Federal Judge Rules for Workers In EEOC Lawsuit, Further Proceedings on Disability-Based Abuse and Harassment Allegations Lie Ahead

DALLAS?Hill Country Farms Inc., doing business as Henry's Turkey Service ("Henry's Turkey") violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by paying 32 workers with intellectual disabilities severely substandard wages, a judge ruled in an EEOC lawsuit. The court ordered the company, based in Goldthwaite, Texas, to pay its former employees lawful wages totaling $1.3 million for jobs they performed under contract at a turkey processing plant in West Liberty, Iowa, between 2007 and 2009.

The EEOC alleged in the lawsuit (No. 3:11-cv-00041 , filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa, Davenport Division,) that Henry's Turkey exploited a class of disabled workers because their intellectual impairments made them vulnerable and unaware of the extent to which their legal rights were being violated.

In this latest ruling, Senior U.S. District Court Judge Charles R. Wolle found that, rather than the total of $65 dollars per month Henry's Turkey paid to the disabled workers while contracted to work on an evisceration line at the plant, the employees should have been compensated at the average wage of $11-12per hour, reflecting pay typically earned by non-disabled workers who performed the same or similar work. The EEOC's wage claims for each worker ranged from $28,000 to $45,000 in lost income over the course of their last two years before the Henry's Turkey Service operation was shut down in February 2009.

"This case reflects the Commission's longstanding commitment to enforce the antidiscrimination laws nationwide on behalf of all workers, including workers with intellectual disabilities and other vulnerable communities," said P. David Lopez, General Counsel of the EEOC.  It is a serious mistake for any employer not to adopt safeguards against unlawful discrimination based on the assumption that workers will not exercise their rights due to fear or the lack of understanding."

"I believe that this positive result furthers the ongoing discussion about how far our country has come in promoting and supporting employment opportunities for persons with mental, intellectual and developmental disabilities," said Robert A. Canino, regional attorney for the Dallas District Office of the EEOC, who is litigating the case. "Unfortunately, this case also reflects the sad reality that we still have a ways to go to ensure that employment of persons with disabilities does not require them to sacrifice their true earning capacity or their human dignity."

In its motion for partial summary judgment, the EEOC argued that Henry's Turkey Service was not justified in paying disabled workers wages that were lower than the minimum wage for Iowa where they lived and worked, and that the disabled workers, some of whom had performed the work for over 25 years, were due the same wage rate as non-disabled workers. In support of its motion,  EEOC included the statement of a West Liberty Foods supervisor, who stated that the contracted Henry's workers were as productive as other workers in the plant, and that they actually demonstrated their knowledge and skills to persons who were being hired to replace them as the Henry's Turkey contract operations were winding down.

The EEOC also submitted evidence from West Liberty Foods records showing that while the plant paid Henry's Turkey Service as much as $11,000 per week for the work performed by the crew of 25-30 disabled men, Henry's paid the men only an average of $15 per week each.

Henry's maintained that it should be credited with wages for providing a 100-year-old former schoolhouse as living quarters. The EEOC submitted evidence, however, from various witnesses, including admissions by Henry's supervisors, that the "bunkhouse"--from which the men were later evacuated--was closed down by the state fire marshal as unsafe, its heating was inadequate, the bug-infested building had rodent problems, and the roof was in such disrepair that buckets were put out to catch water pouring in. The EEOC's position, supported by testimony of the U.S. Department of Labor, was that it was unlawful for the company to deny the disabled workers their full wages and benefits by claiming a "credit" for these substandard living conditions.

Dr. Sue Gant, an expert witness, supported the EEOC's claims that the company's scheme involved purposeful financial exploitation of the trusting workers. She concluded that Henry's conduct "including acts of deliberate misrepresentation" about wages and expenditures, was profit-driven and deprived the workers of "economic independence and self-sufficiency." She further declared that the company "took advantage of the workers. . .knowing that they would not likely be discovered because the workers were disabled."

"Company officers were never able to explain why they were deducting about $1,000 per month from each employee's wages to cover the company's alleged room and board and expenses, while simultaneously pulling out hundreds of dollars per month from each of the men's personal Social Security SSI and disability benefit accounts to reimburse itself for the very same described
'expenses'," added Regional Attorney Canino. Anyone could plainly see that the math just didn't add up, while the personal costs to the men continued to multiply."

In addition to the discriminatory pay practices which are the subject of the Court's order, the EEOC's suit also alleges that the company subjected the disabled workers to abusive verbal and physical harassment, unnecessarily restricted their freedom, and imposed harsh punishments and other adverse terms and conditions of employment such as requiring them to live collectively in substandard living conditions and failing to provide proper health care. The EEOC's trial on these remaining issues regarding mistreatment of the workers is currently scheduled for March 2013.

The EEOC enforces the nation's laws prohibiting employment discrimination. Further information about the EEOC is available at www.eeoc.gov.

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• We have an urgent need for interpreters.  Each year, Iowa MOM has a number of non-English speaking patients, and we need help communicating with them. We could use a wide variety of volunteers including those who speak Spanish, French, Vietnamese, as well African languages.
• We have a number of local dentists including Dr. Mary Mariani and Dr. Kyle Gagliardo are available to talk about the event, the patients we serve, as well as past experiences.

http://www.iowadental.org/events_calendar/imom_patient_info.cfm

Simon signs "It Can Wait" pledge on national "No Text on Board" day

CHAMPAIGN - September 19, 2012. In her campaign to end texting while driving, Lt. Governor Sheila Simon today urged Parkland College students to take the "It Can Wait" pledge to practice safe texting.

