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Comcast pays $7.2M to settle racial discrimination suit by Chicago techs

In the article by http://www.fiercetelecom.com African-American employees alleged a hostile work environment.  The article opens with …

In the case, Plaintiffs alleged that Comcast created a hostile work environment by referring to African-American employees in a racially derogatory manner, forcing 112th Street employees to work in a substandard facility, and denying 112th Street employees the same quality of equipment and tools afforded to Comcast facilities that do not have majority African-American employees. Plaintiffs also claimed that the company did not adequately respond to repeated complaints by African-American employees about the workplace…

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Guy Comcast Got Fired Now Suing Comcast For Violating Federal Privacy Law

Here’s a funny one… This article from techdirt.com says that Comcast got a guy fired from his job (not at Comcast) for complaining to COMCAST.  Now the guy is suing for disclosing his private information to his employer which is against the law.  Way to go Comcast…

Guy Comcast Got Fired Now Suing Comcast For Violating Federal Privacy Law
from the karma’s-a-bitch dept

In the most recent example we covered of Comcast’s ongoing efforts to convince everyone not to be Comcast customers, we noted that the fact they helped get a customer fired from his accounting job was the kind of thing he could probably sue over. That said, even I didn’t anticipate the guy accusing Comcast of violating federal law.
The plaintiff, Conal O’Rourke, claims that after a series of calls with Comcast’s customer service department, Comcast complained to his employer about him and he was fired from his job. The lawsuit filed yesterday is based on the same alleged series of events. Mr. O’Rourke claims that he did not authorize Comcast to disclose his information to anyone else, but Comcast nevertheless disclosed personally identifying information about Mr. O’Rourke, including his name, to PricewaterhouseCoopers, where Mr. O’Rourke worked. The following can be attributed to Laura Moy, staff attorney at Public Knowledge:

“If the facts in this complaint are true, they are extremely troubling. They would show that the nation’s largest cable provider exercised a complete disregard for federal privacy law.”

Read more here…

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Cable Installers Sue Comcast Over FLSA Violations

Here’s a class action lawsuit against Comcast that is alleging violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act and state labor codes.

The complaint accuses Comcast of intentionally misclassifying its workers as independent subcontractors instead of employees in order to avoid paying them overtime as a way to enhance the company’s profits and minimize its manual labor costs.   Hmmm…not cool

Law360, New York (August 29, 2008, 12:00 AM EDT) — Cable technicians for telecommunications giant Comcast Corp. have filed a putative class action against their employer, alleging that the company misclassified them as independent workers in order to avoid paying them overtime wages and claiming that such labor law violations have run rampant on the Gulf Coast since Hurricane Katrina.
The suit was filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida on behalf of a potential national class and state classes for Maryland and New Mexico, alleging violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act and state labor codes.

The complaint accuses Comcast of intentionally misclassifying its workers as independent subcontractors instead of employees in order to avoid paying them overtime as a way to enhance the company’s profits and minimize its manual labor costs.

Plaintiffs routinely work over 10 hours a day, seven days per week, and are not properly compensated for the extra hours, the suit alleges….

Read more on Law360

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Washington State AG ANNOUNCES $100 Million LAWSUIT AGAINST COMCAST

Is Comcast Evil?  That’s the kind of statement you can find in hundreds of places on the web.  Washington State Attorney General alleges a pattern of illegally deceiving their customers, and is going after Comcast for more than $100 million.   Let’s work together to force giant wealthy corporations and company management seeking only profits to follow the law.

HomeNewsNews ReleasesAG announces lawsuit against Comcast for more than $100 million
AG ANNOUNCES LAWSUIT AGAINST COMCAST FOR MORE THAN $100 MILLION Printer-friendly version

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Aug 1 2016
First-of-its-kind suit alleges nearly 2 million Consumer Protection Act violations; seeks refunds for more than 400,000 Washingtonians

SEATTLE — Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed a lawsuit today against cable television and Internet giant Comcast Corporation in King County Superior Court, alleging the company’s own documents reveal a pattern of illegally deceiving their customers to pad their bottom line by tens of millions of dollars.

The lawsuit accuses the company of more than 1.8 million violations of Washington state’s Consumer Protection Act (CPA), including misrepresenting the scope of its Service Protection Plan, charging customers improper service call fees and improper credit screening practices.

The lawsuit also accuses Comcast of violating the CPA to all of its nearly 1.2 million Washington subscribers due to its deceptive “Comcast Guarantee.”

The lawsuit is the first of its kind in the nation — though the Service Protection Plan is a nationwide program and many of the improper practices are used in all of Comcast’s markets. The Attorney General’s Office brought these issues to Comcast over a year ago, but the company didn’t begin to make changes until recently — on the verge of this litigation.

“This case is a classic example of a big corporation deceiving its customers for financial gain,” Ferguson said. “I won’t allow Comcast to continue to put profits above customers — and the law.” …

Continued on the Washington State Office of the Attorney General Website

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Comcast Hit With Bias Suit From Transgender Ex-Employee

Comcast Hit With Bias Suit From Transgender Ex-Employee

In this 2016 Law360 posting, a Transgender employee asserts sex discrimination and retaliation for firing her after she returned from gender reassignment surgery.

