Latest news with #raceDiscrimination
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- General
- Daily Mail
Implying your office colleagues have stolen your work mug when it goes missing will probably come across as 'out of proportion', tribunal rules as worker loses race discrimination case
A Currys employee lost a race discrimination case, after an employment tribunal ruled it would probably have seemed to colleagues 'out of proportion' to infer your co-workers stole your missing mug. Adeel Habib began working as a credit support associate for the electrical giant at an office in Poole, Dorset in January 2023, but he only stayed at the company for under four months. He claimed he was discriminated against when colleagues 'cold shouldered' him after he got 'greatly upset' by someone else taking his cup in March, a hearing in Southampton was told. A co-worker explained that if Mr Habib had left the mug in the kitchen then someone else had probably used it as those cups were seen as communal. After this, she then offered to go around the office with Mr Habib and ask colleagues if they had seen the mug. The support associate said that after this incident he was 'cold shouldered' by his colleagues and claimed at the tribunal that this amounted to race discrimination. The employment tribunal heard his reaction - in which he implied fellow staff were guilty of theft - seemed 'out of proportion'. His race claim against the electrical retail giant was dismissed with the panel finding any 'resentment' towards him was caused by his 'confrontational' attitude to the mug going missing. Employment Judge David Hughes said Mr Habib likely 'caused some resentment' towards him by coming across as 'confrontational' in his search for the mug, implying that it had been stolen. However, he added that it had nothing to do with his race. He added that the associate was 'ill-equipped' to manage the nuances of social interaction in the workplace which could have 'eased tensions'. 'We find that Mr Habib was probably very upset about his mug,' the judge said: 'Just how upset he was probably seemed to his colleagues to be out of proportion to the loss of a mug. 'Mr Habib can use language that is apt to strike others as confrontational, even if he does not intend to be. 'We find that he probably did give his colleagues reason to believe that he viewed the loss of the mug as stealing. 'We find that this is likely to have caused some resentment towards him. 'Sad though it is to have to say this, it seems to us to be likely that Mr Habib is, unfortunately, ill-equipped to cope with the nuances of social interaction in the workplace, and lacks the sort of social skills that might have eased tensions that arose around the mug incident.' Mr Habib also tried to claim that his manager denying him five weeks annual leave to go back to Pakistan for a series of weddings, which he requested just a month into his employment, was race discrimination. The tribunal found that the rejection of his holiday request was not race discrimination and was merely his manager following Currys' standard policy. As well as the race discrimination claims, Mr Habib alleged that during his time at Currys he had been sexually harassed by a female co-worker. However, his allegations were dismissed as 'simply incredible'. At the end of March, Mr Habib was dismissed by Currys and was not given an opportunity to appeal. His unfair dismissal claim was struck out because Mr Habib had not been employed long enough to make that claim. However, he was awarded three weeks' notice pay because there was no mention of a probation period in his notice and therefore he was entitled to one month's notice not one week.
CBS News
4 days ago
- Politics
- CBS News
Keller: Putting the Trump administration's claims against Harvard to the truth test
The opinions expressed below are Jon Keller's, not those of WBZ, CBS News or Paramount Global. In the latest salvo of its ongoing war against the nation's oldest university, the Trump administration accused Harvard of "race discrimination" and told federal agencies to cancel $100 million worth of contracts with Harvard. We reviewed the specific claims the administration is making in a letter from the General Services Administration (GSA) and put them to the WBZ Truth Test. Remedial math class "These students can't add two and two and they go to Harvard, they want remedial math and they're going to teach remedial math at Harvard," said the president the other day. "Now wait a minute, so why would they get in?" The GSA letter calls it the "direct result of employing discriminatory factors instead of merit in admission decisions," part of its overall claim that Harvard has not reformed its admissions process in compliance with a 2023 Supreme Court ruling. But the university is enrolling fewer Black students since the court ruled. And Harvard claims that remedial math class was a response to pandemic-era learning loss among incoming freshmen. No evidence has been offered that it's an affirmative action by-product in any way. Harvard Law Review The feds also claim "discriminatory practices have been exposed" at the Harvard Law Review. And in fact, the Free Beacon website did obtain materials documenting a devotion to elevation of non-White voices in the student-run publication. A 2018 lawsuit against the Review, Harvard Law School and Harvard College was thrown out by a federal judge who found the plaintiffs "failed to supply even the slightest description of any member" actually harmed by similar behavior. And at Harvard and other schools, law reviews operate independently from the universities themselves. Two students honored One of the students charged with assault and battery on an Israeli student after a 2023 confrontation at Harvard Business School has been awarded a Law School fellowship. Another was named a class marshal at the Divinity School. The GSA calls that "a clear signal of tolerance for, if not outright endorsement of, student on student violence." But a Boston Municipal Court judge ruled they should not face trial, and do not have to admit wrongdoing. The singling out of those two students for honors - even though the judge ordered them to undergo anger management classes and perform community service - was bound to stir up controversy and seems like questionable judgement. So does using the case to broadly indict Harvard for decisions made independently by two of its many branches. The rest of the letter is a rehash of old grievances and, in the case of the "remedial math" issue, a very sketchy set of assumptions. Makes you wonder if all this is less about facts and reform than political grandstanding.
