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Race Discrimination against Comcast

The California law firm of Stephen Danz & Associates posted this interesting article about alleged race discrimination at Comcast….

…  their attorneys reported a race bias and discrimination lawsuit brought last week by an African American former Comcast employee. Comcast is an American multinational mass media company and is the largest broadcasting and largest cable company in the world by revenue. The former employee worked in Comcast’s customer service center who alleged the company discriminated against black male employees and allowed assaults in the workplace by his female supervisors to go unchecked. The Plaintiff, Wilber Spencer Jr. worked for Comcast for over 10 years and argued that he and other black male workers were never promoted, rarely received advances, and were always supervised by white individuals. However, those who were actually promoted were white. After he complained about race discrimination in the workplace, he started receiving bad marks in reviews concerning his attitude. In addition, even though he repeatedly complained about racial discrimination, his pleas went unanswered. Then, after his most recent complaint on March 27, 2015, he was fired for hanging up on a customer. He believes that this was done as a pretext (or a false reason meant to cover the real illegal reason). See the firms  dedicated race discrimination page here.

Read the entire article HERE

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Comcast is arrogant and insidious to oppose wage discrimination says law professors

Comcast Supports Wage Discrimination

New legislation in Philadelphia aims to prevent discrimination during the hiring process and reverse the disparity in salaries earned by women and minorities compared to white, non-Hispanic men.  Comcast wrote a 25 page memo opposing this.   This fascinating article on http://www.phillyvoice.com shows how far Comcast is willing to go to pay woman and minorities less…

Two local law professors with decades of legal experience say Comcast is taking an “arrogant” and “insidious” position by opposing a pending wage gap ordinance that would bar Philadelphia employers from asking job applicants to disclose their salary history.

The legislation, sponsored by Philadelphia City Councilman-at-Large Bill Greenlee, was approved by a 16-0 vote in early December. It aims to prevent discrimination during the hiring process and reverse the disparity in salaries earned by women and minorities compared to white, non-Hispanic men. Modeled on a similar law adopted by the Massachusetts state legislature in August, Greenlee’s ordinance would become the first of its kind enacted by a U.S. municipality.

Mayor Jim Kenney signaled his support and intent to sign the legislation immediately after City Council’s vote in December, but more than a month after the Title IX amendment to the Philadelphia Code gained passage it’s still awaiting his signature.

“What government is trying to do is something everybody applauds, which is eliminating prejudice, whether it’s on the basis of race, gender or religion.” — Burton Caine, Temple University law professor
A 25-page memo sent to the city’s Law Department could help explain why.

Written by Comcast senior Vice President David L. Cohen and Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce CEO Rob Wonderling, the memo argues the wage discrimination ordinance violates an employer’s First Amendment right to free speech….   Read more here…

 

 

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Sex and Race Discrimination at Comcast

Comcast found Guilty of Sex and Race Discrimination
In this article on the Department of Labor website, Comcast was found guilty of systemic hiring discrimination on the basis of race which resulted in the disproportionate rejection of 100 African American, Asian, and Hispanic applicants for call center jobs.   Read the entire article HERE
COMCAST CORPORATION SETTLES CHARGES OF SEX AND RACE DISCRIMINATION
Company will pay nearly $190K in back wages and interest to 96 former and current female employees and 100 minority job applicants; reform hiring practices

SEATTLE — Comcast Corporation has entered into a conciliation agreement with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs to resolve allegations of sex and race discrimination.

OFCCP investigators determined that between March 2006 and September 2007 in Everett, Washington, Comcast violated Executive Order 11246 by steering 96 women into lower-paying positions that assisted customers with cable services rather than higher-paid positions providing customer assistance for Internet services because these positions were considered “technical.”

Investigators also established that Comcast disproportionately rejected 100 African American, Asian, and Hispanic applicants for call center jobs because its hiring tests were neither uniformly applied nor validated as related to the job. This resulted in systemic hiring discrimination on the basis of race. Comcast Corporation is a federal contractor.

“Sex-based compensation discrimination and race-based hiring discrimination are not only illegal, they also hurt our economy,” said OFCCP Director Patricia A. Shiu. “We cannot build an economy that works for everyone by depriving women and minorities of opportunities to get ahead.”

determined that between March 2006 and September 2007 in Everett, Washington, Comcast violated Executive Order 11246 by steering 96 women into lower-paying positions that assisted customers with cable services rather than higher-paid positions providing customer assistance for Internet services because these positions were considered “technical.”…  read more

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Read Others Experiences and Add Your Story Here

Did you have a bad (or good) experience reporting through the Comcast Listens Program?  Did you give up on a Comcast Solutions claim because they delayed the process for years?  Were you forced to quit or retaliated against in some other way because you came forward?

Others would love to read about them here.   Share your story below by commenting on this post.

*Comments are the opinions of the respective authors and may be fact or fictitious.

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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…

Read more..

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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