Boss Watch: 6/6 – 6/13

Jacob Morrison

Illegal activities of Southern Bosses for the weeks between Friday, June 6, and Friday, June 13

Georgia Discriminators

Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Inc. (CHOA), a pediatric health care system based in Atlanta, will pay $50,000 and undertake remedial measures to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

The EEOC charged in its suit that, in March 2021, CHOA rescinded a job offer to an applicant who had sought a disability-related exemption to CHOA’s flu vaccination requirement. After receiving a job offer from CHOA for a registration associate position, the applicant requested an exemption from the flu vaccination requirement based on a severe allergy to eggs, which are often contained in the standard flu vaccination. Despite the applicant indicating a willingness to take an alternate form of the flu vaccine, CHOA rescinded the applicant’s job offer because of her disability, and instead filled the position with an internal candidate who had “no issue” receiving the flu vaccine.

This alleged conduct violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which prohibits disability discrimination. The EEOC filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process.

The court-approved consent decree settling the suit requires CHOA to provide monetary relief to the applicant; revise its flu vaccination policy; post a notice in the workplace informing employees of the settlement and of their rights against discrimination; and train relevant employees about their rights and responsibilities under the ADA. Moreover, CHOA agreed to provide the EEOC with periodic reports regarding any future complaints of disability discrimination related to its flu vaccine requirement, including a description of each employee’s allegations and the company’s response.

North Carolina Discriminators

North Carolina-based publishing company Champion Media, LLC will pay $102,500 and furnish other relief to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

According to the lawsuit, a deaf job applicant applied for a job at Champion Media’s printing facility in Lumberton, North Carolina. After participating in an initial conversation over the phone and with the assistance of a video relay service, the applicant, who met the requirements for the position, was selected for an in-person interview. The applicant requested that Champion Media provide a sign language interpreter as an accommodation for the interview. Instead of providing an interpreter, Champion Media canceled the interview and did not hire the applicant for the job, the EEOC said.

Such alleged conduct violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which prohibits companies from refusing to hire individuals because of a disability and, absent undue hardship, requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to job applicants during the hiring process. 

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

In addition to paying monetary damages, the three-year consent decree settling the lawsuit requires Champion Media to conduct annual trainings, post an employee notice, and submit periodic compliance reports to the EEOC.

Texas Thieves

The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $101,690 in back wages and damages owed to 31 employees of a Houston plumbing contractor who paid them a salary but failed to pay an overtime premium for hours over 40 in a workweek.

Investigators with the department’s Wage and Hour Division determined Amailey Plumbing LLC categorized service technicians and apprentice helpers as salaried employees and did not pay them the correct overtime rate as required by the Fair Labor Standards Act. The division calculated that the contractor owed $50,845 in back overtime wages and an equal amount in damages.

“The U.S. Department of Labor is committed to making sure every worker receives their rightfully earned wages,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Chad Frasier in Houston. “The outcome in this case should remind other employers to evaluate their pay practices in order to avoid sometimes costly compliance issues. Employers are encouraged to contact the Wage and Hour Division if they have any questions about compliance.”

Texas Polluters

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced a settlement agreement with Save 1900 Realty, LLC of Galveston, Texas, resolving alleged violations of the Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) rule. As part of the agreement, owner Michael Cordray will use the HGTV program “Restoring Galveston” to raise awareness about lead safety. The company will also produce a 30-60 second public service announcement highlighting lead safety measures, post it on their social media, and make it available to EPA for future use. Additionally, Save 1900 Realty will pay a $42,500 civil penalty for these violations. 

“Repairs and renovations in homes built before 1978 can create dangerous lead dust when companies do not comply with the Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting rule,”  said Deputy Assistant Administrator Cecil Rodrigues of EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “We are committed to holding companies accountable and protecting families from lead contamination.”

In 2019, Save 1900 Realty’s renovations at seven pre-1978 residential properties failed to meet RRP Rule requirements. Violations included failing to 1) perform work in accordance with the work practice standards, 2) obtain recertification before beginning renovations, 3) assign a certified renovator to each renovation, and 4) maintain records showing their compliance with RRP measures.  

Since the discovery of these violations, the company has obtained RRP firm certification and certified that it is presently in compliance with all requirements of Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and the RRP rule.  

Lead-contaminated dust from disturbed lead-based paint in homes built before 1978 is one of the most common causes of elevated blood lead levels. Even low levels of lead in blood are associated with developmental delays, difficulty learning, and behavioral issues. The effects of lead poisoning can be permanent among infants and children because their bodies are rapidly developing and more susceptible to taking in lead if exposed. 

In the past, the EPA has settled several other RRP enforcement cases associated with companies performing renovation projects on cable TV programs that air on HGTV / Discovery, the same network that airs Fixer to Fabulous, Maine Cabin Masters, Two Chicks and a Hammer, Magnolia Homes, Texas Flip N Move, and Rehab Addict and Bargain Mansions.

Crushed, Electrocuted

Workers die on the job every day in the United States – 100 workers every week. Frustratingly, most of these deaths are preventable, but they are often not investigated due to underfunding at OSHA, and often the community doesn’t even know it’s happened. Even though OSHA is even more hamstrung than before, there is sometimes a 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

This week, they found 22 stories of deaths on the job, including 8 from the South. 

A few lowlights:

  • Orlando, FL — Two construction workers were killed after a crane collapsed at a construction site. The construction site is for the new Cape Canaveral Hospital on Merritt Island, which is 57 miles southeast of Orlando. The area experienced heavy winds and rain on Wednesday, but the cause of the incident is under investigation, ABC News reported. After the crane collapsed, two individuals were transported to a nearby hospital, where they succumbed to their injuries, Brevard County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Tod Goodyear said. The two males are identified as 34-year-old, Isael Martinez of Haines City and 57-year-old, Hector Pozos of Kissimmee.  The two workers were pouring a concrete column when the crane collapsed on top of them.  Martinez was an employee of Baker Concrete and Pozos was a day laborer who was also working for Baker Concrete.
  • Ocean Ridge, FL — A tragic accident claimed the life of a 26-year-old man while he was trimming a tree. The Ocean Ridge Police Department (ORPD) told CBS12 News the electrocution occurred just before 11 a.m. Authorities believe the man — an independent subcontractor — may have accidentally struck an overhead power line while performing his duties at a home at 4 Beachway North in Ocean Ridge. Boynton Beach Fire Rescue responded to the scene around 10:50 a.m. after receiving reports of smoke in the air near David Lane. Upon arrival, firefighters located the worker, who was stuck in a tree near a live wire. Fire crews immediately contacted Florida Power & Light (FPL) to shut off power to the area. Police said that the outage was not directly caused by the accident itself. This marks the second fatal tree-trimming incident in Ocean Ridge this year. On January 28, another contractor lost his life in a horrific accident involving a wood chipper while working on a project at the Ocean Ridge Town Hall and Police Department property.

You can read more here.

Union Busters

Brought 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:

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.