As the Governor's point person on education reform and an advocate for community college students, Simon urged the Champaign undergraduates to log onto Facebook and take the pledge as part of a national "No Text on Board" event sponsored by AT&T and the Illinois Department of Transportation.

Nationwide, drivers are 23 times more likely to get in an accident if they text while driving. In the first half of 2011 in Illinois, cell phone distractions were the cause of more than 500 crashes.

"Most community college students commute to class on a daily basis and need to understand the grave danger of texting while driving," said Simon, who signed the pledge with students at John A. Logan College in Carterville last week. "I've taken the pledge to never text and drive, and I encourage students everywhere to join me. When you are driving, put down your phone - it can wait."

AT&T hosted 11 events throughout Illinois on the "No Text on Board" pledge day. Other supporters included Governor Pat Quinn, Secretary of State Jesse White, and officials of the Illinois State Police, the Illinois Tollway and IDOT. AT&T also premiered a new public service announcement from Chicago basketball star Derrick Rose that will appear on the AT&T website, Facebook page and YouTube Channel.

To take the pledge, you can log on to www.ItCanWait.com.

"Our goal is to save lives," said John Quinn, External Affairs Director, AT&T Illinois. "Too many lives have been forever changed by a texting-while-driving accident, and together, we want to spread the word about how deadly a single text can be. We're challenging everyone to take the pledge to never text and drive and to make it a lifelong commitment."

Parkland College Vice President for Student Services Dr. Linda Moore said that to promote safe driving among students, the college will provide an informational posting on its student intranet, as well as promoting the initiative through social media and its website.

"We want to ensure our students are safe and understand the message that texting and driving can have serious consequences. We want our students to stay on the path to a brighter future, and part of that path is traveling responsibly when driving," Moore said.

"We believe community colleges are uniquely positioned to help in the effort against texting and driving and we fully support the initiative from Lt. Governor Simon and AT&T," said Geoff Obrzut, president and CEO, Illinois Community College Board.

"I am confident that my colleagues from the Illinois Council of Community College Presidents join with me and Lt. Governor Simon in enthusiastically supporting the 'It Can Wait' anti-texting while driving campaign," said Margaret B. "Peg" Lee, Oakton Community College President and President of the Illinois Council of Community College Presidents.

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By: Marsha Friedman

It's understandable, really. People who have the passion necessary to write a book usually have just one thing on their minds: writing a book. Not marketing a book. Some may think ahead to getting it published, but, tragically, that's where the planning often ends.

I'm not exaggerating when I say "tragically"! I talk to many people who've poured years of effort, money and sacrifice into their books, which wind up sitting in boxes in their garage. They never thought about how they might market their books themselves or budgeted for book promotion services.

When's the best time to start thinking about marketing a book? Ideally, before you even sit down to begin writing. Because ? and I speak from experience here ? the first step will help in your writing.

Step 1: Ask yourself, "Who is my audience?"

The answer is the first piece of any marketing plan and it can also help you define what you'll write. When I decided to write a book about public relations, I had planned to write it for businesses in general. Then I thought, "That's too broad. Who will my audience really be?"

I decided to write for individual professionals such as doctors, lawyers and financial planners. Not only would that put a face to the people I was writing for, it would also give me the first piece of my marketing plan.

If you want to write a book and you're a financial planner working for baby boomers chugging toward 65, you might write about planning for retirement after age 50. Another audience might be the boomers' kids - adults who may be helping their parents. Depending on the expertise you put in the book, you might find other audiences you can target as well.

Here are the next steps to consider in planning your promotional campaign:

· What's the best way to reach that audience? Where will you find the people you expect will be interested in your book? Will you buy advertising, look for speaking engagements, try to whip up interest from the media? You might hire a publicist or contract with your publisher to handle PR, or put together a promotional tour. You'll definitely need a website. Will you build one yourself or hire a pro? Research the options that appeal to you and find out how effective they are in terms of meeting your goals. If you're considering contracting with professionals to help you, get references from people who've had successful marketing experiences.

· How much will it cost? Some options are less expensive, others more. Look into the ones that interest you and get an idea of their price. Decide how much you can afford to spend and budget for it. Is there an organization or business that would benefit from sponsoring you? A landscape designer, for instance, might get financial help from a plant nursery or a tools manufacturer in exchange for standing behind a business or product. A chef might find an ally in a food manufacturer.

· Develop a following online. Do you have a database of people already interested in what you have to say? If not, turn to social media and start building it now. The more of a following you have, the more potential audience you've created for your marketing message. Big numbers will also turn heads when you try to get speaking engagements or guest spots on radio and TV talk shows. Having a following is everything. The organizations and media that book you for an interview are also hoping all those followers will either buy tickets or stop by their website.

Marketing is too important to be an afterthought, so think about it long before it's time to get started. Yes, I understand the effort that goes into writing a book. I know it's hard to think about anything else! But if you have invested your dreams in that baby, you probably want to share it with the world. And that takes planning.

About Marsha Friedman

Marsha Friedman is a 22-year veteran of the public relations industry. She is the CEO of EMSI Public Relations (www.emsincorporated.com), a national firm that provides PR strategy and publicity services to corporations, entertainers, authors and professional firms. Marsha is the author of Celebritize Yourself: The 3-Step Method to Increase Your Visibility and Explode Your Business and she can also be heard weekly on her Blog Talk Radio Show, EMSI's PR Insider every Thursday at 3:00 PM EST.