Labor & Employment

‘Frat house’ mood alleged in suit against Nelson Brown; lawyer says she was fired for not fitting in

A fired associate claims in a lawsuit that she was excluded from department meetings and worked in a “frat house” atmosphere at the Pennsylvania law firm now known as Nelson Brown Hamilton & Krekstein. The suit by Elizabeth Bailey claims she was fired in November 2013 because one of her…

Apr 9, 2015 8:38 AM CDT

Lawyer who quit after being berated by partner fails in unemployment benefits bid

A lawyer who quit her job after the managing partner berated her has failed to win unemployment benefits. The New Jersey Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal by the securities class-action lawyer, Ann Dooley, on April 2, Law.com reports. An appeals court had found last August that Dooley left…

Apr 8, 2015 7:03 AM CDT

Legal costs exceed $100 per student at some public schools; $23 is billed for lawyer’s phone message

Though Chicago-area school districts spend an average of $31 per student on legal bills for private lawyers, about 10 percent of the school districts spend more than $100 a student, a newspaper’s analysis has found. School superintendents maintain that legal spending helps avoid costly lawsuits, aids in contract negotiations and…

Apr 7, 2015 8:50 AM CDT

Appeals court ruling reviving $40M courthouse-renovation asbestos suit will go to state’s top court

Survivors of a woman who worked for 27 years at a Missouri courthouse before dying of mesothelioma settled her case against U.S. Engineering several years ago for a record $10.4 million. But a related class-action is still ongoing. It seeks a $40 million medical monitoring for other former employees and…

Apr 6, 2015 3:05 PM CDT

Men-only golf retreats and unequal work assignments alleged in bias suit against McElroy Deutsch

A fired associate at McElroy, Deutsch, Mulvaney & Carpenter claims in a gender bias and sex harassment suit against the law firm that male associates got to hobnob with firm leaders at male-only golf retreats and got better work assignments than females. Fired bankruptcy associate Elina Chechelnitsky filed the suit…

Apr 6, 2015 8:48 AM CDT

Two law profs sue William Mitchell over proposed changes to tenure policy as law school merger looms

Two law professors have sued William Mitchell College of Law, contending that proposed changes to its tenure policy making it easier to terminate faculty are a breach of contract. Filed Friday in Ramsey County District Court, the complaint by professors Carl Moy and John Radsan follows a February announcement that…

Apr 6, 2015 5:45 AM CDT

Sexual harrassment suit filed by 2 deputy DAs against their former supervisor

Two deputy district attorneys for Los Angeles County are suing their former supervisor, saying he sexually harassed them and gave out “stale” cases when they rejected him. According to the Los Angeles Times, Tannaz Mokayef and Beth Silverman’s lawsuit says profanity and sexual favors are commonplace in the major crimes…

Apr 3, 2015 2:40 PM CDT

Fired over blond highlights, former Hooters waitress wins $250K arbitration award

A former Hooters waitress who says she was fired over her blonde highlights after a manager told her “black people don’t have blonde hair,” has won more than $250,000 in an arbitration award. The hair-color policy “was implemented in a discriminatory manner adversely affecting African-American women,” wrote arbitrator Edmund D.…

Apr 3, 2015 11:10 AM CDT

More companies thwart employee class actions in arbitration agreements

More companies are requiring employees to arbitrate serious complaints and barring them from bringing class actions after a 2011 Supreme Court decision upholding a ban on class actions in consumer disputes. The result, lawyers tell the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.), is a drop in class action suits accusing corporations…

Apr 1, 2015 11:30 AM CDT

Judge tosses bias suit by former Booz Allen lawyer

A former lawyer at Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. who was demoted in a restructuring can’t pursue her discrimination case against the management consulting company, a federal judge has ruled. U.S. District Judge Anthony Trenga dismissed the suit filed by Carla Calobrisi in a March 24 decision (PDF), the Blog of…

Mar 31, 2015 2:06 PM CDT

Law firm faces copyright claim after press obtains secret video made by a client’s co-worker

A woman who secretly made a video of alleged sex harassment at work may be able to pursue her copyright claim against a law firm accused of releasing the recording to the press U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan ruled (PDF) on March 26 that the “Jane Roe” plaintiff could pursue…

Mar 30, 2015 8:21 AM CDT

Ellen Pao loses discrimination case against Kleiner Perkins, then judge revives one claim

Developing: The jury has reached a verdict in a much-watched Silicon Valley employment discrimination case. Ellen Pao, a former BigLaw associate with star credentials who currently is at the helm of Reddit, had sought millions from storied venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. She got zip. “The jury…

Mar 27, 2015 4:25 PM CDT

Microsoft navigates an approach to paid sick leave

Microsoft contractors and vendors will be required to provide 15 days of paid leave annually for employees who do work for the corporation, it was announced Thursday. Employees who get paid time off tend to be happier than those who don’t, Bradford L. Smith, Microsoft’s general counsel, told the New…

Mar 26, 2015 10:38 AM CDT

SCOTUS revives pregnancy bias case; Scalia says majority used ‘Supreme Wand’ to create test

A United Parcel Service employee who claimed the company failed to accommodate her 2006 pregnancy by giving her light duty will get a chance to pursue her claim as a result of a U.S. Supreme Court decision on Tuesday. The Supreme Court ruled on behalf of Peggy Young, though it…

Mar 25, 2015 12:16 PM CDT

Private texts transferred to workers’ corporate iPads led to wrongful firing, suit claims

Two former employees of Anheuser-Busch claim in a lawsuit that they were wrongly fired for private text messages transferred to a corporate-issued iPad through the iMessaging application. The suit by former New Jersey employees Victor Nascimento and Audry Yule says their employer discovered texts criticizing fellow employee Alex Davis when…

Mar 24, 2015 6:55 AM CDT