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Union Pacific Employee?s Hostile Work Environment Suit Can Include Acts Outside Statutory Period.
Posted by: Melville Johnson, P.C.
May 23, 2008

Mr. Ranee Tademy worked for Union Pacific as a foreman. He subsequently alleged that beginning in 1995 he was subjected to verbal and written harassment including racist messages written on his locker, numerous instances of racist graffiti, and being called "boy" by a fellow supervisor. According to Mr. Tademy, he complained but either the complaints were not investigated by Union Pacific, or, when employees were disciplined, the discipline was rescinded. Mr. Tademy eventually complained to the Utah Antidiscrimination & Labor Division, and received a right-to-sue letter in 2002. He then met with his unit superintendent and said he did not wish to sue, but simply wanted to work without harassment.

In 2003, Mr. Tademy was randomly drug-tested during three consecutive weeks...

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Age Bias Suit Nets Attorneys Fee Award
Posted by: Melville Johnson, P.C.
May 16, 2008

In September, 2005, a jury awarded a Plaintiff, Mr. Gunnar Steward, $92,985 in back pay and $148,000 in front pay for a claim of age discrimination against Sears Roebuck & Company. The verdict was overturned in June, 2006, by the District Court Judge, who determined that Mr. Steward had failed to show that he was replaced by "sufficiently younger" employees. The judge's ruling was later reversed by the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

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11th Circuit Sends Sexual Harassment Claim for Offensive Radio Program at Work to Jury
Posted by: Melville Johnson, P.C.
May 15, 2008

The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleven Circuit overruled a district court decision to dismiss an Alabama Plaintiff's sexual harassment lawsuit on grounds that offensive language and behavior was not aimed directly at the Plaintiff. The Plaintiff, who worked at the C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc. Birmingham, Alabama office, complained that she was subjected to sexually offensive language that permeated the work environment on a daily basis. The Plaintiff, who was the only female employee in her work area...

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District Court holds UPS liable in ADA Discrimination Lawsuit
Posted by: Melville Johnson, P.C.
May 09, 2008

Paul Warren had worked as a UPS package delivery driver for three years when he was diagnosed with epilepsy. Following this diagnosis, he opted to temporarily stop working at UPS. A year later, Mr. Warren was cleared to work a non-driving position at UPS and he was eventually given a non-driving position with a limited amount of overtime. The pay of the non-driving position represented a $300 decrease from the weekly pay he enjoyed as a driver. Later that same year, Mr. Warren was medically cleared by a UPS physician to work as a package car driver. However, Mr. Warren was not eligible for a Department of Transportation ("DOT") commercial driver's license ("DOT card"), because he had been diagnosed with epilepsy and was taking seizure medication. Although federal law required a DOT card only for drivers of vehicles weighing 10,001 pounds or more, UPS policy required all of its drivers to have DOT cards.

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