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One Broward County drug counselor has been fired and another suspended for an incident in which an "N-word" was used. Not necessarily "the N-word," but a word that might have been mistaken for it. The two sanctioned workers told investigators the word was "niggardly." That word, meaning miserly, is of Scandinavian origin and has nothing to do with race, says an attorney for one of the disciplined workers. But the county sided with a substance-abuse client who took offense. He filed a complaint saying a counselor called him "n----- dumb" in a June meeting with two workers at a county...

Last week, President Obama's Justice Department asked the Supreme Court to hear oral arguments in a case that pits religious protections against the courts' ordinary ability to intervene in a labor dispute to prevent discrimination.In the early 2000s, Cheryl Perich was a "called teacher" or "commissioned minister" at Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School in Redford, Mich. As such, she taught religious classes, led students in prayer and incorporated religious teachings into secular subjects like math, science, social studies and art.But in 2004, she was diagnosed with narcolepsy and became unable to teach the fall semester that year. When she...

A Florida lawmaker has filed a bill that would repeal a state law prohibiting dwarf tossing in bars. Rep. Ritch Workman of Melbourne filed House Bill 4063 on Monday. "To me it's an archaic kind of Big Brother law that says, 'We don't like that activity,'" Workman told the Florida Current. "Well, there is nothing immoral or illegal about that activity. All we really did by passing that law was take away some employment from some little people." The cringe-inducing activity was outlawed in 1989, when national controversy over dwarf tossing prompted the Legislature to ban it in bars for...

Two people are dead and four have been injured at a shooting at a quarry in northern California early this morning, officials and witnesses said. An employee arrived at meeting at Hanson Permanente quarry in Cupertino with an automatic rifle and opened fire. The shooter may still be on the loose.

WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court has ruled for Wal-Mart in its fight to block a massive sex discrimination lawsuit on behalf of women who work there. The court ruled unanimously Monday that the lawsuit against Wal-Mart Stores Inc. cannot proceed as a class action, reversing a decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. The lawsuit could have involved up to 1.6 million women, with Wal-Mart facing potentially billions of dollars in damages. Now, the handful of women who brought the lawsuit may pursue their claims on their own, with much less money at stake and...

— The Supreme Court blocked the largest sexual-discrimination lawsuit ever from proceeding as a class action on Monday, handing a victory to Wal-Mart in a case that pitted the massive retailer against millions of its female employees. The court’s decision could have broad implications for workers seeking jointly to sue their employers. The justices overturned an earlier U.S. appeals court ruling that gave class-action status to 1.5 million female Wal-Mart employees, past and present, seeking billions of dollars in a suit accusing the retailer of paying women less and giving them fewer promotions at the company

Walmart has scored a crucial victory in the world’s largest sex discrimination case after the US Supreme Court threw out a class action lawsuit against it that sought to encompass more than 1m people. The decision is likely to have wide-ranging implications for the course of legal disputes between big business and workers in the US because it will establish new standards plaintiffs must meet in order to mount class actions. Walmart was accused by six plaintiffs of paying women in the US less than men and of passing them over for promotion, but they had sought to represent a...

Dominique Strauss-Kahn underwent forensic tests today following his arrest on sex attack charges in New York - as a second woman in Paris reported him for attempted rape. The 62-year-old head of the International Monetary Fund, who was tipped to become the President of France next year, ‘vigorously’ denies the claims made by an unnamed American chamber maid. But now Tristane Banon, the 31-year-old god-daughter of Strauss-Kahn’s second wife Brigitte Guillemette, said he attacked her almost a decade ago. "SNIP" Ms Banon’s mother, Anne Mansouret, said the only reason she did not press charges at the time was because 'she...

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Susan Collins, along with her colleagues Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Mark Kirk (R-IL), and Tom Harkin (D-IA), have introduced the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) to finally prohibit job discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Senator Collins has long been a strong supporter of this legislation. The Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2011 would prohibit employers, employment agencies, labor organizations and joint labor-management committees from firing, refusing to hire, or discriminating against those employed or seeking employment, on the basis of their perceived or actual sexual orientation or gender identity. Such protections are already in...

