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TMO Reports - Apple Hit With Discrimination Lawsuit

by , 1:00 AM EDT, May 23rd, 2005

A former employee at Apple Computer has filed a discrimination suit against the company, alleging she was wrongfully terminated after complaining of being paid less than her counterparts.

Former human resources compensation consultant Shaune Patterson alleges she was suspended for one month and then wrongfully terminated after complaining that her white counterparts, who were junior to her, were making higher salaries than she was.

"Patterson alleges that the suspension came one day after she complained of racial discrimination," a press statement said. "Patterson alleges that one of Apple's managers wrote a memo describing her as a "rather obese-sized black lesbian."

"Apple discounted my client's achievements, choosing to base the decision to discipline not on her performance, but rather on her size, race, and sexual orientation," Mr. McCoy said in a prepared statement.

The suit was filed last week in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California in San Francisco by Waukeen McCoy, of the firm McCoy & Associates. Mr. McCoy alleges the suit "may be one of the largest discrimination lawsuits filed against Apple Computer by a Lesbian," although court papers show the former employee is suing for unspecified damages, The Mac Observer has learned.


The Web site for Mr. McCoy's law firm describes him as "one of the most feared and revered attorneys in San Francisco."

Mr. McCoy also claimed a similar suit against Apple in 2001 was "one the largest racial discrimination cases in U.S. history," when an unnamed former employee sought $40 million in damages after being fired for bringing a friend to his place of work. Mr. McCoy claimed his clients "white counterparts" hadn't been disciplined or fired for bringing a friend or family member to work and said, "we also believe he was getting less pay than his white counterparts as well."

Mr. McCoy was the lead plaintiffs' attorney in one of the largest U.S. racial discrimination suits, Carroll v. Interstate Brands Corporation, the parent company of Wonder Bread, which rendered a verdict for $132 million in August of 2000.

Observer Comments

Show: Subjects Only | Full Comments
View Name:Guest
Subject: Frivolous American Judicial System
View Name:Guest
Subject: I agree.
Close Name:zpok Posts: 80 Joined: 06 May 2004
Subject: Just wondering here...

I know, in a sense the US does a lot to fight racism and some of its tactics work pretty well. And just so you don't have to point it out to ME, some of Europe's tactics work pretty, well, some don't work at all.
But for a European it's pretty much a mystery why someone can't be called an obese black lesbian if that person happens to be obese, black and yes, a lesbian. Which doesn't mean she should be measured according to that description instead of her work, but well, call a spade a spade...

Equally, I hear a lot of complaints from European ex-patriots who can't seem to figure out how they should behave towards blacks, latino's and other "ethnic minorities", even if they happen to share the same genetic make-up.

While the buzz word is: no discrimination, in reality this means having to have a token respect for one's cultural uniqueness, which of course translates in hard to get signals and fashions shared by (mostly only a subset of) that "ethnic minority".
Which in effect means that instead of having to treat everyone as equal, you have to sort of bow into and out of possibly embarrassing situations every time you meet someone.
The worst I heard was a black londoner who was beat up for not showing proper respect to the "brothers".
For myself, I can share the experience of having to explain that no, I don't feel particularly guilty for being white. After all, my country was invaded with South American gold, my forefathers were beaten by the same bastards who beat your forefathers, etc etc. This invariably is regarded as having no respect, as being a racist. Note that I never belittle slavery and conquest, I just point out that historically, his/her forefathers were tricked by the same people who tricked mine...

View Name:Guest
Subject:
View Name:Guest
Subject: Racism
View Name:Guest
Subject: racial discrimination?
Close Name:mshoaf Posts: 113 Joined: 02 Dec 2002
Subject: Counterproductive

Seems to me that these huge lawsuits do more to keep racism alive-and-well than to repress it. Even if the claims are true (I have no reason to doubt or believe them.), I agree that this seems excessive.

View Name:Guest
Subject: Brad's Characterisation
Close Name:Small White Car Posts: 1937 Joined: 02 Jul 2004
Subject: Re: Brad's Characterisation

Quote
Anonymous wrote:
The rather obvious inclusion of info. on the lawyer seems like to be an obvious attempt to twist opinion on the merits of the case don't you think.


Uh...could you explain this more?

How is giving info on the lawyer who's bringing the case against Apple racist?

You're gonna have to explain that a little more clearly.

Close Name:Biff Posts: 1479 Joined: 08 Apr 2004
Subject:

Ah my favorite type of lawsuit. Old faithful. Hi I'm Apple. I have this totally amazing, talented, employee who's outperforming all expectations for his job. But he's black so I'm gonna fire him. I mean honestly. Get real.

