Tennessee Employment Lawyer Blog

In a Tennessee sexual harassment retaliation case the Tennessee Law Blog has been following for greater than a year, a federal jury has awarded Nashville woman $1.5M in a retaliation lawsuit case. Vicky Crawford, a former employee of Nashville schools, claimed she suffered wrongful termination after she cooperated in a workplace sexual harassment investigation at Metro Schools.

(For previous Tennessee Law Blogs on this case, see our "Harrassment Retaliation Lawsuit from Nashville…” and, for an earlier report, "TN Sexual Harassment Suit before Supreme Court Expected to Expand Retaliation Protections for All Workers”).

After working over 30 years with Metro Schools, Crawford was fired from her Payroll Coordinator position in 2003. Subsequently, she suffered lost wages, future lost wages, and pension benefits, for which she filed her TN employment lawsuit. Originally, her case was dismissed by a federal judge since Crawford, herself, was not the subject of the sexual harassment investigation.

Then, in January 2009, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled for Crawford that sexual harassment retaliation protections extended to her for testifying in a sexual harassment investigation when she told investigators about sexual advances her coworker made, which are detailed in previous Tennessee Law Blogs. No action was taken against this male supervisor for these allegations. The same day the sexual harassment investigator’s report was filed, allegations were made by Metro Nashville that it was concerned about Crawford’s payroll department. In addition to Crawford’s termination, two other female employees who testified were fired.

The $1.5M award was for compensatory damages, back pay and future lost wages.

Continue reading "Sexual Harassment Retaliation Lawsuit against Metro - Update" »

A million dollar verdict was the only good thing to come of Carlotta Freeman's time at the Whirlpool plant in La Vergne, TN. This was the award from Federal judge John T. Nixon at the conclusion of her suit against the company for racial and sexual harassment.

Freeman claimed that Willie Baker, a white male co-worker, repeatedly made lewd and inappropriate comments and gestures in the plant and also in the break room. Her complaints to superiors largely fell on deaf ears. Despite assurances that something would be done, an investigation was never started and the supervisor never spoke with Baker. It was not until Freeman and another African-American woman, Chinica Lillard, complained about racial slurs to Kim Wheeler, a white female co-worker, that something finally started to happen. Unfortunately what happened was the supervisor advising the women to ignore Baker and suggesting Freeman just go ahead and have sex with Baker so he'd leave her alone.

The situation escalated to the point where Baker physically assaulted Freeman on the factory floor, pushing her into the moving assembly line causing her to be struck in the head by air conditioners moving down the line and throwing a steel valve at both Freeman and Lillard who had rescued Freeman from the moving line. Baker was fired for his part in the assault and Freeman returned the next day to take an open ended leave of absence. Freeman has subsequently been diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from her experiences. She has become a reclusive introvert, rarely leaving her home as a result of her ordeal.

The court stated that Whirlpool essentially did nothing about the ongoing complaints lodged by Freeman against Baker. Nixon found that every level of management in the now defunct plant failed to protect Carlotta Freeman in her place of work.

Continue reading "Million Dollar Verdict in Whirlpool Harassment Case" »

It appears that the Cheesecake Factory was allowing some of its male employees to be treated more like beefcake. In a settlement agreement, Cheesecake Factory must pay six employees a total of $345,000 for sexual harassment. The suit claimed that management knew about and tolerated the behavior.

The men complained repeatedly to management that they were treated in a demeaning and degrading manner by other male members of the staff. They described inappropriate touching, simulation of rape and making sexual remarks. On one occasion managers witnessed the men being dragged, kicking and screaming, into a cooler and did nothing. Even the police department investigation got them nowhere.

Now, in order to avoid further legal action, Cheesecake Factory has signed a consent decree. While the decree does not acknowledge any wrongdoing, it agrees to have sexual harassment training for Cheesecake Factory employees and to appoint an ombudsman to investigate and deal with any complaints of this nature. Failure to do so could result in fines being levied by the court.

Continue reading "Sexual Harassment Suit Settled with Cheesecake Factory" »

In Tennessee, as in other parts of the country, sexual or gender discrimination is a hotly contested issue. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) keeps statistics on filed claims and resolutions within their system. In 2008, there were over 28,000 claims filed alleging gender discrimination. For the claims that were successfully resolved, over $109 million was paid out to aggrieved employees. While it is arguable that the country has made progress on gender issues, these statistics show that there is still significant gender and sexual discrimination.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects individuals against employment discrimination on the basis of sex as well as race, color, national origin, and religion. Title VII applies to employers with 15 or more employees, including federal, state and local governments. In Tennessee, the law is further strengthened to protect employees who take action to enforce their rights. Under Tennessee’s law, it is unlawful for an employer to take adverse action against an employee who asserts her rights. If they do, the employee has a further claim for unlawful retaliation.

The Equal Pay Act of 1963 requires that men and women receive equal pay for equal work as long as the jobs are “substantially equal.” Title VII takes it one step further and does not require a substantially equal job at the same employer, but can analyze pay on a more industry-wide standard.

In Tennessee, the damages recoverable can be considerable. For a first violation of the Equal Pay provision under the law, the employee can recover their unpaid wages, attorneys’ fees and court costs. If the violation is knowingly done by the employer, the employee can also recover further damages, called liquidated damages, in an amount equal to the unpaid wages awarded. If the employer does it a second time, the employee can recover their damages again, plus two times the amount of wages as liquidated damages. For a third knowing violation, the employee can recover up to an additional three times their wages in liquidated damages.

Continue reading "Sexual Discrimination in the Workplace" »

The statistics released by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) show that sexual harassment continues to be a significant problem in the workplace. According to the EEOC, they resolved over 11,000 sexual harassment charges in 2008 and recovered $47,400,000.00 in monetary benefits for aggrieved employees throughout the country. This number only includes cases that were actually settled within the confines of the EEOC administrative system and does not include cases that were not resolved and worked their way into the Court system.

In Tennessee, like other states, sexual harassment claims are governed primarily by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. There is a corresponding Tennessee law enforcing the rights of parties in the workplace in Tennessee, but it is largely patterned after the Civil Rights Act. Sexual harassment claims are not simply confined to instances where there are direct sexual requests or demands or even physical contact (although these claims certainly give rise to actions). More commonly, the sexually suggestive or forced atmosphere in the workplace creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment that negatively affects performance. In Tennessee, the sexual harassment law is somewhat broadened to include any unequal treatment of an employee based solely upon their gender, if that treatment would make a reasonable person uncomfortable.

Sexual harassment laws are not gender specific and limited to females. The statistics show that although females continue to suffer the lion’s share, nearly 16% of all the claims filed were filed by males. The problems with sexual harassment in the workplace continue to cost companies and individuals substantial time, money and resources.

Continue reading "EEOC statistics show Sexual Harassment as Significant Workplace Problem" »