Topless Activist Secures Settlement in Fight for the Right to Bare her Boobies

As a follow-up to one of my earlier posts, one Woman in New York City, who was repeatedly arrested and detained for not wearing a shirt, finally sued the city for her multiple wrongful arrests and detentions because, as she pointed out, toplessness is not a crime. Not in New York City anyway. And that is true. But police officers there apparently still arrest and detain women for it, despite being repeatedly reminded of the laws, at which point the charges are presumably dismissed as nonexistent. Well, this lady finally settled her lawsuit against the city for $40,000 because, as she acknowledged, she would not play well to a judge or jury . . . not without a shirt (assuming she would also show up shirtless to court).

Topless Activist Wins $40,000 Settlement From City for Boob Freedom - nymag.com

Earlier information about the legality of toplessness in New York:

Cops Reminded Repeatedly That Exposed Boobs Are Not a Crime - nymag.com

Southwest Virginia Community Health System Settles Sexual Harassment Suit

Southwest Virginia Community Health System (SVCHS) in Saltville, VA has settled a sexual harassment suit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on behalf of a female receptionist at the Troutdale, VA clinic. The receptionist alleged that she was sexually harassed by a male patient at the clinic and that the company failed to take action to stop the harassment after she complained about it.

Southwest Virginia Community Health System to Pay $30,000 to Settle EEOC Sexual Harassment Suit - EEOC Press Release

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Settles Sex Discrimination Suit

A female border protection agent in upstate Maine, who worked at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Coburn Gore facility near the Canadian border, filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Customs and Border Protection for sex discrimination after suffering years of bullying at work based on her gender. This woman's charming male supervisor allegedly made numerous comments to her about how a woman's place is in the kitchen where she'd better have dinner "hot and ready." She also made allegations of incidents of physical harassment in addition to the ongoing verbal harassment, and she claimed she was eventually terminated from her job on trumped up charges.

Well, lucky for her boss, she had a lawsuit "hot and ready" for him! And now Customs has settled the case for $285,000. Unfortunately, the nasty boss still works there, seemingly with no real consequences or repercussions (an all too common occurrence), and she is now working as a store clerk. Hopefully this money will help her get back on her feet and back into law enforcement where she wants to be.

Maine Border Protection Agent Wins Six-Figure Discrimination Settlement - mpbn.net

Former Highest-Ranking Female Executive at Booz Allen Hamilton Settles Sex Discrimination Suit

At one time, Molly Finn was the highest-ranking female executive at large defense contracting company Booz Allen Hamilton. This is a company where only about 20% of the partners are female. Ms. Finn, who began working at Booz in 1986, claims that the higher she got up in the ranks, the more discrimination she experienced, because of what she and others call a glass ceiling, which seeks to get rid of women before they advance any further. (We wouldn't want them taking over the company, aahhh!) Ms. Finn says that another executive at the company told her to "stop saying 'pro-woman, feminist things'" if she wanted to keep her job. Eventually, Booz fired her in 2010. She filed suit in 2011 and has now settled the suit. Naturally, Booz has admitted no wrongdoing, but a female spokeswoman for the company did point out that, "The higher you go in the firm . . . the risk is higher." The risk of what exactly? The risk of a discriminatory termination, maybe? Hm, cryptic words indeed from a company woman.

Another female executive of Booz, Margo Fitzpatrick, who began working at Booz in 1999, was also fired in 2010 and also filed suit in 2011 for the same reasons. Her suit is ongoing.

Booz Allen Hamilton Settles Lawsuit with Former High-Ranking Female Executive - The Washington Post

Destination Tahoe Hotel Settles in Sexual Harassment Suit

A Tahoe Ski Resort company called Destination Tahoe Hotel is shelling out $30k for a sexual harassment suit brought against it by the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The lawsuit alleged that a male manager sexually harassed a female subordinate (a food server) and that the company then demoted her after she complained about it.

Tahoe Ski Resort Settles EEOC Suit for Sexual Harassment and Retaliation - EEOC Press Release

Owners of Angelo's Pizza and Grill in Buffalo, NY Settle Sexual Harassment Suit Against Them

Wow, the 3 male owners of Angelo's Pizza & Grill in Buffalo, NY seem to have gotten away with a pretty good deal for a sexual harassment lawsuit brought by 7 female subordinates. They are only paying $35,000 total for all 7 claimants in a settlement with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), who brought the suit on behalf of the 7 females. These females alleged that all 3 male owners sexually harassed them over a 7 to 8-year period, including groping their breasts, grabbing their asses, simulating sex with phallic objects held between their legs, regularly talking about blow jobs and sex, and even locking one in the food cooler and forcibly fondling her in the dark. Gross. They also alleged that 2 of them were fired for complaining about it. Sounds like these pizza boys got off easy! Well, at least these ladies got a little slice of the pie, and (hopefully) the (alleged) pizza perverts did not get the pie they were after!

Angelo's Pizza & Grill Settles EEOC Sexual Harassment Lawsuit for $35,000 - EEOC Press Release

Platinum Oil Company Pays $100,000 in Pregnancy Discrimination Suit

Platinum, PTS, Inc. of Laredo, Texas has settled a lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for $100,000. The EEOC alleged that the company fired a female employee after she asked for time off for a miscarriage.