Tuesday is Equal Pay Day—so dubbed by the National Committee for Pay Equity, which represents feminist groups including the National Organization for Women, Feminist Majority, the National Council of Women's Organizations and others. The day falls on April 12 because, according to feminist logic, women have to work that far into a calendar year before they earn what men already earned the year before. In years past, feminist leaders marked the occasion by rallying outside the U.S. Capitol to decry the pernicious wage gap and call for government action to address systematic discrimination against women. This year will be relatively...

Most people say that a job is good for making money. So, if you don't need money, what's the point? The fabled English aristocratic class of the late 19th and early 20th century apparently thought that way, if the caricatures painted by Jeeves and Wooster, Brideshead, and the like have any truth to them. Their main job was getting dressed and undressed. It seems like young Americans are thinking the same way. Doug French drew my attention to some statistics from the Wall Street Journal on teenage employment that knocked me out. In 2000, slightly more than a third of...

A bill in the legislature has taken an unlikely path, and a senate committee is taking the latest look. The bill would make it illegal for employers to forbid employees from keeping guns locked in their vehicles while at work. The bill got a do not pass recommendation from the House committee that first looked at the bill, but passed overwhelmingly on the floor. Basically the bill sets up a battle over property rights. It`s no secret that many North Dakotans like to hunt, and the state constitution holds Second Amendment rights in high regard. But some gun owners say...

Like all too many Americans, Mark Almlie was laid off in the spring of 2009 when his workplace downsized. He has been searching for an appropriate position ever since, replying to more than 500 job postings without success. But Mr. Almlie, despite a sterling education and years of experience, has faced an obstacle that does not exist in most professions: He is a single pastor, in a field where those doing the hiring overwhelmingly prefer married people and, especially, married men with children. Mr. Almlie, 37, has been shocked, he says, at what he calls unfair discrimination, based mainly on...

What is the modern opinion regarding coffee in the office. Is it no longer proper to pour a cup of java, add a little cream, and drop it off on the boss's desk when he comes in? I always thought it was courteous and a demonstation of respect to greet the boss with a cup of coffee first thing in the morning. Guess I'm from the old school, but, I'd like to know what is done nowadays.

Chick-fil-A has always been my favorite fast food restaurant. Last year, I cut fast food out of my diet. I have made one lone exception to this rule: the Chick-fil-A chicken sandwich. At the end of every successful week of physical fitness, I treat myself with an indulgence of delicious fried chicken and tasty waffle fries. The thought of my weekly "victory meal" motivates me to power through my goals at the gym. As a Southerner, I have always loved fried chicken. The cleanliness and great service at Chick-fil-A is another major reason why I go there. There is something...

Do these stories happen every year? This was posted yesterday at the Daily Caller: A California university says it was bad taste to serve chicken and waffles on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Officials at the University of California, Irvine, say the menu of stereotypical black food was served on Jan. 17 — the first day of the school’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. symposium. The dining hall advertised the meal as an “MLK Holiday Special.” The co-chairman of the school’s Black Student Union and another student lodged formal complaints. University spokeswoman Cathy Lawhon tells the Los Angeles Times that...

John C. Stone might be the most famous Green Bay Packers fan in Chicago. The 34-year-old Roseland resident was fired Monday from his job as a car salesman at an Oak Lawn Chevrolet dealership for wearing a Packers tie to work, but he’s already been offered a job at another dealership and been interviewed live on a nationwide sports radio show.

A worker was found dead on Monday morning after falling into a Tortilla mixing machine Monday morning in Brooklyn, New York. It all happened at about 2:30 a.m. at Tortilleria Chinantla when police responded to a 911 call of an unconscious man. When police arrived they found the body of the 22 year-old Hispanic man who appears to have fallen victim to an industrial accident.

The American Bible Society, Wheaton Academy and Joni & Friends have been listed as some of the best Christian workplaces in the U.S., Canada and Australia. Each organization qualified for the 2011 list, compiled by Best Christian Workplaces Institute, after receiving high scores in an anonymous BCW employee engagement survey. The survey has reached over 100,000 employees to date since its debut nine years ago in the U.S. and Canada. Australia was surveyed for the first time for the latest list. In a statement Wednesday, the president of BCWI, AL Lopus, commented, “We salute this year's Best Christian Workplaces for...

A North Carolina TV station was forced to halt its evening newscast when a woman with a gun stormed into the station, sparking a standoff with police forcing employees to evacuate.

