Two local branches of the NAACP recently issued a report criticizing the Iowa Civil Rights Commission because of the low percentage of “probable cause” findings in discrimination complaints filed with the agency. Although the report was issued December 31, it was recently publicized in a series of three stories appearing over the course of
Supreme Court, Executive Branch Take Opposite Approach on Religious Accomodation
We have written many times here about an employer’s obligation to reasonably accommodate an employee’s sincerely held religious beliefs, so as not to unlawfully discriminate on the basis of their religion. Indeed, according to EEOC statistics, claims of religious discrimination by employees are increasing at a higher rate than most other forms of discrimination.
Much
Political Discrimination Case Involving UI Law School is Making Waves
In my practice I frequently represent counties, municipalities, school districts and other public entities. Just like their counterparts in the private sector, public employees are protected against discrimination because of race, sex, age, religion, disability, and other protected statuses. However, public employees have one important right their private sector brethren do not share: the right
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 May Bar Class Action Race Discrimination Suit Against the State of Iowa
Wal-Mart v. Dukes, decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in June, could derail a class action race discrimination case against the State of Iowa that has been pending since 2007 (See our posts here and here on the Wal-Mart case). The Iowa case involves 32 named plaintiffs who claim the State maintained hiring
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
Should the Decision to Terminate an Employee Who Uses the “N-word” Depend Upon the Employee’s Race?
A federal judge in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania recently waded into this thorny subject. The case is Burlington v. News Corp., in which a white television reporter for the Fox affiliate in Philadelphia alleges he was terminated for using the “n-word”. The suit claims black employees who also had uttered the word were not even disciplined.
It all
Recent 8th Circuit Case Likely to Encourage Continued Migration of Age Discrimination Claims to State Court
We have discussed in this blog before the migration of discrimination claims to Iowa state courts rather than federal courts. The trend is driven by a number of factors, including the recognition in 2005 of the right to a jury trial under the Iowa Civil Rights Act (ICRA) and the greater propensity of federal courts
Whatever Happened to…Jack Gross?
Remember Jack Gross? Back in 2003 he claimed a demotion from his management job at West Des Moines based FBL Financial Services constituted age discrimination. A federal jury in the Southern District of Iowa agreed and awarded him $47,000 in damages. From there his case had a remarkable journey: first stopping in St. Louis at the Eighth Circuit
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