discrimination
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Colorado Senate OKs strengthening Equal Pay for Equal Work Act
Colorado businesses have been required to provide equal pay to employees performing the same work since 2021. But many women say they still face pay discrimination in the workplace. Lawmakers are trying to address these gaps with Senate Bill 105. If enacted, the bill would implement measures to enforce the state’s existing Equal Pay for Equal Work…
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Bill advances to lower threshold for workplace harassment in Colorado
When a cook at Marie Evenson’s job repeatedly grabbed her around the waist, she reported him to a manager. One week later, she was fired for not “fitting in” to the workplace environment. Evenson met with a lawyer to discuss her legal options, but was told she didn’t have a case. Evenson said her lawyer claimed…
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Colorado Supreme Court rules, 5-1, against shifting explanations in race-based juror dismissals
In accordance with the U.S. Supreme Court’s longstanding prohibition on intentional racial discrimination in jury selection, Colorado’s highest court ruled, 5-1, on Monday that trial judges may not consider after-the-fact explanations for dismissing jurors of color that were not raised at trial. The majority agreed that a new trial is warranted for Theodore Israel Madrid,…
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Judge dismisses man’s lawsuit against Walmart for erroneous shoplifting arrest
Even though prosecutors ended up dismissing the shoplifting-related charges against an elderly Asian man, he failed to show that Walmart should be liable for its role in his erroneous arrest, a federal judge ruled last month. Meng Uoy Chang asserted a Walmart store in Timnath had violated his rights after employees identified Chang as a…
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10th Circuit agrees Facebook photos, not discrimination, the cause of Denver employee’s firing
A former custodian for the City and County of Denver failed to show that race was the reason for her firing, rather than her misleading representation of herself online as a police officer, the federal appeals court based in Colorado ruled on Wednesday. Denver terminated Emina Gerovic, a white woman from Bosnia-Herzegovina, in November 2017. She alleged…
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Colorado considers strengthening Equal Pay for Equal Work Act
After working at the same company for over 20 years, Michelle Siemer said she was still paid less than the men she supervised. Siemer, an Eagle County mother of three, said she spent decades collecting accolades and additional responsibilities at her job. But while Siemer had the same duties as many of the male senior…
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Appeals court finds no discrimination in Denver prosecutor’s removal of Black woman from jury
Colorado’s second-highest court on Thursday deemed it a “close” call, but ultimately decided Denver prosecutors had not removed a Black, presumably Muslim woman from a jury in violation of the longstanding prohibition on purposeful discrimination. A three-judge panel for the Court of Appeals noted that Juror L was a Black woman who wore a head…
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Bill advances to ban employers from asking for age in job applications
Nearly 80% of older workers say they have seen or experienced age discrimination in the workplace and around 40% of hiring managers admit to reviewing resumes with age bias. In Colorado, Democratic lawmakers are trying to change that with Senate Bill 58. If approved by the state legislature, the bill would ban employers from asking…
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Colorado appeals court finds Masterpiece Cakeshop violated anti-discrimination law again
For the second time in nearly eight years, Colorado’s second-highest court has agreed Masterpiece Cakeshop, Inc. violated the state’s antidiscrimination law by refusing to sell a cake to an LGBTQ customer. A three-judge panel for the Court of Appeals concluded the store’s owner, Jack Phillips, ran afoul of the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act (CADA) when he…
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10th Circuit hears appeal of Denver custodian fired for online representation as police officer
The federal appeals court based in Denver appeared reluctant on Monday to accept the argument of a former Denver custodian who alleges her race and national origin were the reason she was fired from the city – rather than her supervisors’ stated reason: that she held herself out publicly as a police officer. Emina Gerovic,…