Tag Archives: discrimination in the workplace

Age Discrimination in Employment Act

‘Apprentisaurus’ Age Claim Is Now Extinct

A court decision out of Illinois involved a slew of age-discriminatory comments from co-workers.

Several co-workers called Jeffrey Kawczynski the “apprentisaurus” and one wrote the epithet on his work helmet, Kawczynski said.  Others referred to him as “old man” and “old Jeff,” and even used crude, demeaning comments like “dog nuts” and “pig pen.” And one supervisor asked him his age.

Kawczynski claimed to be tortured to the point of depression by this treatment, and stopped work as a result.  But the comments were not enough for him to survive summary judgment on his age discrimination and hostile work environment claim against F.E. Moran, Inc., his employer.

Why not?  Let us be good students and count the ways, which help explain why every unpleasant work experience does not rise to the level of a viable lawsuit.

First, most of the comments were by co-workers and not supervisors, and stopped years before his employment ended.

Second, he never reported the comments to his union representatives or company human resources, and admits that the comments did not affect his work and eventually stopped.

Third, the supervisor who asked about his age was not a decision-maker at the time his termination ended.

Fourth, Kawczynski admittedly chose not to return to work in 2013 – he was not fired, even if he anticipated termination coming at some point in the future.  As such, he did not suffer an adverse employment action.

Fifth, and finally, many of the hostile comments did not suggest animus against him based on age – “pig pen” and “dog nuts” certainly are not desirable nicknames, but they also are not ageist.

So . . . before panicking about the next claim of outrageous language at work, think about the lessons from “Apprentisaurus,” break down the details alleged, and don’t go “dog nuts.”

Michael Homans is a Labor & Employment attorney and founding partner of HomansPeck LLC. For more employment law updates, including news and links to important information pertaining to legal developments that may affect your business, subscribe to Michael’s blog, or follow him on Twitter @EmployLawUpdate.

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Discrimination in the Workplace, Employee Rights, Pregnancy Discrimination Act

AutoZone Lawyers Crash into the $186 Million Pregnancy Zone.

Pregnant woman at work with laptop looking stressedCertain types of employment lawsuits, like certain cars, are more dangerous than others, as AutoZone Stores – and its legal department – recently learned the hard way.

Store manager Rosario Juarez claimed she was harassed, demoted and terminated because of her sex and pregnancy, and was a victim of a “glass ceiling” at the company. She presented an array of damaging facts at trial, including that after years of successful employment and promotions, within one month of disclosing her pregnancy she was asked to take a lower position due to her pregnancy and suffered “more aggressive, mean and critical” supervision. When she complained to the human resources department, nothing was done and the record of her complaint was destroyed, she claimed. She also put forward evidence that the vice president of operations had said, “what are we running here, a boutique? Get rid of those women.”

This all sounds pretty bad, right? It gets worse. After she filed a charge of discrimination with the California state government, she was fired, with the company blaming her – apparently falsely – for a missing cash envelope.

At trial last year, a jury awarded her $872,720 in economic damages and emotional distress, and a whopping $185 million in punitive damages. The jury’s exorbitant award reflects, in part, how strongly our society feels about the mistreatment of pregnant women.

Late last year a federal judge affirmed the punitive damages award. In an opinion that should send chills down the spines of in-house counsel, the court noted that it was lawful to hold the company responsible for willful violation of the law as the jury could have found that AutoZone’s legal department “committed, authorized and/or ratified” the malicious, discriminatory actions. AutoZone is expected to appeal.
The case highlights that certain plaintiffs – the pregnant, the ill, the injured, the old and the weak (as well as those who selflessly care for them) – are more sympathetic than others, especially when they have a solid work history, as Ms. Juarez apparently did.

Don’t let this happen in your workplace – get in the zone – the empathy zone.

Michael Homans is a Labor & Employment attorney and founding partner of HomansPeck LLC. For more employment law updates, including news and links to important information pertaining to legal developments that may affect your business, subscribe to Michael’s blog, or follow him on Twitter @EmployLawUpdate.

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