Domestic Violence and Job Discrimination by Mary Elizabeth Davis

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)  has filed a suit against Cascade Foods, an Oregon nut processing company, for discriminating against a domestic violence survivor.  The female employee, in her mid-30s, had secured a restraining order against her ex-boyfriend, who was also employed at Cascade Foods.    Cascade Foods, even after being informed by the survivor that her ex-boyfriend had hit her, fired her for refusing to drop the restraining order against him.

One in three women will be assaulted by a boyfriend or husband during her lifetime.  Almost three-quarters of employed domestic violence victims are harassed at their job by their abuser.

This case is ground-breaking.  I'm so glad that the EEOC (where I interned during and shortly after law school) is taking the lead in fighting illegal discrimination against battered women.  I intend to follow this case to see how the courts address this issue.