Categories
News News Blog News Feature

TN AG Fights Feds on Pronouns in Workplace

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti led a coalition of 17 states in filing a lawsuit against the federal government over new rules that would mandate pronoun respect in the workplace. 

In September, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) voted to approve updates to its workplace harassment rules. The new rules reflect changes in such laws, including the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to protect employees against discrimination because of sexuality or gender identity (Bostock v. Clayton County), the #MeToo movement, and emerging issues such as virtual or online harassment.

The rules were published and given a period for public comment, and became federal law in late April. 

“Harassment, both in-person and online, remains a serious issue in America’s workplaces,” EEOC chair Charlotte A. Burrows said in a statement at the time. “The EEOC’s updated guidance on harassment is a comprehensive resource that brings together best practices for preventing and remedying harassment and clarifies recent developments in the law.”

The EEOC said between fiscal years 2016 and 2023, more than a third of all discrimination charges received by the agency included an allegation of harassment based on race, sex, disability, or another characteristic covered by the laws enforced by the agency. Also, since fiscal year 2018, harassment has been alleged in over half of federal sector equal employment opportunity complaints. Among the 143 merits lawsuits that the commission filed last year, about 35 percent of them included an allegation of harassment.

However, Tennessee AG Skrmetti said companies should be able to use whatever pronoun they choose to use for their employees. As he has done in several such lawsuits in the past, Skrmetti claims the federal government is overreaching into powers given to states.

“In America, the Constitution gives the power to make laws to the people’s elected representatives, not to unaccountable commissioners, and this EEOC guidance is an attack on our constitutional separation of powers,” Skrmetti said in a statement. “When, as here, a federal agency engages in government over the people instead of government by the people, it undermines the legitimacy of our laws and alienates Americans from our legal system.  

“This end-run around our constitutional institutions misuses federal power to eliminate women’s private spaces and punish the use of biologically-accurate pronouns, all at the expense of Tennessee employers.”

Skrmetti also complained about EEOC’s new rule that would make an employer liable if it limits access to a bathroom or other sex-segregated facility, such as a shower or locker room, based on biological sex and not on gender identity, the AG said. Skrmetti claimed employers also may be liable if a customer or other non-employee fails to use an employee’s preferred pronouns or refuses to share a restroom with someone of the opposite sex.

Tennessee is joined the lawsuit with attorneys general from Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia, and West Virginia. 

More broadly, the EEOC’s new rules protect an array of what the agency calls ”legally protected characteristics,” including race, skin color, religion, disability, age, and more. Workplace harassment includes saying or writing an ethnic, racial, or sex-based slur, forwarding an offensive or derogatory “joke” email, mocking a person’s accent, groping, touching, or otherwise physically assaulting a person, and more. 

If a harassment claim is filed, business owners should investigate the matter and take corrective action, EEOC said. That action can include firing the employee, but it isn’t required. The employer can also mandate informal counseling, give a written warning, mandate harassment training, suspend the employee without pay, reassign them, or demote them to a non-supervisory position.

Categories
News News Blog

Local Warehouse Workers Call for End of ‘Abuse and Mistreatment’

Workers in a warehouse here are fed up with their poor working conditions, and Monday they took action.

Employees at XPO Logistics Verizon warehouse delivered a letter to management, putting them on notice for health and safety issues in the work environment, misconduct, discrimination, and sexual harassment.

The letter, signed by the Memphis NAACP, City Councilwoman Patrice Robinson, Memphis Feminist Coalition, and about nine other groups in the community, read, in part: “It is clear that XPO exhibits a consistent toxic culture that runs contrary to its stated policies and practices.


“As community leaders and women’s rights advocates engaged in legal and policy work to fight against sexual harassment and are active in the Times Up and Me Too movements, we are deeply concerned and troubled with the behavior of XPO Logistics.

[pullquote-1] Therefore, we are calling for a joint meeting with Jacobs, the executive board, and XPO’s customers in the supply chain (like Verizon, Cummins, Nike Golf, and Disney) to discuss the company’s inexcusable actions and what steps each will take to stop the abuse and mistreatment of its workers.”


The letter also demanded transparency in the investigation of the working conditions and the death of Linda Neal who died at XPO’s Verizon warehouse after passing out on the job last year. Workers attributed her death to the conditions in the warehouse.

“My friend and co-worker lost her life on the job because of the inexcusable inactions of XPO,” Lakeisha Nelson, worker at XPO’s Verizon facility, said. “Every day, XPO workers like me endure unfair, inhumane treatment and are exposed to threats to our physical and mental health. We’re standing up in the warehouses because we are human beings with value and worth and we’ve had enough.”

