 appeals from final agency determinations.
“For the second year in a row, the EEOC received a record number of new charges of discrimination,” said EEOC Chair Jacqueline Berrien. “Nevertheless, the hard work of our employees, combined with increased investments in training, technology and staffing in 2009 and 2010, and strategic management of existing resources made 2011 a year of extraordinary achievements for the EEOC.”
The total number of charges received was up slightly from last fiscal year’s record total. Once again, charges alleging retaliation under all the statutes the EEOC enforces were the most numerous at 37,334 charges received, or 37.4 percent of all charges, closely followed by charges involving claims of race discrimination at 35,395 charges or 35.4 percent. While the numbers of charges with race and sex discrimination allegations declined from the previous year, charges with the two other most frequently-cited allegations increased:
• Disability discrimination–25,742
• Age discrimination—23,465
The agency’s enforcement of Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) produced the highest increase in monetary relief among all of the statutes: the administrative relief obtained for disability discrimination charges increased by almost 35.9 percent to $103.4 million compared to $76.1 million in the previous fiscal year. Back impairments were the most frequently cited impairment under the ADA, followed by other orthopedic impairments, depression, anxiety disorder and diabetes.
For the first full fiscal year of enforcement, the EEOC received 245 charges under the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of genetic information, including family medical history. So far, none of these charges has proceeded to litigation.
The EEOC is responsible for enforcing Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Equal Pay Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act.
The fiscal year 2011 enforcement and litigation statistics, which include trend data, are available on the EEOC’s website athttp://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/statistics/enforcement/index.cfm. More information about the EEOC is available on its website at www.eeoc.gov.

The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals per curium affirmed Judge Schlesinger’s denial of Jim Overton’s motion to dismiss in the matter of Blanchard, et al v. Overton. A great win for our clients!

Shands — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 22:08:50 +0000

Click on entry to view opinion. Opinion PCA

Justin Spiller featured in Jacksonville Business Journal

Shands — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 18:04:38 +0000

November 14, 2011 Justin Spiller, Associate at Henrichsen Siegel, P.L.L.C., is featured in the People on the Move section in the Jacksonville Business Journal. http://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/potmsearch/detail/submission/339731

Bank Vice President Terminated for Complaining About Sex Harassment Wins Appeal

Shands — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 23:22:22 +0000

In the case of Egan v. Freedom Bank, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that a bank vice president who was terminated shortly after lodging an internal complaint against a board member for sexually harassing her is entitled to a jury trial. The vice president had only been employed for seven months with no performance issues, no attendance problems and no complaints against her. However, after having dinner with one of the bank’s board members, the board member made unwanted advances. Only two months after her complaint of sex harassment, the vice president was inexplicably fired. The court found that sufficient facts existed for a reasonable jury to determine that the plaintiff was terminated in retaliation for complaining about unlawful sex harassment in the workplace.

Contact Henrichsen Siegel if you believe you are the victim of unlawful sex harassment or retaliation.

SUPREME COURT PROTECTS RAILROAD WORKERS’ RIGHTS UNDER FELA

Shands — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 13:30:05 +0000

On June 23, 2011, the United States Supreme Court upheld the rights of workers under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (“FELA”), which makes railroads liable for the injuries or deaths of employees resulting in whole or in part from negligence. Unlike common-law tort cases where a proximate cause standard is applied, the Supreme Court affirmed that under FELA a railroad causes or contributes to an employee’s injury if the railroad’s negligence plays any part in bringing about the injury. Henrichsen Siegel, P.L.L.C. represents the rights of railroad workers in employment dispute matters and negligence cases. Please contact Neil L. Henrichsen, Esquire of the firm with any questions about FELA.

New Federal jobs bill bars discrimination against unemployed applicants

Shands — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 20:24:58 +0000

September 28th, 2011
The New York Times reported this week that President Obama’s jobs bill would prohibit hiring discrimination against unemployed applicants and bar employment agencies and websites from “from carrying advertisements for job openings that exclude people who are unemployed.” The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission “would be given new power to enforce the proposed ban on discrimination against the jobless.” The Times said job discrimination cases increase in a slow economy but “in many cases, lawyers said, it may be difficult for job applicants to show that they were turned down because they were unemployed” though they note the presence of postings excluding unemployed applicants.

Property Appraiser’s Motion to Dismiss Defeated

Shands — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 14:06:52 +0000

On March 2, 2011, the United States District Court denied Jim Overton, Property Appraiser’s Motion to Stay or, Alternatively, to Dismiss and Strike Claims for Fees and Costs. The Property Appraiser raised several arguments in support of his attempt to have the class action complaint filed by the Plaintiffs dismissed, including CERCLA preemption, sovereign immunity and Eleventh Amendment immunity. The Court rejected all of the Property Appraiser’s arguments, agreeing with the Plaintiffs that the case should not be dismissed or stayed.

The full text of the Court’s Order can be view by clicking the link below.

Doc 30 Order Denying Motion to Dismiss or to Stay and Strike

Neil Henrichsen named a Top Lawyer

Shands — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 12:38:12 +0000

The October 2010 edition of Jacksonville Magazine’s 904, names Neil Henrichsen as a Top Lawyer in construction law in the Jacksonville area. This ranking is based on the highest Martindale-Hubbell peer review rating of AV Preeminent. Martindale-Hubbell Lawyer Ratings serve as an objective indicator that a lawyer has the highest ethical standards and professional ability and are based on evaluations performed by Martindale-Hubbell from opinions obtained from fellow lawyers and the judiciary. To see the full article and list, follow the link below and click Top Lawyers of 2010 on the cover:

http://trendmag2.trendoffset.com/publication/?m=9130&l=1

Congratulations, Neil!

Ordinance 2010-00703 officially discharged by the City Council

Shands — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 19:17:09 +0000

Jacksonville: The City Council discharged proposed Ordinance 2010-00703 at last night’s City Council Meeting after two committees voted unanimously to withdraw the ordinance at their committee meetings. Ms. Cindy Laquidara, General Counsel, addressed the City Council and the public at the meeting regarding the withdrawal of the Ordinance. City Council President Jack Webb acknowledged that there were many residents present to oppose the Ordinance. Ms. Laquidara indicated to the City Council that the tags on properties outside the strict Site boundaries would be removed in the near future. These events were precipitated by the class action filed by Helen Albee and her co-counsel, Chris Parrish on behalf of the property owners outside the Site boundaries as defined by the Consent Decree in U.S. v. City of Jacksonville.

To view the City Council meeting on this Ordinance, follow the link below and fast forward to time stamp 57:00.

http://media.coj.net/City_Council/Council%209-14-10.wmv

Shands — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 21:32:36 +0000

Jacksonville: Cindy Laquidara, General Counsel for the City of Jacksonville, agrees with the position asserted in Blanchard, et al v. Overton which was filed by partner Helen Albee and her co-counsel Chris Parrish. As alleged in the complaint, too many properties were tagged with language which implied there were hazardous substances on the property. The City appears ready to remove the tags which were improperly placed. Ms. Albee points out that even if the City rolls back the actions previously taken, property owners have still suffered damages for which the City may still liable.

http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2010-09-09/story/ash-warnings-may-need-recall-jacksonville-general-counsel-says