Violation of Labor Laws by Employers: Court Cases You Should Know

Case #1: Reverse Discrimination Alleged by EEOC 

Employment law attorneys have predicted that reverse discrimination would get more attention from EEOC this year, and that has apparently started to materialize. A “franchised bottler” for Coca-Cola sponsored what was initially described as a 2-day networking trip for its female employees in September, 2024. They have now been charged with violation of Title VII because males were “not invited.” The women were excused from their duties but paid their full wages; the men were not similarly excused, hence the discriminatory treatment. The company has since clarified that it was a one-day trip and maintains that their “full story” will prevail in front of a jury. 

Regardless of the outcome, this can serve as a cautionary note for employers in general. 

Case #2: Misclassifying Independent Consultants 

A company that provides home health care has been sued by the DOL for misclassifying its employees as independent contractors instead of employees, allegedly to avoid paying them overtime. EEOC won summary judgements regarding worker classification and recordkeeping deficiencies, but withheld judgement on a dispute over whether some overtime was paid. The court also said a jury should decide whether the violations were inadvertent or willful, and how much should potentially be paid. According to EEOC, the unpaid overtime totaled $5.9 million. 

Case #3: Pregnancy Discrimination  

A female software engineer at Google had a pregnancy terminated due to a medical complication; she took 5 days of sick leave and 4 weeks of bereavement leave. When she returned, she claimed she received low ratings on her performance despite completing all requirements and attending all required meetings. Within a year after returning, she became pregnant again and informed her supervisor it would likely be a high-risk pregnancy. A few weeks later, she fell, and her OB requested that she take FMLA leave. She was terminated one day after beginning the leave. A summary of the actions of her supervisor comprises violations of both the FMLA and the Washington state anti-discrimination law, including the addition of increasingly rigorous deadlines and requirements. (This was not the first time Google has been accused of pregnancy discrimination.)