Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Labor Department and CBP Team Up to Prevent Employment Disability through Hiring Alliance

The Labor for Disability Employment Policy (LDEP) Assistant Secretary, Kathleen Martinez, and US Customs and Border Protection Acting Commissioner, David Aguilar, mutually entered into an agreement aiming to increase the hiring of disabled people.

The said alliance is a great opportunity for the Labor Department’s blooming Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) and Custom Border Protection (CBP) to present disability employment practices that will not only result in increased hiring at CBP but will also serve as a model for other federal agencies pursuing to fulfill the requirements of their executive order plans, Martinez said.

The ODEP Alliance Initiative permits disability advocate organizations to work with the office to build and execute model policies and initiatives to increase recruiting, hiring, advancing, and retaining disabled employees. The CBP noted that the alliance is expected to promote effective strategies and practices.

Aguilar in his statement noted that the CBP is very proud to be the first federal agency to team up with the Department of Labor on an alliance to extend opportunities for disabled employees. He further said that the CBP may now proclaim that it is committed to recruiting, hiring, extending, and retaining disabled employees more effectively than it has ever done before through signing the alliance agreement.

Also, aside from CBP, ODEP also has alliances created with the Partnership for National Association of Governors’ Committees on People with Disabilities, Public Service, the US Business Leadership Network, the Society of Human Resource Management, and the HSC Foundation. All alliances focus on providing national leadership by creating and influencing disability employment–related policies and aim to increase the employment of disabled people.

The employment disability is becoming a prevailing issue to the employment industry. Therefore, the federal government, as well as the other disability advocate organizations, is searching for ways to prevent such kind of employment discrimination. Such action is not only directed in an employment background, but as well as with the offering of access to service to people with disabilities.

Friday, February 17, 2012

Starbucks Faces Workplace Discrimination Complaint after Slip and Fall Accident Claim

After a jury resolved on a slip-and-fall accident filed against Starbucks last December 2011, the latter is now facing further allegations concerning workplace discrimination, which occurred at one of their coffee chains in San Diego.

Allegedly, the half-armed applicant – Eli Pierre suffered employment discrimination due to his disability during a job interview.

The disability discrimination lawsuit was filed against Starbucks last February 8 before the office of Superior Court of the State of California in the County of San Diego.

In his lawsuit, Pierre claims that during his job interview for the barista position at Starbucks, he was not hired due to his disability. The hiring manager said that the chain’s syrups are stored up high. Therefore, Pierre can’t work at the chain with one arm alone.

Pierre further stated in his lawsuit that the interview, which took about 10 to 15 minutes, had shocked him and he felt offended after being discriminated based on his disability.

Starbucks dismissed Pierre’s application due to his appearance and disability without further investigation about the applicant’s capability.

Pierre was born with half of his left arm. He has been employed for more than eleven years and his job was often a bar tender and a waiter. He was fully capable in performing jobs like most people with two hands. Even his former employers attest to that.

Under Federal Employment and Housing Act, failure to hire and failure to reasonably accommodate disability is a violation of public policy.

Pierre is seeking for payment of all the statutory obligations and penalties as compelled by law such as punitive damages, legal fees, lost wages and others.

Starbucks through its spokesperson has denied the claims and showed its intent to respond to the lawsuit.

Employers will certainly oppose workplace discrimination claims filed by employees against them through attempting to produce  lawful reasons for the employment action. Pierre should make sure that his defense lawyer is familiar with the tricks that employers usually do.

Friday, February 10, 2012

Three Los Angeles Sisters Killed in a Single Vehicle Accident

Three women died from a single vehicle accident occurred at South Los Angeles last week while the two other passengers and the unlicensed driver are seriously injured.

The three women killed in the said accident were identified as siblings by the authorities. The youngest of the sisters, Jeshai Chanae Jones, 19-years-old, was pronounced dead just few hours after the incident, while Enisha Marie Davis, 21-years-old died last Sunday afternoon, and the eldest, Tiesha Turner, 28-years-old struggled until late afternoon last Monday.

The accident happened at around 2:45 in the morning last February 3 in 1400 Block of West Florence Avenue when an Infiniti SUV driven by an unlicensed driver – Tenina M. Calhoun hit a palm tree at Hyde Park.

The two other passengers and the driver of the vehicle sustained serious personal injuries and are still at the hospital.

In a report,  the California  Highway Patrol (CHP) has stated that Calhoun was already caught driving without license last January 3, but his vehicle was not impounded due to the new imposed law cancelling impound policy and allowing drivers to roam over the roadways even without driver’s license.

Now, issues about impounding the cars of unlicensed drivers have been set on fire again after this fatal accident.

A CHP officer has affirmed that if only Calhoun’s car had been impounded the day she was caught driver without license, his vehicle would not have been released until last Friday, several hours after the accident happened.

Obviously, there should have been no fatal vehicle accident occurred if only Calhoun’s car was impounded right at the moment she was cited driving without license by the CHP.

Authorities have said that they found at least one container of alcohol from the wrecked vehicle. Apart from alcohol, over speeding was also said to be a factor to the accident.  According to reports, all passengers were all wearing club attire at the time the accident occurred.

If the toxicology test result proves that Calhoun was under the influence of alcohol or drugs that night, she could be charged with multiple homicide and personal injury charges.

Calhoun’s two other passengers can also file for a claim even while they are at the hospital through the help of their lawyers. They must find a full – service law firm with aggressive trial attorneys to pursue their case from the filing of charges, to representation up to the case resolution like Sta. Monica personal injury attorneys.

Friday, February 3, 2012

Fatal Vehicle Accident Near Santa Monica Boulevard Leaves Woman Dead

A fatal three-vehicle accident near Santa Monica Boulevard leaves a woman dead with no other reported injuries.

The collision occurred last Tuesday at around 8:25 p.m. at 405 Freeway just north of Santa Monica Boulevard and shut down all south bound lanes which made the freeway looks like a huge parking lot for all the motorists passing by the area.

No other injured people were reported apart from the woman who died.  The victim’s identity has not been released.  The California Highway Patrol (CHP) has pronounced the victim dead at the scene.

Officer Patrick Kimbal of the CHP described the woman as a 56-year-old black.  However, it was not yet determined which of the three cars she was in. Authorities reopened the freeway at around 1:00 a.m.  

No matter how careful a motorist drives, vehicle accidents may still happen due to negligence or reckless driving of another motorist. But the chance of being injured or killed in an accident could be reduced if a driver uses the seatbelt of his vehicle and that airbags are installed. And also by following traffic rules and regulations, the risk of fatal accidents could be avoided.

During such accidents, an immediate action is needed most especially if a victim has all the rights to file a compensation claim from the parties liable for the accident. The woman’s family must make sure that they get the right accident lawyers in Los Angeles or Los Angeles wrongful death lawyers who will never leave them hanging once the investigation found out that the woman died due to another driver’s negligence or reckless driving.