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Humble pharmacist files wrongful termination lawsuit

A pharmacist at Humble Surgical Hospital has now filed a wrongful termination and retaliation lawsuit against her former employer after she was allegedly fired when she reported multiple errors to her superiors.

Officials with the hospital have denied the allegations at this time. The woman was hired as the director of pharmacy at the hospital in October 2011, where she was in charge of running the pharmacy as well as looking over the patient’s charts.

It was also in her job description to report any medication errors that were found. She documented all errors that were made, but on Jan. 23, the nursing officer allegedly counseled her to stop doing so and to stop informing the nurses of these errors. She fired just a few days later.

If you or a loved one has been the victim of workplace retaliation, contact the Austin employment lawyers of The Melton Law Firm today by calling 512-330-0017.


City of Austin, several businesses named in disability lawsuit

An advocacy group for the state of Texas is now suing the city, along with many other businesses for allegedly discriminating against people with disabilities.

Several local restaurants, retailers and bus companies in the city have been named because people with disabilities have stated that they can not fully enjoy the places that are culturally unique to the city due to lack of accessibility.

Twelve defendants were named in Austin, many of which are located on South Congress and Sixth Street. Lawsuits that are aimed at the city claim that city officials failed to provide enough parking in downtown and entertainment districts for disabled people.

The suits also state that the city failed to provide ramps, equal access to pools, and signs to alert people with disabilities about accessible routes. One more lawsuit is expected to be filed in conjunction with these other lawsuits.


City of Corpus Christi faces sex discrimination lawsuit

The city of Corpus Christi is currently facing a gender discrimination lawsuit that was brought against them by the Justice Department.

The lawsuit alleges that the Police Department discriminated against hiring women for the department by making them fulfill a fitness test that very few women have been able to pass. Between the years 2005 and 2009, only one in every five women has been able to pass the test compared to two-thirds of all men.

The assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division, Thomas Perez said, “This complaint demonstrates that employment practices that unnecessarily exclude qualified candidates on account of sex are unacceptable.” The city has been working with the Justice Department for quite some time in order to settle the alleged sexual discrimination issue.

The complaint states that the number of entry-level females that were hired between 2005 and 2011 was only 12, compared to 113 men during the same period.


BP settles discrimination class action lawsuit

BP has now settled a workplace discrimination class action lawsuit for nearly $54 million after women claimed that they were not employed during the 2010 oil spill because of their gender.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission looked into these claims and did not find evidence that BP discriminated against women. Women in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana are involved in the lawsuits.

BP made a settlement fund available for those who were not employed by their contractors during the oil spill as a way to ensure that sex discrimination does not occur in the workplace.

If you have been the victim of workplace discrimination, contact the Austin discrimination lawyers of The Melton Law Firm today by calling 512-330-0017 today.


SunTrust Mortgage settles federal racial discrimination lawsuit

SunTrust Mortage has now settled a federal racial discrimination lawsuit for treating Hispanics and African-Americans differently in its lending practices.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, this settlement awarded is the second largest that has ever been given in connection with discriminatory lending practices.  The complaint stated that SunTrust Mortgage charged African-American and Hispanic borrowers more than it did white borrowers in similar situations.

Minority borrowers filed the complaint alleging that they were faced with higher interest fees and more loan fees based solely on national origin or race. The claim states that this was done to nearly 20,000 people from 2005 to 2009. While the company denied any wrongdoing, they stated that they would settle in order to avoid litigation.


Gender discrimination case against UTMB dropped

A gender discrimination case against the University of Texas Medical Branch, filed after a nurse claimed that she was fired for an extramarital affair, has been dropped.

The decision in the case was reached last week and the case was dismissed. The centered around two nurses who were employed at UTMB, each of whom had a spouse working in another area of the university.

A confrontation involving the nurses and the male nurse’s spouse occurred in front of other UTMB employees and the woman who filed the suit ended the relationship as a result. The next day, the man complained of sexual harassment and both employees stated that they would no longer speak.

After three complaints, it was recommended that the woman be fired. The opinion stated that “violations of the sexual harassment policy were validated.” The woman was fired, but filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

To read more on this case, visit the Galveston Daily News online.


High Rate of Workplace Discrimination Claims in Florida

According to data from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, there were 8,088 workplace discrimination claims filed in Florida last year, putting the state just behind Texas and 2nd in the nation.

Legal professionals suggest that the recession and current state of the economy may contribute to the pace of these claims. Additional factors leading to the high rate of these cases may include the sizable population and the concentration of minority workers. This is the third consecutive year that Florida has had the 2nd most claims.

Workplace discrimination is a serious concern that can prevent a person from being able to perform their job, and it can also cause intense emotional distress. Contact the Austin employment lawyers of The Melton Law Firm, if you have been discriminated against in the workplace.


Woman fired from Houston Chronicle, claims gender discrimination

A 30-year-old woman who was recently fired from her full-time job at the Houston Chronicle for working part-time as a stripper has now filed a gender discrimination lawsuit against the company.

After another paper revealed the reporter’s second job, the Chronicle let the woman go and she is now asking the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission  to investigate the case.

According to CNN News, the woman covered fashion, human interest stories, high society and other general assignment stories. The woman stated that she “rarely” worked as a dancer anymore, but it was a job that put her through college.

A legal representative for the woman stated that her being fired from the job is gender discrimination because firing a woman for working as an exotic dancer has a negative impact on women only, because it is such a predominantly female occupation.


Texas ranks highest in number of workplace discrimination complaints

Last year, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission received more complaints from the state of Texas than any other state in the nation, according to a recently released report.

During the fiscal year there were nearly 10,000 complaints made the EEOC from the state of Texas out of the total of 99,947 nationwide. Out of the complaints filed in the state, the most common claims stated that employees were retaliated against after they fought discrimination in some form or another.

The second and third most common reasons were gender and race discrimination. Attorneys have stated that Texas may have more complaints because the large population of Texas residents compared to other states.


Man claims sexual harassment from female officer caused him to lose job

A Galveston man has claimed that he was the victim of sexual harassment from a female corrections officer.

According to the lawsuit that was filed in a Galveston County court earlier this month, the man stated that the female officer subjected him to unwanted sexual advances from May 2011 to October 2011.

The suit stated that the man lost his job because he showed “resistance to the misconduct.” The lawsuit names 11 incidents where the officer allegedly tried to seduce the man. The lawsuit states that many of the sexual advances occurred in public or in front of other co-workers.

He also stated that he was retaliated against because he denied the advances.  The man tried to collect evidence of the harassment by using a recording device and shortly after this, he was told that he was suspended until later notice. This complaint led to his resignation in November 2011.

If you or a loved one has been the victim of sexual harassment, contact the Austin sexual harassment lawyers of The Melton Law Firm by calling 512-330-0017 today.

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