Crystal Henley enrolled in the Kansas City Police Academy in September 2005. By November 8, she was forced to leave and was not able to complete her training to become a police officer. During her short time at the Academy, Henley claims she was treated more harshly than male trainees, subject to sexual harassment, and
Eighth Circuit Reverses $4.5 Million Sanction Against EEOC
Two years ago, Judge Linda Reade of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa made headlines when she dismissed an EEOC lawsuit on behalf of 270 current and former female long haul drivers of Cedar Rapids based CRST Van Expedited. What was notable about the decision was not so much the dismissal itself as
Judge’s Pregnancy Discrimination Ruling Prompts Debate About Work-Life Balance
Last week a federal judge in the Southern District of New York Judge dismissed the EEOC’s long running sex and pregnancy discrimination lawsuit against financial media company Bloomberg, LP. EEOC claimed Bloomberg engaged in a “pattern and practice” of discrimination against pregnant women and mothers returning from maternity leave by reducing their pay, demoting them in title,
Wal-Mart v. Dukes: What Impact?
Yesterday the U.S. Supreme Court issued an opinion Wal-Mart v. Dukes, an important case addressing issues involving both employment law and class actions. There has been an 
incredible amount of coverage and analysis of this opinion in both regular and legal media outlets and blogs (including our own summary in the DRI Publication
Iowa Jury Finds for Plaintiff in Gender Sterotyping Case
A jury in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Iowa recently returned a verdict in excess of $50,000 to a female plaintiff alleging sex discrimination based upon gender stereotypes. The plaintiff, who was a night auditor at a hotel, claimed she was terminated because she was more masculine than a typical female employee. She
U.S. District Court in Iowa Imposes $4.5 Million Sanction against EEOC
On February 9, 2010, U.S. District Judge Linda Reade ordered the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (link courtesy of Ross Runkel) to pay Cedar Rapids based CRST Van Expedited $4.5 million in attorney’s fees and costs it incurred to defend itself against a meritless sexual harassment lawsuit.
The action started in 2005 when a CRST employee
Eighth Circuit Issues Significant Ruling on Sex Stereotyping and Gender Discrimination
On January 21, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit issued a decision that is likely to expand the frontiers of sex discrimination litigation in this circuit (which covers Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, and North and South Dakota). In Lewis v. Heartland Inns of America, a female plaintiff who had masculine
Weekly Web Roundup, October 30, 2009
The EEOC has revised its "Equal Employment Opportunity is the Law" poster. The poster was revised to reflect new federal employment laws, including the ADA Amendments, and the Genetic Non Discrimination in Employment Act ("GINA"). Employers can either obtain a new poster, or a supplement their existing poster. The new posting is mandatory effective November 21
How to Avoid Liability for Discrimination
A recent decision from the Eighth Circuit provides good training material about what "not to do" if you want to your company to avoid being liable for discrimination, and possibly punitive damages.
The EEOC filed suit against Siouxland Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Associates, a medical clinic in Sioux Falls South Dakota. The complaint alleged that Siouxland terminated
Eighth Circuit Issues Important Ruling on Affirmative Action
In a ruling issued September 3, 2009, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit held that an employer that follows an affirmative action plan in making an employment decision can be guilty of unlawful race discrimination. The Court’s decision in Humphries v. Pulaski County Special School District is the first in the Eighth Circuit to address