If you smoke or use tobacco products — even in the privacy of your own home — you need not apply for a job at two Central Florida hospitals. Florida Hospital Waterman in Tavares and Florida Hospital Fish Memorial in Orange City will no longer hire smokers starting Jan. 1 — the first in the Florida Hospital system to enact such a policy. The hospitals will join a number of health-care facilities nationwide recently creating policies to screen out job applicants who light up. "As a leading health-care provider in our community, we believe it important for all of our...

What began as a startling NAACP suit accusing US Airways Group Inc. of discriminating against its African American employees at Philadelphia International Airport has ended with a settlement and a pledge by the airport's largest carrier to strengthen workplace diversity. On the matter of the monetary terms and whether the three former US Airways employees named as plaintiffs in January's federal class-action suit would get - or even want - their old jobs back, no one would say.

YouTube video.A stagehand working on the stage set up for President Obama's appearance in Los Angeles was told to go home when he refused to remove his hat and shirt honoring the aircraft carrier named USS George H. W. Bush. His son is in the US Navy and serves on the ship.Link to the USS George H.W. Bush website

September 4, 2010 The Boss Is Robotic, and Rolling Up Behind You By JOHN MARKOFF SACRAMENTO — Dr. Alan Shatzel’s pager beeped at 9 on a Saturday morning. A man had suffered a stroke, and someone had to decide, quickly, whether to give him an anticlotting drug that could mean the difference between life and death. Dr. Shatzel, a neurologist, hustled not to the emergency room where the patient lay — 260 miles away, in Bakersfield — but to a darkened room at a hospital here. He took a seat in front of the latest tools of his trade: computer...

Franklin - The family of a woman who died after a pallet of bottled water fell on her at a Kroger store in central Indiana is suing the water bottler, arguing a new eco-friendly bottle design might have contributed to the accident...

A Muslim woman who works as a hostess at a restaurant in Disneyland has filed a discrimination complaint against the world-renowned California theme park, saying officials at the park violated the law when they told her she could not appear in front of customers while wearing a religious head scarf. Imane Boudlal, 26, of Anaheim, Calif., has filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, claiming Disneyland violated her rights when it ordered her either to remove her hijab or agree to work where customers couldn't see her at Storyteller's Café at the resort's Grand Californian Hotel &...

Original title: Men are the best bosses: Women at the top are just too moody (and it's women themselves who say so)... They are hormonal, incapable of leaving their personal lives at home and only too happy to talk about their staff behind their backs. Female bosses are a nightmare to work for, a survey of employees concludes. And it is not just men who think so. Two-thirds of women said they preferred a male boss because their straight-talking, ‘get to the point’ attitude makes them easier to deal with. They are also much less likely to have a hidden...

Nine people are dead in a workplace shooting in a Manchester, Ct., beer-distribution warehouse, and an unknown number are wounded. On Tuesday morning, Omar Thornton, a driver for Hartford Distributors, went on a shooting rampage during a morning shift change, and then killed himself, police say. Mr. Thornton, who had worked for the company for a couple of years, had been called in for a disciplinary hearing, according to reports, and was on his way there this morning. It was unclear whether the meeting had taken place before he started shooting. Joanne Hannah, a former neighbor of Thornton whose daughter...

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Jobs may be coming back, but they aren't the same ones workers were used to. Many of the jobs employers are adding are temporary or contract positions, rather than traditional full-time jobs with benefits. With unemployment remaining near 10%, employers have their pick of workers willing to accept less secure positions.

Companies are discovering that it's cheaper to pay fines to the government than to cover workers. Millions of American workers could discover that they no longer have employer-provided health insurance as ObamaCare is phased in. That's because employers are quickly discovering that it may be cheaper to pay fines to the government than to insure workers. AT&T, Caterpillar, John Deere and Verizon have all made internal calculations, according the House Energy and Commerce Committee, to determine how much could be saved by a) dropping their employer-provided insurance, b) paying a fine of $2,000 per employee, and c) leaving their employees...

After a battle with New York Attorney General Andrew Cumo, the clothing retail chain American Eagle has changed its policies to be more transgender friendly. According to the NY Daily News, the company is “nixing a rule about employee ‘personal appearance’ that banned men from wearing women’s clothing and ladies from dressing as guys.” The retailer has also agreed to train employees to be sensitive to transgender issues, including using preferred pronouns by transgender individuals. Of course, anti-gay “family values” groups like the Family Research Council are starting to frame this as a policy that victimizes employers. According to a...

