Online resource business Hello Alice is the latest company to be named in a lawsuit for allegedly discriminating against business owners based on race. A class action lawsuit alleges the company’s partnership with Progressive Insurance Company, which offered $25,000 grants to 10 Black-owned small businesses, violates civil rights. Hello Alice and Progressive Partnership Hello Alice, founded by Carolyn Rodz and Elizabeth Gore in 2017, is a digital platform helping small businesses launch and grow through access to capital. They partner with corporations looking to reach and support new entrepreneurs through
Elon Musk’s aerospace manufacturing company, SpaceX, is facing a class action lawsuit for alleged wage discrimination based on gender and race. The lawsuit, filed on Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleges that SpaceX systematically pays its women and minority employees less than their white male counterparts for equivalent job roles. Same work, different pay Ashley Foltz, a propulsion engineer at SpaceX, joined the company in September 2022. She was hired at a salary of $92,000, while her white male counterparts with similar or less experience were offered as much
A federal court has temporarily blocked Fearless Fund’s grant program for Black women entrepreneurs amid an ongoing lawsuit by the American Alliance for Equal Rights. The decision reverses last week’s ruling by US District Judge Thomas V. Thrash, ultimately denying the conservative group’s allegation that the program was racially discriminatory. The Lawsuit Against Fearless Fund Fearless Fund invests in women of color-led businesses seeking pre-seed, seed level or series A financing. The American Alliance for Equal Rights, founded by Edward Blum, brought a lawsuit against Fearless Fund in August 2023.
The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has filed a lawsuit against electric car maker Telsa for tolerating widespread and racial harassment of Black employees. Widespread Racism and Retaliation The lawsuit claims that Tesla violated federal law by tolerating widespread and ongoing racial harassment of its Black employees and subjecting some workers to retaliation for opposing the harassment. According to the suit, from at least 2015 to the present, Black employees at Telsa’s Fremont, California manufacturing facilities have routinely endured racial abuse, stereotyping, and hostility. They have also been subjected
A federal judge in Georgia ruled that Fearless Fund, a venture capital fund for women of color, can continue offering a grant program only to Black women entrepreneurs. On Tuesday, the judge refused to issue an injunction blocking the program after a lawsuit alleged it engaged in “explicit racial exclusion”. The Lawsuit Against Fearless Fund The American Alliance for Equal Rights, founded by Edward Blum, brought a lawsuit against Fearless Fund in August 2023. It targeted the fund’s Fearless Strives Grant Contest, which awards Black women who own small businesses
Randal Quran Reid spent almost a week in jail after Louisiana police wrongly identified him using facial recognition software. He has now filed a lawsuit against them. What Happened? Reid, 28, was driving to his mother’s house for Thanksgiving when local police pulled him over and arrested him. They had used facial recognition software, and the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office (JPSO) identified him as a suspect in a spate of thefts in Louisiana. Reid, however, had never set foot in Louisiana and was unaware of what Jefferson Parish was. There
Diversity programs continue to come under fire as Meta Platforms Inc. and three entertainment groups face lawsuits. What has been happening? Since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against colleges and universities considering race in their admissions process and ending Affirmative Action, there have been several lawsuits against diversity programs. Following that, conservative group American Alliance for Equal Rights, led by Edward Blum, filed lawsuits against law firms Perkins Coie and Morrison Foerster, challenging their diversity fellowships. The lawsuits alleged these fellowships unlawfully discriminated against white candidates and requested that racial
George McKinney, the founder of Better Life Technologies, is in a five-year legal battle against healthcare provider Kaiser Permanente. Better Life Technologies Black-owned tech firm Better Life Technologies Group, Inc. describes itself at the forefront of innovation in human vitality monitoring within the wireless wearable technology revolution. Their goal is to enhance accessibility to life-saving technologies and create sustainability within the industry. They work on highly disruptive, non-invasive, real-time diagnostics for COVID-19 and many other pathogens. What Happened? McKinney has been in a legal battle with Kaiser Permanente for over five years
U.S. Justice Department Files Lawsuit Against SpaceX Over Alleged Discrimination In Hiring Practices
The U.S. Justice Department has filed a lawsuit against Elon Musk’s rocket company, SpaceX, for allegedly discriminating against asylees and refugees in hiring. Musk’s SpaceX designs, manufactures and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft. The Lawsuit The lawsuit alleges that from September 2018 to May 2022, SpaceX routinely discouraged asylees and refugees from applying. It also states the company refused to hire or consider them because of their citizenship status, violating the Immigration and Nationality Act. In job postings over several years, the rocket company wrongly claimed that under federal regulations known as
Buffalo shooting survivors have filed two lawsuits claiming that YouTube, Reddit and a body armor manufacturer enabled the gunman to kill 10 Black people in a racist attack. The two lawsuits are the latest attempts to hold social media companies accountable for their role in the mass murders. The Buffalo Shooting The 2022 Buffalo mass shooting has sparked a legal battle to hold social media companies responsible for their platforms’ role in radicalization. Earlier this year, two lawsuits were launched by the victims’ loved ones, seeking accountability from tech giants such as
