Posts tagged "EEOC"

In a Federal workplace discrimination lawsuit against one of the largest trucking companies in the nation, Iowa's CRST Van Expedited Inc., a recent court ruling may make it more difficult for the victims of discrimination to pursue large discrimination cases against companies in Minnesota and other parts of the Midwest.

The lawsuit was filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on behalf of dozens of women working for CRST Van Expedited. The women allege they were groped, propositioned and even assaulted by male truck drivers during training rides. The case was expected to draw a judgment addressing workplace discrimination and sexual harassment, but instead got flipped on its head and turned into a trial for the EEOC.

Pepsi Beverages recently settled a national racial discrimination case filed in Minneapolis for $3.13 million. The majority of the money will go to black applicants for positions at the Fortune 500 Company. Pepsi used to deny applicants who had been arrested, though not convicted, even if the individuals had no prior criminal history. Additionally, the company tended to refuse to hire anyone found guilty of certain minor offenses, though those infractions were not typically related to the job or its duties.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's Minneapolis office found reasonable cause to file discrimination claims against Pepsi, saying the company's former criminal background check policy exhibited racial bias against African Americans, in violation of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, Title VII. The EEOC identified at least 300 African Americans who were negatively impacted by Pepsi's policy to disproportionately exclude black people from permanent employment.