Last week, Uber remained in the headlines. The results of an independent investigation into harassment complaints at Uber were shared with Uber employees. The investigation examined 215 claims of harassment at Uber, and resulted in the firing of more than 20 employees. In addition, 31 employees were required to undergo counseling or training, and 7 employees were given written warnings. Uber’s board met over the weekend to hear the results of a separate investigation of Uber’s workplace practices performed by former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder. The board reportedly “unanimously voted” to adopt the recommendations in that report, including potential changes in executive leadership. Partial results of the Holder investigation are expected to be released publicly on Tuesday this week.
Discrimination
The EEOC announced that Prince George’s County, Maryland has agreed to pay
$145,402 and furnish significant equitable relief to settle an Equal Pay Act discrimination lawsuit alleging that the county paid men more than a woman performing substantially equal work.
Former UPS employees who are Muslim alleged in a lawsuit that their manager at a Minnesota UPS facility refused to allow them to
pray at work outside of break times and then fired those who did not comply with the new directive.
The U.S Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
asked the EEOC to submit its opinion on whether Title VII covers sexual orientation discrimination.
Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta
defended the administration’s proposal to save $17 million by merging the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs—the federal office that enforces civil rights among federal contractors—with the EEOC.
Technology
Wage and Hour
The Department of Labor
withdrew its 2015 and 2016 informal guidance on joint employment and independent contractors.
Thousands of Chipotle workers sued the company for
unpaid overtime wages, arguing that the company must comply with an Obama-era overtime rule that a federal court has enjoined the Department of Labor from enforcing.
A federal judge gave preliminary approval to a
$6.2 million settlement of a class action suit in which call-center based nurses working for Permanente Medical Group Inc. alleged they weren’t compensated for time spent starting up and shutting down their computers.
