Prada Ordered 'Old, Fat, and Ugly' Staff Fired

...and so he's suing

(NEWSER) - A gay police officer has enlisted Gloria Allred's legal help—so you know we're about to report on a buzzy lawsuit. The unnamed cop is filing a discrimination complaint against his department, which he says denied his written request that he be allowed to march in uniform during Sunday's West Hollywood Gay & Lesbian Pride Parade. And in its response, the department apparently wrote that such a move would bring "discredit" to his employer. A press conference is scheduled for this afternoon, reports KTLA ; the department's name has not yet been announced. More»

Ian Benardo: Producers set me up to storm the stage

(NEWSER) - The American Idol reject who charged the stage during the show's 2010 finale says Idol producers encouraged his stunt, and is suing for $300 million for gay discrimination. Ian Benardo, a 2007 contestant, claims producers invited him back for the season finale, then pummeled him with "discriminatory intimidation, ridicule, insults and hostile and offensive comments" while pushing him to "act more faggy" for the May 26 finale, the New York Daily News reports. More»

Calif. panel rules dismissal amounts to discrimination

(NEWSER) - Firing an employee for breastfeeding during her break amounts to sex discrimination, California’s Fair Employment and Housing Commission ruled last week, awarding her $41,645 in damages, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Marina Chavez was fired from her job at a Los Angeles-area taqueria after breastfeeding her newborn on her lunch break in the family car. More»

(NEWSER) - Family members of dozens of black and Hispanic children turned away from a suburban Philadelphia swim club plan to sue the club for discrimination, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. The director of the camp has turned down the club's invitation for the campers to return. "The children are permanently scarred," she said. More»

Ruling shifts burden of proof to employers

(NEWSER) - The Supreme Court ruled today that it is up to employers in age-discrimination lawsuits to prove that their actions resulted from “reasonable factors other than age,” the New York Times reports. With the opinion making it easier for employees to sue, the court explained to opponents that Congress’ wording of the law “set the balance where it is.” More»