By msnbc.com staff and news services The Justice Department says Wells Fargo & Co. will pay at least $175 million to settle accusations that it allegedly discriminated against qualified African-American and Hispanic borrowers in its mortgage lending from 2004 through 2009. The settlement, which needs approval from a judge, would end the investigation into whether the fourth largest U.S. bank between 2004 and 2009 knowingly targeted minorities for risky mortgages that came with higher costs, according to documents filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. “The Department of Justice today filed the second largest fair lending  [ Read More ]

Discrimination | From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia This article is about prejudicial treatment. For statistical discrimination, see linear discriminant analysis. For other uses, see wikt:discrimination. Discrimination is the prejudicial treatment of an individual based on his or her membership – or perceived membership – in a certain group or category. It involves the group’s initial reaction or interaction, influencing the individual’s actual behavior towards the group or the group leader, restricting members of one group from opportunities that are available to a group, leading to the exclusion of the individual or entities based on logical or irrational decisionmaking. [1] Discriminatory  [ Read More ]

Posted by Jay S. Becker There has been a lot of discussion lately regarding an employer’s right to know as much as possible about an applicant, as opposed to that applicant’s right to privacy. Should an employer be limited by what is contained on an applicant’s self-serving resume or application, and/or what the applicant decides to share during an interview, or should an employer have a right to learn more about the applicant, by demanding the applicant’s password to his/her social media sites? When does an employer’s right to know versus an applicant’s right to privacy begin and end? If  [ Read More ]

Workplace Retaliation: What Are Your Rights? Learn about workplace retaliation — and what to do if it happens to you. Most people know that laws exist to protect employees from discrimination and harassment. However, many don’t know these laws also protect employees from retaliation. That means employers cannot punish employees for making discrimination or harassment complaints or participating in workplace investigations. And punishment doesn’t just mean firing or demotion: It can include other negative employment actions, from being denied a raise or transfer to a more desirable position to missing out on training or mentoring opportunities. What Is Retaliation? Retaliation  [ Read More ]

National Discrimination National origin discrimination involves treating people (applicants or employees) unfavorably because they are from a particular country or part of the world, because of ethnicity or accent, or because they appear to be of a certain ethnic background (even if they are not). National origin discrimination also can involve treating people unfavorably because they are married to (or associated with) a person of a certain national origin or because of their connection with an ethnic organization or group. Discrimination can occur when the victim and the person who inflicted the discrimination are the same national origin. National Origin  [ Read More ]