By Fola Akinnibi

Law360, New York (September 7, 2016, 7:40 PM EDT) — A transgender woman filed suit against Comcast Inc. in Tennessee federal court on Tuesday, accusing the media giant of sex discrimination and retaliation for firing her after she returned from gender reassignment surgery.
The complaint, brought by former employee Jessica Brown, alleges gender discrimination and retaliation, according to court documents filed on Tuesday. Brown said that she was suspended after reporting harassment and fired when she returned to work from gender reassignment surgery because of her gender identity.

“Comcast suspended Jessica and ultimately fired her because of her protected status as a woman or, alternatively, because of her non-conforming sexuality,” the complaint said. “Jessica suffered damages as a result of Comcast’s discrimination including lost wages, benefits as well as pain and suffering.”...visit the website for more…

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NBCUniversal & Comcast Slapped With Age Discrimination Suit By Ex-E! SVP

NBCUniversal & Comcast Slapped With Age Discrimination Suit By Ex-E! SVP

Here’s a samples of age and wrongful termination claims against Comcast Corporation listed on http://deadline.com.

Over six-months after being pink slipped by E! Entertainment and NBCUniversal, ex-Talent Development and Casting SVP Blythe Asher today hit the media giant and its owner Comcast with a jury seeking age discrimination and wrongful termination suit.

“In 2016, for the first time during her employment with E! and after having battled cancer, Asher received a significantly lower performance evaluation,” the seven-claim complaint filed Thursday in L.A. Superior Court says of Asher’s experience at E!, where she had worked in a celeb interacting position since 2009. “The lower rating incontestably coincided with her cancer diagnosis,” the filing adds (read it here). “On February 9, 2016, Asher received notice from NBCU Media that her ‘services were no longer required.’”

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Female employee sues Comcast alleging violation of Civil Rights Act of 1964

In this article on http://pennrecord.com, the plaintiff is suing, claiming discrimination for her race and sexual harassment.  She seeks damages for up to $250,000, lost wages, attorney’s fees and award for medical payments related to the defendants’ alleged discriminatory acts. She is demanding a jury trial.

by Carrie Bradon | Feb. 12, 2016, 6:01pm

PHILADELPHIA – A woman is suing her employer, Comcast Cable Communications Management LLC, alleging she was denied of promotion opportunity because of her gender and race.

Naptina Thorn filed a complaint on Feb. 3 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania against Comcast Cable Communications Management LLC, Linda Harmon-Clark, Jeffrey Colclough and Sedgwick Claims Management Services Inc., alleging violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

According to the complaint, the plaintiff, an African-American, worked as a customer service representative, credit collection representative and as an administrative assistant during her employment. Thorn worked overtime May 2013 through June 2014, the suit states, and received overtime compensation. The suit states that Thorn applied for other positions in the company and received interviews from multiple managers. However, Clark, the plaintiff’s manager, refused the transfer request, the suit states, denying her the promotion opportunity. On Sept. 19, 2014, Thorn learned of her termination via letter, the suit states. The plaintiff is suing, claiming discrimination for her race and sexual harassment… Read More

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Comcast Settles Techs Race Bias Row For $7.2M

In this Law 360.com article, Comcast settles and pays $7.2 million for allegations that it discriminated against African Americans.  It took years for Comcast to finally pay this group, but patience by the plaintiffs paid off big.

Law360, Washington (February 24, 2016, 1:46 PM EST) — Comcast Corp. Inc. will pay up to $7.21 million to settle a class action alleging that it discriminated against African-American technicians at a Chicago facility through unfair performance evaluations, shoddy work conditions and tolerance of racist comments, according to an agreement submitted to an Illinois federal court on Tuesday.

Comcast said it will also improve staff access to complaint procedures and promotion opportunities, and said that it has taken steps to renovate the facility, provide it with better equipment and eliminate a disciplinary plan that workers…

Read More Here

 

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Website Launch Provides Comcast Employees Dispute Resolution Information – ListensSolutionsGuide.com

A new website launched today providing current and past Comcast Corporation employees with information on various programs designed to expose and deal with internal acts that violate the companies Code of Conduct, and to provide a streamlined dispute resolution process for Comcast employees who feel they were victims of Employment Law violations.

ListensSolutionsGuide.com which is in no way connected to Comcast Corporation, aggregates critical information which was not easily accessible before.  Although Comcast employees sign away many legal rights to take legal actions, including filing class-action lawsuits when they sign their offer letters, the details of what they are agreeing to is not provided with the offer letter.  To get details of the impact on the employment rights Comcast Employees are giving up, a special request must be made to the department that manages the Comcast Listens and Comcast Solutions programs.

Providing this informational service as a public service, the non-profit ListensSolutionsGuilde.com hopes to educate current and past employees that they can take action against Comcast to get their concerns heard.  Serious violations of employment law can result in the employee receiving significant financial compensation for their damages.  These serious law violations might include sexual harassment, discrimination on the basis of age, gender, race, disability, and other category protected by law, failure to accommodate for disabilities, and violation of federal, state or local wage and hour laws.

 

In addition to providing program information and frequently asked questions about the programs, the website also offers help in finding an Employment Attorney for questions related to Comcast employee law violations.

The website launch will include an aggressive online PR educational drive to get this valuable information in front of current and past Comcast employees.