This month, a lawsuit filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against Tyson Foods Inc. was settled for $35,000. The case involved a man with epilepsy who had applied to work in a maintenance position, but was denied employment based soley on his medical condition. The applicant has been able to control his epilepsy with medication for 12 years.

According to the lawsuit, the applicant had worked for Tyson twice previously. When he went to apply again, the company had added a medical test to their hiring process. The worker agreed to be examined by a doctor for the application, but claimed that the doctor did not properly examine him, using oudated medical knowledge and judging him on his medical history. The doctor did not pass the applicant and he was unable to be hired.

With the settlement, Tyson agrees to use a different medical testing system that will allow applicants to be tested up to three times if they are not happy with the doctor paid for by the company. Compensation awarded to the worker covered damages and back pay.

If you have been discriminated against by an employer based on a disability, contact the Houston disability discrimination lawyers of Ross Law Group at 713-482-6910 to learn more about your rights.

Earlier this month, a woman who says she was fired for asking to pump milk at work had her case denied by a U.S. District Court judge in Houston. According to the judge, after the day the mother gave birth "she was no longer pregnant and her pregnancy-related conditions ended. Firing someone because of lactation or breast-pumping is not sex discrimination."

Other lower-level courts have issued similar decisions, but no appeals court or supreme court has made a ruling on pumping at work that would establish precedent. During maternity leave, the mother contacted supervisors to inform them that she would need to pump in a back room upon her return to the office. A week later, the mother was terminated.

New health care laws require employers to allow for women to pump, but they do not say anything about firing a woman for asking to do so. The mother has said of asking to breast pump, "I didn't think I would get the boot for it. It didn't really make sense to me."

To speak with an attorney about gender discrimination or any other kind of discrimination in the workplace, contact the Houston gender discrimination lawyers of Ross Law Group by calling 713-482-6910 today.

Two Houston bartenders recently filed sexual harassment and discrimination charges with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The agency filed suit against the owner of the two bars where the bartenders worked in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas in January.

The bartenders reported to the EEOC that they had suffered sexual harassment in their workplace from 2006-2008. Sexual harassment involving groping and self-exposure was inflicted on the two women by the restaurants' franchise owner. The women complained about the harassment to the restaurants' corporate human resources department and a store manager, but the harassment continued.

Then, the women took their complaints to the EEOC. After reporting the harassment to the EEOC, the owner retaliated against the bartenders, scheduling one bad hours and firing the other. Harassment continued, and the remaining bartender quit her job.

If you or someone you know quit their job because they were being sexually harassed in the workplace, they have the right to pursue claims of constructive discharge, harassment, and discrimination. Contact the Houston constructive discharge attorneys of Ross Law Group at 713-482-6910 to learn more about how we can help you.

Recent investigations into the University Health System hospital in San Antonio, also known as the Bexar County Hospital District, revealed that it had violated the Family and Medical Leave Act by forcing a former employee to take continuous leave when she requested intermittent leave.  Officials with the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD) performed the investigation.

The WHD found that a former employee at the hospital asked for intermittent leave because of a chronic health condition she suffers.  According to officials, the employee's job could have been performed while she was on intermittent leave, but the hospital refused her request and forced her to take continuous leave.

On continuous leave for 3 months, the hospital employee took more time off than she wanted or needed to, and, as a result, did not earn as much as she usually would or as much as she would have if she had been permitted to take intermittent leave.  The hospital will pay the employee $7,915 to make up for the wages she lost while on continuous leave.

If you have questions about your rights under the Family and Medical Leave Act, contact the Houston family and medical leave lawyers of Ross Law Group by calling 800-634-8042 today.