Boss Watch: 4/25 – 5/9

Jacob Morrison

Illegal activities of Southern Bosses for the weeks between Friday, April 25, and Friday, May 9

Sorry for not getting this out last week – I got super caught up with work. So this is a two week round-up! Also, just want to put this note in the newsletter in case you didn’t hear it on the radio: we have OFFICIALLY shipped out ALL merch orders and fundraising drive gifts. We did that about two weeks ago now, so if you haven’t received something you’re expecting from us, then please let us know because there was some sort of mistake. Thanks so much for your support of the show!

Florida Discriminators

Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation and Marriott Ownership Resorts, Inc., which sell vacation timeshare programs for hotels and vacation clubs, violated federal law when they failed to accommodate an employee’s request not to work Saturdays so she could observe Sabbath, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit.

According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, management at Marriott Vacations Worldwide and Marriott Ownership Resorts initially allowed an employee, who is a Seventh-Day Adventist, a religious accommodation that allowed her to avoid Saturday shifts. After a change in management, the companies began scheduling her for Saturday shifts. After the employee made repeated complaints, they changed her schedule, negatively impacting her sales and commissions, and continued to schedule her for Saturdays, forcing her to choose between showing up to work and her religious practice. This led her to resign, the EEOC said.    

Such alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination because of an individual’s religion and requires employers to reasonably accommodate an employee’s religious observance or practice unless doing so would cause an undue hardship. 

The EEOC filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process.

“Employers need to remember that religious rights are not second-class rights, but rather part of our nation’s first principles,” said EEOC Acting Chair Andrea Lucas. “Employers should take compliance with religious accommodation requirements under Title VII as seriously as compliance with their disability and pregnancy accommodations obligations: very seriously.”

More Florida Discriminators

Three Florida construction parts and auto mechanic companies have agreed to pay $215,699 and furnish other relief to settle a race and national origin discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced.

According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, Trebor USA Corp., Colt Truck Care, LLC, and Wholesale Building Products, LLC, subjected Black and Hispanic employees to racial slurs, including supervisors calling employees the “N-word,” “lazy spic,” and “boys.” The EEOC further alleged that the company was aware of the harassment, as one of the supervisors had previously been disciplined for making racist comments in the workplace. Nevertheless, when one of the employees reported the abuse to human resources, he was fired within two weeks, the EEOC said.

This alleged conduct violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which protects individuals from workplace discrimination and harassment. The EEOC filed suit on Sept. 30, 2024 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.

In addition to over $215,000 in damages, the three-year consent decree settling the suit requires the companies to amend their equal employment opportunity policies; conduct training for human resources personnel, management personnel, and all non-supervisory employees; provide reports to the EEOC; and post anti-discrimination notices. In addition, the companies agreed to design an internal audit of the companies’ work assignments to ensure work is not assigned based on national origin and/or race.

“Employers must take reports of harassment seriously,” said Evangeline Hawthorne, district director for the EEOC’s Miami District. “When an employee complains, the law requires employers to thoroughly investigate and take effective action to remedy a hostile work environment.”

Texas Retaliators

The U.S. Department of Labor has filed suit against the U.S. Postal Service for wrongful termination of an employee who fell while delivering mail and reported the work-related injury.

An investigation by the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration found the USPS violated the whistleblower provisions of the Occupational Safety and Health Act by firing the worker on
Feb. 27, 2024, 10 days after the injury was reported.

The department’s suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, asks the court to hold USPS liable for illegal retaliation and require payment of back wages and damages. 

OSHA’s Whistleblower Protection Program enforces the whistleblower provisions of 25 whistleblower statutes protecting employees from retaliation for reporting violations of workplace airline, anti-money laundering, commercial motor carrier, consumer product, criminal antitrust, environmental, financial reform, food safety, health insurance reform, maritime, motor vehicle safety, nuclear, pipeline, public transportation agency, railroad, safety and health, securities and tax laws. For more information on whistleblower protections, visit OSHA’s Whistleblower Protection Programs webpage.

