A state-by-state review of court cases pertaining to workplace rights.
Select your state from the map below or from this list. (If your state does not have any court cases, then the page will not scroll down when you click on the state.)
North Carolina
North Carolina restaurant must pay up in sexual harassment suit
Source: Chris Coletta , Triangle Business Journal
Date: September 16, 2008
A judge has awarded two former employees at Cinelli's Restaurant in Cary nearly $90,000 in damages in a ruling in a federal sexual harrasment lawsuit. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said Tuesday that the female employees, Meghan O'Connell and Brittany Bumgarner, were in a "sexually hostile work environment" created five years ago by a Cinelli's manager.
Krispy Kreme to settle employees' lawsuit
Source: Associated Press, News & Observer
Date: May 16, 2006
Krispy Kreme Doughnuts reached a proposed $4.7 million settlement with workers who claimed that they lost millions of dollars in retirement savings because company executives hid evidence of declining sales and profits. The suit claimed that because executives said nothing about the company's troubles, workers who bought Krispy Kreme stock for their 401(k) accounts, or were paid stock in bonus plans, had no way of knowing that the stock was a risky investment. More than 3,300 employees owned more than $3.9 million in Krispy Kreme shares in the 401(k) plan.
Lawsuit tests whistleblowers' protection
Source: Adam Geller, Associated Press, The State
Date: February 8, 2006
Was Mark Livingston trying to blow the whistle on suspect corporate behavior? Or was he making trouble? Next week, a judge in Greensboro, N.C. will parse through the story of Livingston and the company that fired him, pharmaceutical maker Wyeth, and weigh those questions. The answer could have implications for companies, workers and investors well beyond their bitter dispute. After Enron and WorldCom imploded, lawmakers sought to prevent future scandals, adopting reforms including job protection for insiders who blow the whistle on suspected fraud. But it's not clear if the law--known as Sarbanes-Oxley--protects workers like Livingston who raise concerns beyond financial matters.
Settlement reached in HIV discrimination suit
Source: 365Gay.com
Date: February 6, 2006
A cook who was fired from his job in a North Carolina restaurant after the owners learned he is HIV+ has settled with the company for an undisclosed sum. With the help of Lambda Legal, attorney Joyce L. Davis filed a lawsuit against the restaurant under the Americans with Disabilities Act, which protects people from being discriminated against based on their disabilities, as well as North Carolina law. Under the terms of the agreement, the restaurant will institute a policy ensuring that the restaurant does not discriminate against people with HIV, conduct trainings to educate all employees about the transmission of HIV, and pay an undisclosed monetary settlement.
Carmike cinema chain settles sex suit
Source: Associated Press, Charlotte
Observer
Date: September 28, 2005
Carmike Cinemas will pay $765,000 to settle claims that a manager sexually harassed teenage employees at a Raleigh theater, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said. Ten young men accused [a] former manager of fondling, kissing and groping them and then threatening to change their job duties when they spurned his advances, according to a lawsuit filed by the young men. The young men said they complained about [the] conduct, but their complaints were not investigated and [the manager] was not disciplined. Carmike operates 311 theaters with 2,450 screens in 37 states.
Judge: white man intimidated black co-worker
Source: Jim Sharp, Herald-Sun
Date: August 15, 2005
A white employee of the C.C. Mangum Co. was sentenced Monday for ethnic intimidation involving racist threats that left a black co-worker too upset to continue on the job. [David] Bennett was given a 30-day suspended jail sentence and fined $500 and court costs for the events, which occurred about a year ago at a construction site. [Gary] Kearse also prevailed on June 6 in [a] charge brought before the EEOC against C.C. Mangum. In that case, [the] EEOC Raleigh Area Director found that Kearse was "subjected to unwelcome racial comments and conduct by a white co-worker" and was forced to resign because Mangum failed to properly intervene in the "intolerable" harassment.
Winston-Salem Pays $25,000 to Settle Police Officer's Racial Suit
Source: Associated Press, Charlotte Observer
Date: March 26, 2004
The city of Winston-Salem is to pay a $25,000 settlement to a police officer who claimed that she was fired because she is white. A jury trial in Charlotte W. Disher's lawsuit, which cost the city more than $100,000 to defend even before the settlement, was scheduled to start Monday in federal court. U.S. District Judge William L. Osteen ruled in late February that race could have been a factor in Disher's firing, accepting her arguments that black officers in the department had committed offenses just as serious or more serious and had not been fired.
Circuit City Accused of Bias
Source: Herald Sun
Date: March 4, 2004
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed suit Wednesday against Circuit City Stores Inc. over alleged discrimination against a former Durham employee under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, a news release stated. According to the lawsuit, a supervisor at the Durham Circuit City store subjected former employee Olujimi "Jimi" Moses to a hostile work environment because of his disability. Moses suffers from sickle cell anemia and avascular necrosis, which causes the temporary or permanent loss of blood to the bones. The EEOC's complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, alleges that Moses' second-level supervisor harassed him by calling him names and making derogatory comments about his disability. Moses worked as a part-time sales associate for the Circuit City store from 1997 to 2001.
