Boss Watch: 6/27 – 7/4

Jacob Morrison

Illegal activities of Southern Bosses for the weeks between Friday, June 27, and Friday, July 4

Georgia Discriminators

1st Franklin Financial Corporation, a consumer lender with more than 370 branches throughout the southeastern United States, violated federal law by discriminating against a class of employees when it denied them reasonable accommodations and then fired them because of their disabilities, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit it recently filed.

According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, 1st Franklin has denied reasonable accommodations to its employees with disabilities since 2022 and offered no alternative accommodations, including when its employees requested leave as an accommodation. The EEOC’s complaint charged that a former customer service representative had multiple medical conditions contributing to heart attacks requiring hospitalization. He requested a short leave of absence until he expected to be released from the hospital, but the company denied the request and terminated him.

Such alleged conduct violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which requires reasonable accommodation of disabilities and prohibits employers from discharging an employee because of their disability or because they engaged in protected activity. The EEOC filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Division, after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement via its conciliation process. The EEOC is seeking back pay, front pay, compensatory damages and punitive damages for the defendants’ former employees, as well as injunctive relief to prevent future discrimination.

Georgia Harassers

Action Insulation Co., a general contractor specializing in insulation installation and asbestos abatement located in Port Wentworth, Georgia, violated federal law by subjecting its office manager to sexual harassment by its owner, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit it recently filed.

The EEOC alleges that Action Insulation’s owner, who is also its founder and chief executive officer, subjected the female office manager to sexual harassment, including by making unwanted sexual comments and jokes, showing her lewd photographs, slapping her buttocks, pulling her hair, and otherwise touching her in an unwanted manner. The agency asserts the office manager resisted the owner’s advances and complained twice to her supervisor, but the company failed to take any action to stop the harassment. According to the EEOC, the office manager was left with no choice but to resign after the harassment escalated to physical assault.

Such alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits sexual harassment in employment. The EEOC filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia, Savannah Division, after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.

Electrocution, Heat Death

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 43 stories of deaths on the job, including 15 from the South. 

A few lowlights:

  • Dallas, TX — A postal worker died Saturday while working in the Dallas area, marking the second death of a North Texas U.S. Postal Service worker in recent years. Jacob Taylor, 51, was pronounced dead around 5:30 p.m., and the cause of death is pending, according to the Dallas County Medical Examiner. It’s not clear if Taylor’s death was heat related. Saturday’s temperatures had reached into the 90s. Taylor’s death comes roughly two years after another USPS letter carrier, Eugene Gates, died while working in extreme heat. His cause of death was confirmed to be heat and heart disease. OSHA later fined USPS more than $15,000, and the incident led to calls for the Postal Service to equip its vehicles with air conditioning. Last year, a UPS delivery driver fainted from alleged heat exhaustion and crashed his vehicle while working one afternoon when the weather had risen up to 102 degrees. 
  • Tuscaloosa, AL — An investigation is underway after an accidental electrocution on Monday inside Tuscaloosa’s BF Goodrich tire manufacturing plant killed a worker there. Captain Jack Kennedy, the commander of the Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit, confirmed to the Thread that they are assisting an investigation into the circumstances of the accident, but stressed this is not a criminal investigation. “On June 22nd, 2025, an employee at the BF Goodrich Manufacturing Plant in Tuscaloosa was transported to DCH and then to UAB for life-threatening injuries,” Kennedy said. “The employee was exposed to high-voltage electricity and suffered severe injuries. At this time, June 25th, 2025, the patient is not expected to survive.” The victim has been identified as Jeremy Waltrip, who suffered the electrocution.

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:

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

  • Alan Ashe amended his LM-20 for 3M Corporation to add add an EIN for a subcontractor and modify the terms and conditions of their engagement (no changes to the compensation rate)
  • Alan Ashe amended his LM-20 for Amazon.com Services to modify the terms and conditions of this engagement (no changes to the compensation rate)
  • Larry Wold amended his LM-20 for Amazon DPS1 to remove the subject labor union and modify the terms and conditions of their engagement (no changes to the compensation rate)
  • Viking Labor Solutions amended their LM-20 for Amazon DSF5 to remove the subject labor union, add their EIN, add the EIN for their subcontractor, and modify the terms and conditions of their engagement (no changes to the compensation rate)
  • East Coast Labor Relations amended their LM-20 for Coolsys to change the managing persuader firm, add an attachment, add a compensation rate, and modify the terms and conditions of their engagement
  • The McGraw Croup amended their LM-20 for Tetra Pak to change the compensation rate
  • LRI Consulting Services amended their LM-20 for Vestas American Technology to add a subcontractor
  • Richard Scott Michel amended his LM-20 for Kennemetal to expand their terms and conditions 
  • Davis Grimm Payne & Marra amended their LM-20 for Marlene’s Natural Foods to add their employer’s EIN
  • Davis Grimm Payne & Marra amended their LM-20 for Rogue Disposal to add their employer’s EIN and their EIN
  • Davis Grimm Payne & Marra amended their LM-20 for Himco Waste-Away Services to add their employer’s EIN

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.