Monday the workers, joined by 9th District Congressman Steve Cohen and State Representatives Jessie Chism, and London Lamar, as well as Shelby County Commissioner Eddie Jones and well-known Memphis activist Earle Fisher, attempted to hand-deliver the letter to management, but were denied and locked out.

Afterward, in a press conference, Cohen said he was “disappointed” in the management’s lack of cooperation, calling the scene “disturbing.”

“I was very disappointed they [XPO management] wouldn’t accept the letter, which is an easy way to deal with this issue,” Cohen said. “I was disappointed they wouldn’t allow me to go in and talk to them and give them that letter. It shows a disrespect for public officials, for you as my constituents but also as workers.

“And, it also shows an inability to understand public relations and the fact that they work within a framework that includes the Department of Labor and the United States government, that they should have an interest in working with — the State of Tennessee as well as their State Representatives here. It’s been a disturbing scene to me, I don’t feel good about XPO Logistics. I didn’t feel good when I came out here and now I feel that the allegations that have been made have been confirmed to me in my mind, in the callous way they’ve treated us and treated me.”

[pullquote-2]

Deirdre Malone, president of the Memphis NAACP, echoed that sentiment, saying that she believes the claims of sexual harassment made by workers.

“It’s intolerable for them to work in a plant like this,” Malone said. “We believe the workers. We believe that sexual harassment does exist at this facility. We believe the workers. That’s the reason we’re here today and we’re going to let them know that we’re not going to tolerate it.”

This action comes after a group of the workers filed a complaint against XPO with the Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for extremely hot working condition last month.

Employees said they experienced “instances of extreme heat leading to dizziness, dehydration, and fainting,” according to that complaint. During a three-day period, the heat index near the warehouse exceeded OSHA’s “extreme caution” threshold during the majority of working hours, workers said.

In June, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed complaints on behalf of two female employees at XPO’s Disney warehouse here for claims of sexual harassment and discrimination.

During the spring and early summer, current and former female employees at XPO warehouses statewide filed a total of 11 complaints with the EEOC for reports of sexual harassment including unwanted pushing, shoving, grabbing, and kissing by supervisors. Workers also reported that they faced retaliation for reporting harassment.

XPO Logistics, a $15 billion company, packages and distributes products for major brands, such as, Verison, Nike, Disney, and Home Depot.

Categories
News News Blog

Local Warehouse Workers File Complaint for Extreme Heat at Work

Employers working in a metal warehouse here with no air conditioning filed a complaint last week against their employer with the Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for what they say are extremely hot working conditions.

At XPO Logistics’ Verizon warehouse here, workers claim to have experienced “instances of extreme heat leading to dizziness, dehydration, and fainting,” according to the complaint. During a recent three-day period, the heat index near the warehouse exceeded OSHA’s “extreme caution” threshold during the majority of working hours, workers said.


Lakeisha Nelson, one of the employees, said she’s suffered from heat stress multiple times during her four years working at the warehouse. The first incident occurred in 2015 when Nelson allegedly fainted due to dehydration. Two years later, Nelson said she had to be rushed to the hospital for severe muscle cramps caused by dehydration. Most recently, Nelson said dizziness and nausea forced her to stop working.

“The working conditions at XPO are terrifying and making us sick,” Nelson said. “Think back to the hottest day this summer and what it felt like to be outside. Now crank it up 20 degrees and think of yourself doing back-breaking work with little ventilation, no fresh air, and no relief for hours and hours.

“Instead of offering electrolyte popsicles and half-hearted warnings about heat, the company should commit to providing breaks that don’t impact our production quotas, water, and medical attention so we’re not at risk of fainting during the average workday.”

On another occasion, an employee suffering from heat illness was allegedly penalized for visiting a doctor during work hours.

[pullquote-1]

The claims are under investigation by OSHA, who could issue citations or financial penalties for the company’s violations of standards or regulations.

This comes after the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed complaints on behalf of two female employees at XPO’s Disney warehouse here in June. One of the women claimed her supervisor made sexual passes at her, and on one occasion tried to kiss her. The other woman alleges that female employees were often pushed around by a general manager, who went unpunished.

This year alone, women at XPO’s three warehouses in Memphis have had a total of 12 complaints filed on their behalf by the EEOC. Complaints include reports of supervisers groping, grabbing, and making sexual comments.

XPO Logistics, a $15 billion company, packages and distributes products for major brands, such as, Verison, Nike, Disney, and Home Depot.