CBS News
4 days ago
- Business
- CBS News
Trump administration looks to end all federal contracts with Harvard University, totalling $100 million
The Trump administration is making its latest move to take away funding from Harvard University on Tuesday, writing in a letter that all federal agencies should look at canceling their government contracts with the Ivy League college or move them somewhere else. There are about 30 outstanding federal contracts with Harvard totaling $100 million, a senior administration official tells CBS News. Why Trump administration wants to end Harvard contracts The letter from the U.S. General Services Administration alleges that Harvard "continues to engage in race discrimination, including in its admissions process and in other areas of student life." It also claims that the school is not doing enough to project Jewish students from harassment on campus. "In light of this deeply troubling pattern, each agency should consider its contracts with Harvard University and determine whether Harvard and its services efficiently promote the priorities of the agency," the letter says. "Going forward, we also encourage your agency to seek alternative vendors for future services where you had previously considered Harvard." The Supreme Court ruled in 2023 that Harvard's race-conscious admission policies were unconstitutional. But since then, Harvard says admissions workers no longer have access to certain information about an applicant's race. The school reported a drop in Black student enrollment last fall after the affirmative action ruling. Harvard did not immediately respond to a request for comment. What happens next? The federal agencies have a June 6 deadline to respond to the GSA with the actions they are taking. "The goal at the end is for the government to be out of business with Harvard, but to do it in a way that preserves critical services that agencies think they still need by transitioning that to a new vendor," the senior administration official said. What about Harvard-related hospitals? The official said the contract review would not include the Harvard hospital system. Funding for Massachusetts General Hospital, which has a partnership with Harvard, would not be impacted. On Monday, Trump said he's considering rerouting $3 billion in Harvard grants to trade schools across the U.S. The administration has already frozen billions of dollars in federal funding to Harvard, and last week moved to block the university from enrolling foreign students. Harvard has sued the Trump administration, saying the funding freeze is part of the government's efforts to control policies at the school. Harvard president Alan Garber has said that while the school has taken steps to address antisemitism, "The University will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights."
CBS News
4 days ago
- Business
- CBS News
Trump administration looks to end federal contracts with Harvard University
The Trump administration is making its latest move to take away funding from Harvard University on Tuesday, writing in a letter that all federal agencies should look at canceling their government contracts with the Ivy League college or move them somewhere else. There are about 30 outstanding federal contracts with Harvard totaling $100 million, a senior administration official tells CBS News. The letter from the U.S. General Services Administration alleges that Harvard "continues to engage in race discrimination, including in its admissions process and in other areas of student life." It also claims that the school is not doing enough to project Jewish students from harassment on campus. "In light of this deeply troubling pattern, each agency should consider its contracts with Harvard University and determine whether Harvard and its services efficiently promote the priorities of the agency," the letter says. "Going forward, we also encourage your agency to seek alternative vendors for future services where you had previously considered Harvard." The Supreme Court ruled in 2023 that Harvard's race-conscious admission policies were unconstitutional. But since then, Harvard says admissions workers no longer have access to certain information about an applicant's race. The school reported a drop in Black student enrollment last fall after the affirmative action ruling. Harvard did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The federal agencies have a June 6 deadline to respond to the GSA with the actions they are taking. "The goal at the end is for the government to be out of business with Harvard, but to do it in a way that preserves critical services that agencies think they still need by transitioning that to a new vendor," the senior administration official said. The official said the contract review would not include the Harvard hospital system. Funding for Massachusetts General Hospital, which has a partnership with Harvard, would not be impacted. On Monday, Trump said he's considering rerouting $3 billion in Harvard grants to trade schools across the U.S. The administration has already frozen billions of dollars in federal funding to Harvard, and last week moved to block the university from enrolling foreign students. Harvard has sued the Trump administration, saying the funding freeze is part of the government's efforts to control policies at the school. Harvard president Alan Garber has said that while the school has taken steps to address antisemitism, "The University will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights."
Fox News
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Sen Mike Lee accuses Chicago mayor — who called Trump a 'monster' — of 'bragging about' violating the law
Print Close By Alex Nitzberg Published May 23, 2025 Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson called President Donald Trump a "monster," and U.S. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, has accused the mayor of "bragging about" violating the law. Johnson accused the president of "animus towards women, people of color, [and] working people." "We have always known who he has been," he declared. "This is not a surprise. He's a monster, period. We have the most diverse administration in the history of Chicago, and he is threatened by that." Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication. DOJ LAUNCHES INVESTIGATION INTO BLUE STATE CITY OVER ALLEGED RACE-BASED HIRING The mayor's fiery comments come in the context of the Justice Department launching a probe into whether Chicago is engaging in race-based discrimination. "Our investigation is based on information suggesting that you have made hiring decisions solely on the basis of race," a letter signed by Assistant Attorney General, Civil Rights Division, Harmeet Dhillon declares. The letter points to comments the mayor made while speaking to Dr. Byron T. Brazier, pastor of the Apostolic Church of God. During the exchange, Johnson pointed to various roles occupied by Black individuals and said, "when you ask, how do we ensure that our people get a chance to grow their business, having people in my administration that will look out for the interest of everyone, and everyone means you have to look out for the interests of Black folks … that's how we ensure long-term sustainable growth …" POLICE RAID DC SHOOTING SUSPECT ELIAS RODRIGUEZ'S CHICAGO APARTMENT Dhillon's message to the mayor notes that "we have not reached any conclusions about the subject matter of the investigation." "Chicago's mayor is about to find out," Sen. Mike Lee declared in a post on X. "Racial discrimination is illegal." "There's no such thing as benevolently racist hiring policies," Lee said in another post. "Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is breaking the law And bragging about it Then calling Trump a monster because his administration won't tolerate that," Lee wrote, adding, "He's about to find out." GIANNO CALDWELL SEEKS JUSTICE FOR BROTHER KILLED IN BLUE CITY 'ENAMORED WITH CRIMINALS' RIGHTS': ALDERMAN CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The mayor's press office also did not respond to Fox News Digital's comment request by the time of publication. Print Close URL