Texas Oil Company Owes $100,000 For Pregnancy Bias - hr.blr.com

Wesleyan University Settles in Title IX Fraternity Rape Lawsuit

There was another Title IX settlement last week in Middleton, Connecticut as well. Wesleyan University settled in a Title IX lawsuit against it, which alleged that the school failed to "supervise, discipline, warn or take other corrective action" against the Beta Theta Pi fraternity after a female student was sexually assaulted at their fraternity house. The lawsuit alleged that the University knew the Beta House, dubbed "The Rape Factory," was a notoriously dangerous place for women and had been the site of multiple previous assaults, but the college failed to take adequate measures to prevent students from future assaults. The survivor, a freshman, did not know about the house's history.

The lawsuit also alleged that the survivor was tormented on campus after the assault by supporters of the Beta House and that the University failed to protect her from this continued harassment and retraumatization. She eventually had to transfer to a different school. The rapist already pleaded guilty last year but received a paltry 15-month prison sentence. Hopefully this courageous survivor will find some peace of mind now that the lawsuit has concluded.

Wesleyan, Frat Settle Conn. Rape Victim's Lawsuit - boston.com

Court Documents Show Settlement In Wesleyan Rape Lawsuit - The Courant

WilcoHess, Operator of Wendy's and Travel Plaza Stores, Settles Sexual Harassment Lawsuit in Alabama for $215,000

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed a lawsuit against WilcoHess, a company that operates more than 400 stores and restaurants, including Wendy's Restaurants and Travel Plaza Stores. The complaint alleges that a district manager at a WilcoHess Wendy's Restaurant and Travel Plaza Store in Tuskogee, Alabama sexually harassed many of his female subordinates and that the company failed to take appropriate action to stop the harassment for years. The company has now settled the case for $215,000.

WilcoHess Settles EEOC Sexual Harassment Lawsuit for $215,000 - EEOC Press Release

Occidental College in L.A. Settles in Title IX Sexual Assault Lawsuit

At least 10 female students at Occidental College in Los Angeles, CA filed a complaint against the college under Title IX of the Civil Rights Act for failing to respond appropriately to their allegations of sexual assault. Although there were only 10 or so plaintiffs in the case, there were at least 37 female students who claimed to have suffered from similar problems with the school. Now, Occidental College and the 10 or so female students have reached a settlement in the case.

Occidental College Settles with Students in Sexual Assault Case - L.A. Times

Colleges and universities who receive federal funding have a legal obligation to protect students from sexual assault under Title IX. Unfortunately, these institutions frequently go to great lengths to silence such allegations and discourage survivors from reporting or pursuing their allegations because of the negative publicity associated with such incidents. The obvious concern is that if potential students find out that a campus is unsafe, they will not want to pay to go to school there. However, a school cannot ignore its obligations under federal civil rights laws in order to advance its own monetary agenda.

There was a landmark case in Colorado a few years ago that made these types of cases easier to pursue. (U. of Colorado at Boulder Settles Lawsuit Over Alleged Rapes at Football Recruiting Party for $2.85 Million - titleix.info.) But they still remain very challenging cases. This is probably one of the few cases of this kind that has actually turned out well for the survivors. Congratulations to them.

Virginia Tech Pays $155,000 to Settle Pay Discrimination Case

Interesting legal chronology in this case: Plaintiff goes all the way through a jury trial, a jury of her peers finds in her favor on BOTH claims, and THEN the judge decides unilaterally to TOSS OUT the jury decision because he did not agree with it, tossing out one claim completely and ordering a new trial on the other claim. I'm not sure what basis the judge had for this, but undermining a jury verdict like that seems entirely unAmerican to me. So the Plaintiff has to go ALL THE WAY through a SECOND jury trial, in which the second jury finds against her on the one remaining claim and she loses, and then all the way through an appeal in which the appeals court reverses the second jury's finding against her and reinstates her one remaining claim--none of which would have happened if the judge would not have gone against the original jury in the first place. What a headache!

Virginia Tech Settles Lawsuit Over Retaliation - Times Dispatch

Bank of America Pays Out $39 Million for Gender Discrimination

Bank of America (BoA) has settled the gender discrimination case filed against it for $39 million. The suit was brought by about 4,800 female brokers and financial advisors who worked for both BoA and Merrill Lynch (which BoA acquired). What a huge settlement! Sadly, it's probably just a drop in the bucket for Behemoth BoA.

Bank of America to Pay $39 Million in Gender Bias Case - New York Times

Bank of America Settles Gender Bias Suit - Washington Post

Snow Hill, Maryland Liquor Control Board Settles Pay Discrimination Suit

The Liquor Control Board in Snow Hill, Worcester County, Maryland, has settled with three former female employees who sued the Board for pay discrimination. I'll drink to that!

Worcester County Settles Gender Pay Claim; Women to be Compensated - delmarvanow.com

Worcester County Will Pay $60,000 to Resolve EEOC Pay Discrimination Lawsuit - EEOC Press Release

Rivers Executive Philip Goodman Settles Sexual Harassment Case in Australia

In a sexual harassment suit brought against Philip Goodman of Melbourne, Australia by one of his female subordinate employees, Goodman just decided to settle in the middle of trial, right before two additional female subordinate employees were about to testify against him by talking about how he did basically the same thing to them. Good looking out, ladies!

Rivers Boss Philip Goodman Settles Sexual Harassment Case - Melbourne Herald Sun