Hey what does he care if he's a hypocrite and is perpetuating the concept of racism? As long as he gets some money from Apple!

Close Name:Small White Car Posts: 1937 Joined: 02 Jul 2004
Subject:

Quote
Biff wrote:
I have this totally amazing, talented, employee who's outperforming all expectations for his job. But he's black so I'm gonna fire him. I mean honestly. Get real.


Did you read it?

She claims that they fired HER because she complained that people under her were making more money than she was because they were white.

I don't know if any of that is true, but your explanation here is not what's in the article.

View Name:Guest
Subject:
View Name:Guest
Subject: I am a *NATIVE* American
Close Name:tbone1 -   TMO Staff Posts: 3960 Joined: 13 Jul 2001
Subject: Please

For those outside of the US who wonder why we aren't allowed to say the plain truth here: we do it for the children. Seriously, what happens is that because America is a melting pot, and because some groups don't melt as well as others, certain people use that as a crutch. There used to be a lot of prejudice towards the Irish and the Germans, but for the most part they got over themselves. Now, I'm a white guy with no religious affiliation, so I've never been burdened with that; if I fail, I have to look in the mirror. That's too uncomfortable for a lot of people, and they seek vindication (and, let us not forget, $$) from the courts.

These lawsuits happen all the time, and usually the idea is to create such a nuisance and threat of bad publicity that you can get a settlement out of a company to keep quiet. I'm not saying racism and discrimination don't exist; I've seen it happen. I once worked on a 50-person team where five of the six women and/or minorites had five of the seven management jobs. What are the odds of that happening? Doesn't that scream of favoritism for those who are "one of us"? Where were the howls of injustice about that? Oddly enough, I could get neither Jesse Jackson nor Johnny Cochran interested in the case. Go figure.

BTW, has anyone ever wondered why the government doesn't force hiring quotas on pro sports? Right, because it's silly; the teams want to win and they will hire the best person for the job. However, companies are there to make money, and the idea that they hire people for their competence and value seems to be beyond the comprehension of our political masters who base their politics along the lines of ant colonies.

And I, for one, welcome our new insect overlords!

Close Name:Biff Posts: 1479 Joined: 08 Apr 2004
Subject:

Quote
Small White Car wrote:
Did you read it?

She claims that they fired HER because she complained that people under her were making more money than she was because they were white.

I don't know if any of that is true, but your explanation here is not what's in the article.
I was generalizing. I didn't read it, but thank you for the summary. And that makes my point. No need to read it. It's the same old story. She's not going to make less money because she's black. She's going to make less money because she's spending all of her time complaining instead of doing her job. Or maybe because she's a bitch. Every company has major variations in pay that don't equate to job titles or function. That's how it goes. If you don't like it, leave and find a better job. Or if its possible, do what it takes to get recognized at your company and move up. But of course we aren't talking about someone who wants to work hard. She obviously thinks she DESERVES something. Wah wah. Maybe she can settle out of court for some cheese to go with that whine.

Close Name:Small White Car Posts: 1937 Joined: 02 Jul 2004
Subject:

Quote
Biff wrote:
No need to read it. It's the same old story.


Well, if your manager refers to you in a memo as a "rather obese-sized black lesbian" then I think something's wrong there.

Does she deserve millions of dollars? Of course not. But I would like to think even you would complain if someone at your job wrote something like that about you.

Close Name:Biff Posts: 1479 Joined: 08 Apr 2004
Subject:

Quote
Small White Car wrote:
Well, if your manager refers to you in a memo as a "rather obese-sized black lesbian" then I think something's wrong there.

Does she deserve millions of dollars? Of course not. But I would like to think even you would complain if someone at your job wrote something like that about you.
Wow! Thats like 3 lawsuits in one! Score!

Close Name:jacrav Posts: 268 Joined: 04 Jul 2001
Subject: Funny …

Used to work in a restaurant owned by a gay couple, and one day I overheard a conversation, and one of them was referring to me as "the frog" (I'm French. obviously) … shortly before we decided—common accord—to part ways …

View Name:Guest
Subject: no sense
View Name:Guest
Subject: Maybe
View Name:Guest
Subject: reply to frivolous post
View Name:Guest
Subject: reply to "I agree"
View Name:Guest
Subject: reply to "just wondering"
View Name:Guest
Subject: Reply
View Name:Guest
Subject: reply to "counterproductive"
View Name:Guest
Subject: Reply to Bif
View Name:Guest
Subject: Please don't speak for all of the US
View Name:Guest
Subject: reply to "No need to read"
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