Fell, Drowned, Crushed

So far under the Trump administration, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is not being as public with its investigations. Last month they concluded a few investigations – but those were begun under the Biden administration. Even so, workers are still dying on the job – typically 100 workers every week in the US. Even though OSHA is even more hamstrung than before, there is sometimes small news story whenever someone dies at work because it’s such a terrible thing to happen in a community. 

On the Confined Space Newsletter – set up by Jordan Barab, a former OSHA official – they compile as many news stories on worker deaths as he can find every week. In addition to this newsletter, they regularly host commentary and analysis pieces about labor and workplace safety. You can find it all at jordanbarab.com/confinedspace

The last two weeks, they found 38 stories, including 18 from the South. 

A few lowlights:

  • Port Arthur, TX — A work-related accident left three workers dead and two others injured in Port Arthur, according to the authorities. A scaffolding reportedly malfunctioned at the construction site and three workers fell off. The three workers died in the accident. Two other workers on the scaffolding did not fall and sustained non-life-threatening injuries. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is working to determine the cause of the accident. The victims were identified as Felix Jose Lopez, 42; Felipe Mendez, 25; and Reginald Magee, 41. Lopez and Mendez were pronounced dead at the scene. Magee was taken to a local hospital where he later succumbed to his injuries.
  • Bryan County, GA – Georgia authorities say the body of a worker has been found after he went missing nearly three weeks ago. According to the Bryan County Sheriff’s Office, Jose Garcia Hernandez fell into the Ogeechee River from an Interstate 95 bridge on April 7 while helping paint the overpass. A search and rescue was initiated to find Hernandez, but deputies said there was no sign of him until last Thursday. Around 4 p.m., the sheriff’s office said it received a call from the Ford Field & River Club reporting a strong odor coming from its dock. Upon arrival, deputies and an assisting investigator located a body beneath a private dock at the club that matched the description of Hernandez. Authorities said the man’s family has also been notified.
  • Union, KY — A man in northern Kentucky who was working underneath a concrete dump truck was crushed by the vehicle when it fell on him.  According to the Boone County Sheriff’s Office, the man was working on a hydraulic line when the line failed. The dump truck bed fell on top of the man, crushing him. Fire crews managed to free the man from the massive vehicle, but he died at the scene.
  • Pollock, LA — A workplace accident killed an Olla man. At the scene, deputies and the Fire Department reportedly discovered that 26-year-old Britt Gilliam had been injured in a workplace accident. Gilliam later died at the hospital. This is the second reported death from a workplace accident at Hunt Plywood since 2024.
  • Birmingham, AL — A contract worker for Alabama Power was killed after being hit by a falling tree in Birmingham over the weekend. The Jefferson County Coroner’s Office on Monday identified the victim as Jeffrey Scott Duffie. He was 57 and lived in Daviston in Tallapoosa County. Duffie worked for Utility Line Construction Services. The company had contracted with Alabama Power to perform power line repairs from the strong storms that happened Friday night and into Saturday. A second victim was taken to the hospital with undisclosed injuries.

You can read more here.

Union Busters

to you by LaborLab: The nation’s leading watchdog standing with working families to stop employer coercion and intimidation. Visit www.laborlab.us for more info.

Here are the new filings from this week:

In addition, the following LM-20s were amended:

  • Pantera Consulting amended their LM-20 for Amazon (IL) to add their compensation rate ($375/hour), add the union (Teamsters), and add the employer EIN
  • LRI Consulting Services added a sub-contractor (Sam Lard) to their LM-20 for BlueOval SK (KY)
    • Blue Oval is another really important test for the UAW in their campaign to organize the Southern non-union automotive manufacturers

As a reminder, due to a lack of enforcement, some labor relations consultants may disregard the law and fail to report their activities to the U.S. Department of Labor. Therefore, it’s crucial for organizers and workers to report suspected “persuader” activity to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS).

It’s crucial for organizers and workers to report suspected “persuader” activity to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS). You can reach them via email at  OLMS-Public@dol.gov, by calling (202) 693-0123, or by contacting your nearest OLMS District Office.

For assistance, please contact LaborLab at contact@laborlab.us.