(LEGAFI) -- A group of Capital Grille employees say they are planning to file a discrimination lawsuit against the high-end steakhouse chain’s owner, Darden Restaurants, Inc., claiming the company gives lucrative "front-of-house" positions to white workers and relegates the low-end jobs to “people of color.”

The restaurant workers will charge in the Capital Grille lawsuit that they were subjected to racial discrimination and violations of state and federal labor laws.
They will also claim that white workers at Capital Grille are given lucrative “front-of-house” positions such as waiter or bartender, while many lower paying “back-of-house” jobs like washing dishes or preparing food are given to people of color, according to Restaurant Opportunities Centers United (ROC), an advocate on industry wages and working conditions.

 

The wage and labor lawsuit will also allege that Capital Grille forced employees to work without pay, did not provide rest breaks to workers, and forced tipped employees to share their tips with non-tipped workers.

Darden is considered one of the country’s “best companies to work for” according to Fortune magazine, and is also one of the few large U.S. corporations led by a chief executive who is a minority.

A Darden spokesman said the company has repeatedly asked for details about the allegations in the lawsuit, but has received no answer.

"If they have something specific, we want to look into it," said Darden spokesman Rich Jeffers. "Darden Restaurants is very proud of the work environment that it creates for employees."

(LEGAFI) -- NBC late night talk show host Jimmy Fallon has been hit with a gender discrimination lawsuit by his former stage manager, who claims he was demoted and then fired and replaced by a “totally incompetent woman” simply because Fallon “prefers to take direction from a woman.”

Paul Tarascio alleges in the gender bias lawsuit that he was demoted in 2010, the year after Fallon took the late night position at NBC. The network is also being sued for gender discrimination.

According to Tarascio’s lawsuit, Fallon’s director told him, “Jimmy just prefers to take direction from a woman.” Tarascio claims in the lawsuit he was a victim of gender bias, and that “other male staffers, such as audio technicians and a Prop-Master were also replaced by women at Jimmy’s request.”

Tarascio first filed a gender discrimination complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the New York Division of Human Rights last year. At that time, NBS issued a statement saying, “We have yet to see any of the charges. Any claim of sexual discrimination is without merit." NBC has not yet commented on the lawsuit.

 

Tarascio is seeking punitive damages and lost wages in his gender discrimination lawsuit against Jimmy Fallon and NBC.

(LEGAFI) -- A national insurance company has agreed to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit filed on behalf of a recovering drug addict who was denied a job because he was taking methadone.

According to the disability discrimination lawsuit, United Insurance Company of America discriminated against the applicant, Craig Burns, who is a recovering drug addict who has been enrolled in a methadone treatment program since 2004. In January 2010, United Insurance offered Burns a position as an insurance agent on the condition he passed a drug test. When Burns’ drug test showed the presence of methadone in his system, Burns submitted a letter to the company from his treatment provider explaining that he was participating in supervised methadone treatment and taking legally prescribed medication as part of the treatment. After receiving this information, United Insurance notified Burns that he was not eligible for hire and withdrew its offer of employment.

Such conduct violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which protects employees and applicants from discrimination based on their disabilities. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed the lawsuit on Burns’ behalf after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.

Under the settlement agreement, United Insurance will pay Burns $37,500 and furnish other relief to resolve the methadone disability discrimination lawsuit.

United Insurance will sign a two-year consent decree that requires United Insurance to conduct training on, among other things, an employer’s obligation to conduct an individualized assessment in determining whether an employee or applicant is disabled under the ADA; appropriate methods of determining whether an employee or applicant poses a direct threat under the ADA; and the obligation to engage in an interactive process under the ADA when an employee or applicant requests a reasonable accommodation. United Insurance will also post a copy of its anti-discrimination policy at its headquarters in St. Louis.

“The ADA requires employers to make an individualized assessment of whether an individual can do the job rather than relying on fears or stereotypes,” said Lynette A. Barnes, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Charlotte District, which includes the Raleigh Area Office, where the original charge of discrimination was filed. “We are pleased that, in resolving this case, United Insurance is taking action to ensure that it fulfills its obligations under the ADA.”

(LEGAFI) -- Eight California car washes have been ordered to pay a combined settlement of over $1 million to employees who were underpaid and treated unfairly in the past. The settlement is the result of a civil lawsuit filed by Attorney General Kamala D. Harris, who targeted car wash owners in Fair Oaks, Folsom, Irvine, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Santa Monica, San Ramon and Venice who did not pay their workers appropriate wages, denied them rest and meal breaks, and created false time records.

"Workers at these car washes were taken advantage of by unscrupulous employers who illegally denied them the pay and benefits they earned,” Harris said in a statement. “I am pleased that the resolution of this case will allow workers to receive the pay they are owed.”

Investigators uncovered evidence showing the car washes routinely denied workers minimum wages and overtime, failed to pay wages owed to those who quit or were terminated, denied rest and meal breaks, and created false records of time worked.

The wage lawsuit said the car washes required employees to report to work several hours in advance and be available, unpaid, until business picked up. When workers were paid, many received paychecks that could not be cashed because of insufficient company funds. Additionally, the car washes operated for years without licenses from the Labor Commissioner, which are required under California law.

The lawsuit alleged that the car washes violated California Business & Professions Code section 17200 and Labor Code sections 203 and 203.1, sought lost wages and civil penalties, and an injunction to prevent the defendants from committing similar violations in the future.

Along with more than $1 million in restitution of unpaid wages and civil penalties, the car washes are required to pay $50,000 in employment taxes

(LEGAFI) -- A former employee at a California car dealership partially owned by former Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway is alleging he and other workers were routinely subjected to racial discrimination.

The former sales manager claims in the racial discrimination lawsuit that he and other minority employees at John Elway’s Manhattan Beach Toyota were denied promotions and opportunities based on their race.

The Plaintiff says he didn’t get a promotion he deserved despite eight years of successful employment because he is African American, and did not receive a pay raise. He also claims the dealership’s general manager used ethnic slurs against black, Latino and Middle Eastern employees.

A lawyer for the dealership says the racial discrimination lawsuit has numerous inaccuracies and the allegations don’t have appear to have merit.