Former employee of the mega real estate firm Corcoran Group has filed a lawsuit against the company claiming he has fired because president and CEO Pamela Liebman does not like “fat people.”  Describing himself has an “overweight gay male,” Jason Riggs claims that Liebman “constantly talked about weight, diets, gym, and the like in the office” and “was fairly obsessed with these issues.”  Nearly a month after reporting the discrimination to human resources, Riggs was fired from his position as manager in the firm’s executive offices on Madison Avenue, having been with the firm for over ten years. Read more.

In a society that is obsessed with looks and image, it may feel very isolating to be overweight.  Topics of gym work outs and latest diets are discussed around almost every office water cooler.  If an employer discriminates against an overweight employee because of his weight, it remains questionable whether the overweight employee is protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”).  ADA provides that employers covered by the statute may not discriminate against a qualified individual with a disability with respect to employment matters.  However, it remains unclear whether obesity is covered by the ADA.  The ADA states that morbid obesity, which is defined as weighing more than 100 percent over the norm, is considered a disability if it substantially limits, has limited, or is viewed as substantially limiting a major life activity.  As far as those who are not morbidly obese, courts are reluctant to extend ADA protection to these individuals.  For more information:  http://www.ada.gov/

Leeds Morelli & Brown, PC is a nationally recognized firm in the area of employment law.  Our firm has had considerable success in matters of employment discrimination throughout Long Island and the New York City area.  For more information, contact Leeds, Morelli and Brown, PC at 1-800-585-4658 for a free consultation.

Philadelphia McDonald’s has agreed to pay $90,000 to settle a federal discrimination lawsuit on behalf of a worker with an intellectual disability.  Timothy Artis, a lot and lobby worker at the McDonald’s, despite having successfully performed his job duties, was constantly harassed by his supervisors, other managers, and co-workers who repeatedly called him offensive and degrading names because of his disability. The harassment included physical shoving and threats, including one occasion when a co-worker threatened Artis with a box cutter.  Full story:  EEOC website

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), provides broad nondiscrimination protection for individuals with disabilities in employment public services, public accommodations and services operated by private entities, transportation, and telecommunication.  An individual with a disability is defined by the ADA as a person who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a person who has a history or record of such an impairment, or a person who is perceived by others as having such an impairment. The ADA does not specifically name all of the impairments that are covered.  ADA’s Guide to Disability Rights Law

The attorneys at Leeds Morelli & Brown, P.C., dedicate a large amount of their practice to employment discrimination claims.  For any questions, contact an attorney at the Leeds Morelli & Brown P.C. law firm for a free consultation at 1-800-585-4658. Leeds Morelli & Brown P.C.’s website is located at www.lmblaw.com.

White House correspondent Helen Thomas is retiring in the wake of comments she made at a recent celebration of the Jewish Heritage at the White House.  When asked her opinion on Israel, the 89-year old Hearst columnist said, “Tell them to get the hell out Palestine.”  When asked where they should go, Thomas said they should “go home” to “Poland, Germany, and America, and everywhere else.”  Thomas has served as a White House correspondent for 57 years, having joined during the later years of the Eisenhower administration, coming to the forefront with John F. Kennedy, and serving until the second year of the Obama administration.  Known for pushing the envelope, Thomas never hesitated from asking the tough, impolite, and even downright offensive questions that reporters should ask. CNN Article

Thomas’ comments were quickly denounced both by the White House Correspondents Association and the White House itself. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs called them “offensive and reprehensible.” Thomas herself said in an apology that they don’t reflect her “heart-felt belief that peace will come to the Middle East only when all parties recognize the need for mutual respect and tolerance.” MSNBC Article.  There is no denying that there continues to be a tendency to discriminate against certain groups of people in the workplace.  Discriminating against an individual based on race or national origin may be prosecuted under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  Please visit the EEOC’s website for further information: www.eeoc.gov/policy/vii.html.

The attorneys at Leeds Morelli & Brown, P.C., dedicate a large amount of their practice to employment discrimination claims.  For any questions, contact an attorney at the Leeds Morelli & Brown P.C. law firm for a free consultation at 1-800-585-4658. Leeds Morelli & Brown P.C.’s website is located at www.lmblaw.com.

Station Casinos reached a settlement in a suit filed on behalf of thousands of current and former employees who claimed they were shortchanged in their pay by the gaming company.  The suit was filed about one week before the company’s bankruptcy petition, which is facing $6 billion in claims.  The workers alleges that if an employee checks in early for a shift, he or she is not credited with the time, and the same holds true of the worker who leaves later.  The Casino company has agreed to set $1.1 million aside to pay the employees for 180 days prior to filing for bankruptcy.  In addition, the parties agreed to value the remaining unsecured claim in the lawsuit at $5 million covering workers dating to 2005.  Article

A “rounding” pay system operates in a way that by enabling the computer system to clock time so that if an hourly worker arrived up to 14 minutes before the quarter hour, the computer automatically rounded that time forward to the nearest quarter hour. Same if the worker checked out past his or her appointed time, the time is rounded back to the nearest quarter.  Although this issue never reached a trier of fact in the Nevada District Court where the suit was filed, the case may serve as an example of the danger of using such a pay system.  For example, if a worker clocked in 14 minutes early and out of shift 14 minutes late, and that employee worked a minimum wage ($7.25) job 5 days a week, the worker would stand to lose over $16 a week, amounting to $832 a year.  A large corporation that employs over 500 hourly employees stands to gain a significant amount of money in a given year by using this type of pay system.

The attorneys of Leeds Morelli and Brown, P.C. are experienced and determined employment law practitioners who will fight hard to make sure your rights are preserved.  If you find your employer is engaging in questionable discriminatory behavior you can contact an attorney at Leeds, Morelli & Brown, P.C. for a free consultation at 1-888-585-4658 or our firm’s website at www.lmblaw.com.

A trial began last week in a Japanese courtroom, where a 36-year-old Japanese woman alleges she was fired from Prada Japan because she was not attractive enough.  Plaintiff Rina Bovrisse’s legal complaint against Prada Japan states Prada Japan’s CEO asked her to get rid of shop managers and assistant managers who called her “aged, ugly, fat, bad body shape, bad teeth, disgusting, and not cute.”   After she refused to do so, Prada Japan’s human resources manager gave most of those managers transfer orders that amounted to demotions.  Bovrisse’s lawyers said Prada offered Bovrisse around $107,000 in severance but she turned it down to fight for a public and pay compensation for emotional distress.  Article

New York is an “at will” employee State, meaning an employer can keep its employees for however long he wants but may fire them for any reason or for no reason at all, so long as it is not an unlawful or discriminatory reason.  Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 makes it illegal to discriminate against someone on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, or sex.  So, can a New York employer fire a woman for being too ugly?  Technically yes, because ugly is not protected under Title VII.  However, it is best to consult with an experienced employment attorney to ensure there is no basis for a discrimination claim.

Leeds Morelli & Brown, PC is a nationally recognized leader in the area of employment law.  Our firm has had considerable success in matters of employment discrimination throughout Long Island and the New York City area.  For more information, contact Leeds, Morelli and Brown, PC at 1-800-585-4658 for a free consultation.