AT&T paid about $2.4 billion last year to cover medical costs of its 283,000 active workers, according to one document. If the company were to push all those workers onto subsidized exchanges, AT&T estimated, it would only have to pay an annual penalty of $600 million, or $2,000 a worker.

www.catholicnewsagency.com Robert Peters: SEC pornography scandal shows harms of obscene material Morality in Media president Robert Peters. Related articles: The 2008 Presidential Election and Its Impact on Enforcement of Federal Obscenity LawsThe Harmful Effects of PornographySummary Of Obscenity And Related LawsEnforcement of Obscenity Laws Is Not ‘Censorship’ New York City, N.Y., Apr 24, 2010 / 07:02 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The exposure of workplace pornography use at the Securities and Exchange Commission while the 2008 financial crisis was unfolding shows the harmful consequences of such material, Morality in Media president Robert Peters has said. Calling for open condemnation of the...

Two Denver men said their efforts to be good citizens cost them their jobs. Paul Shoemaker and Mike McGee... were fired from the Sprint store inside the Cherry Creek Mall after chasing a suspected shoplifter. The two claim they were walking out of the store when they stumbled upon a security guard in the hall, clearly in need. "(He) came right basically in front of us, and was like, 'Help me, Help me.' Out of breath. You could totally hear he was distraught," said Shoemaker...from the Apple store. "It's the way I was raised as a kid. You see something...

Days before the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalizes strict new regulations for dealing with toxic lead in residential homes, the agency is quietly cleaning up a dangerous lead contamination at its own headquarters. Dust samples recently taken from EPA’s Ariel Rios headquarters building were in many cases much higher than federal government limits for commercial buildings, documents show.

Political correctness does not just infect the United States. It affects our entire Western family. An extreme, though revealing story out of New Zealand today. Two friends, a white man and a black man, saw some immigration officers outside their office. The white man jokingly said to his friend, "You'd better hide." A trifle indelicate perhaps, but like most normal people, the black guy didn't care and interpreted this as a joke. Both men probably thought nothing of it. However, one of those insufferable busybodies that constantly feel the need to police our words and thoughts reported this deeply serious...

As part of the White House Forum for Workplace Flexibility, the CEA released a report today presenting an economic perspective on flexible workplace policies and practices. Work-Life Balance and the Economics of Workplace Flexibility (pdf) highlights changes in American society over the past half century, including the increased number of women entering the labor force, the prevalence of families where all adults work, increasing eldercare responsibilities, and the rising importance of continuing education. These changes are among those that have increased the need for flexibility in the workplace. This increased need can be met with flexibility in terms of when...

St. Luke's Hospital & Health Network today announced it will only hire non-smokers starting May 1. As the region's second largest employer with over 7,000 employees, St Luke's will be the first in our area to implement such a policy, according to a press release. "While some may view this as a bold move," states Bob Zimmel, Senior Vice President of Human Resources at St. Luke's, "our organization feels strongly that promoting a healthier workplace benefits everyone."

DETROIT, - City officials in Detroit say workers at three city buildings will soon have to monitor their scents or face possible warnings. The Detroit News said Sunday that placards will be put up in the three Detroit buildings detailing the new guidelines on employees' use of such scented items as cologne or perfume. The notices due at the Cadillac Square Building, Coleman A. Young Municipal Center and First National Building will also ask employees to refrain from using air fresheners and scented candles while on the job. The new regulations are the result of the city's settlement of a...

About 10 years ago I was having my annual holiday party, and my niece had come with her newly minted M.B.A. boyfriend. As he looked around the room, he noted that my employees seemed happy. I told him that I thought they were. Then, figuring I would take his new degree for a test drive, I asked him how he thought I did that. "I'm sure you treat them well," he replied. "That's half of it," I said. "Do you know what the other half is?"

Former Rep. Eric Massa (D-N.Y.) has been under investigation for allegations that he groped multiple male staffers working in his office, according to three sources familiar with the probe. The allegations surrounding the former lawmaker date back at least a year, and involve "a pattern of behavior and physical harassment," according to one source. The new claims of alleged groping contradict statements by Massa, who resigned his office on Monday after it became public that he was the subject of a House ethics committee investigation for possible harassment. Massa had said that the allegations were limited to his use of...

