Ruby Tuesday Sexual Harassment Suit Settles for $225,000

Camryn Hansen — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:04:52 GMT

The Ruby Tuesday restaurant in Stroudsburg, PA has agreed to pay a total of $225,000 to five female employees who were allegedly sexually harassed by their male supervisors.

The harassment included making crude sexual propositions to women, frequently making sexually explicit and graphic remarks to them about their appearance, and making lewd comments in their presence about female customers, the suit said. The EEOC said that some of the women harassed were teenagers.

"Sexual harassment is always unacceptable, but when some of the victims are vulnerable teenagers, it is especially unconscionable," EEOC Acting Chairman Stuart J. Ishimaru said in a released statement. –The Morning Call

The EEOC filed the lawsuit against Ruby Tuesday’s general manager, Christopher Mendoza, and other supervisors in August 2008. More than a dozen female employees were involved in the suit, but only five were ultimately paid in the settlement, in amounts ranging from $5,000 to $101,000.

In addition to the monetary settlement, Ruby Tuesday has promised to offer annual sexual harassment training to its Stroudsburg management team.

Having worked in numerous restaurants, I can readily vouch for the ubiquity of sexual harassment in every single one of them. It’s gratifying to see our legal system command meaningful consequences for such unprofessional behavior.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Camryn Hansen

Apollo Group/University of Phoenix Online Settles Discrimination Lawsuit over Mormon Favoritism

Mike Ferrara — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 16:55:05 GMT

In what is being called the largest settlement in the history of religious discrimination lawsuits brought by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the Apollo Group Inc. has agreed to pay $1.89 million for the alleged discrimination at its University of Phoenix Online division against its non-Mormon employees.

In the 2006 class action lawsuit, 52 former enrollment counselors claimed that the University of Phoenix gave members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints preferential treatment for promotions, sales leads, and tuition grants and wavers as well as numerous other perks. The EEOC’s investigation of the for-profit school discovered a prevalence of religion-based hiring and promotion practices there.

The University of Phoenix is the country’s largest private university, enrolling more than 300,000 students every semester in online and campus programs. Apollo Group's annual sales this fiscal year alone exceeded $3 billion. Since the settlement, it has said both that it is "pleased to have resolved this matter," and that the $1.89 million won’t significantly affect its financial standing.

According to Apollo, its agreement to the settlement does not signal an admission of guilt or wrongdoing. It does, however, put provisions in place to ensure that religious and other discrimination will not occur again at the University of Phoenix. The company must now hire a diversity officer to monitor its behavior and make sure EEO training is given to all of its higher-ups, including managers and supervisors with hiring power. It must also send a written announcement to all supervisors, managers and employee relations personnel declaring "zero tolerance" for Mormon favoritism. According to the consent decree Apollo has signed, any manager found to be engaging in favoritism will immediately be fired. The EEOC will keep close watch on the University of Phoenix for a period of four years to ensure its compliance with the agreement.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Mike Ferrara

Cherry Hill, New Jersey Personal Injury Lawyer - Workplace Discrimination

Ruby Tuesday Sexual Harassment Suit Settles for $225,000

Apollo Group/University of Phoenix Online Settles Discrimination Lawsuit over Mormon Favoritism