RICHMOND -- Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II has urged the state's public colleges and universities to rescind policies that ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, arguing in a letter sent to each school that their boards of visitors had no legal authority to adopt such statements. In his most aggressive initiative on conservative social issues since taking office in January, Cuccinelli (R) wrote in the letter sent Thursday that only the General Assembly can extend legal protections to gay state employees, students and others -- a move the legislature has repeatedly declined to take as recently as...

More Males Filing Sexual Harassment in Workplace Claims By Sam Hananel March 5, 2010 John Pilkington's boss wouldn't take no for an answer.During more than two years as a food runner at an upscale steakhouse in Scottsdale, Arizona, Pilkington says his male supervisor groped, fondled and otherwise sexually harassed him more than a dozen times."It was very embarrassing,'' Pilkington said. "I felt like I had to do something because the situation was just so bad.'' Now Pilkington, a married father of two, is the star witness in a U.S. federal lawsuit against Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar and one...

New York Democratic Rep. Eric Massa will resign from the House on Monday, according Massa chief of staff Joe Racalto. While it’s the latest in a string of bad PR the Democrats have taken this week, Massa’s exit will actually help House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in her quest to pass health care. Massa announced earlier in the week that he would retire due to health issues. Shortly after his announcement, allegations of sexual harassment surfaced in the press. Few congressional elections draw the kind of national attention that Erica Massa’s did in 2006. Even fewer draw an equal amount of...

First-term congressman Eric Massa (D-NY) announced his intention not to seek re-election amid allegations that he sexually harassed a male staffer, Politico reported Wednesday. Politico cited several House aides, both Republican and Democrat for the allegations. Massa had cited his battle with cancer as the reason for his decision not to run for re-election. Asked by Politico about the accusations of sexual harassment, Massa said: “"When someone makes a decision to leave Congress, everybody says everything. I have health issues. I'll talk about it [later].”

Rep. Eric Massa (D-N.Y.) will not seek re-election after only one term in office. According to several House aides – on both sides of the aisle – the House ethics committee has been informed of allegations that Massa, who is married with two children, sexually harassed a male staffer. Massa and his office did not immediately respond to requests for comment, but his office has scheduled a press conference for later this afternoon. Massa, a 20-year Navy veteran, was elected to office last November. He serves on the Agriculture, Armed Services and Homeland Security committees.

Supreme Court To Consider Another Case On Racial Bias In Hiring Chicago firefighters say they were illegally discriminated against through test scores. A lawyer calls it the flip side to last year's case involving white firefighters in New Haven, Conn. By David G. Savage February 20, 2010 Reporting from Washington - The controversy over racial bias, testing and firefighters that blew up at both the Supreme Court and the Senate last year returns Monday, this time as the justices decide whether blacks who were not hired in Chicago because of their test scores are due damages for years of lost...

"We love to see healthy, happy pets" is PetSmart's motto — but apparently the policy doesn't apply to pets belonging to employees. Eric Favetta, a 31-year-old PetSmart employee, was fired for "theft of services" after bringing his dog to work during an overnight shift he'd picked up as a favor to his manager, according to the Newark Star-Ledger. (The Secaucus, N.J., store added an overnight shift in order to prep the store for a visit by officials from Martha Stewart's company, who wanted to discuss selling products at PetSmart.) Favetta — a former military dog handler who'd worked at PetSmart...

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) - Officials at a Chattanooga hospital decided to stop hiring tobacco users. Memorial Hospital Vice President Brad Pope told the Chattanooga Times Free Press the decision is an extension of the hospital's commitment to health and is not based on potential health care cost savings. Any form of nicotine will make an applicant ineligible to be hired - even nicotine gum or a patch.

Seven – Maybe – Tips For Avoiding an Office Affair. Every Wednesday is Tip Day. This Wednesday: Seven – maybe – tips for avoiding an office affair. A friend told me that when she started her job at a big company a few years ago, a family friend, who also worked there, pulled her aside to give her some advice. Many people in their workplace had affairs, he said, and he’d seen lots of marriages break up. He’d kept his own marriage strong by following five rules about the workplace, and he urged her to keep the same rules: 1....