Labor & Employment

Local governments in Arkansas can’t bar gay discrimination as a result of new law

A new law in Arkansas bars local governments from enacting discrimination protections for gay people. The law, set to take effect this summer, was enacted on Monday when Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson neither signed nor vetoed the measure, report the Washington Post and Arkansas Online. Hutchinson, a Republican, was elected…

Feb 25, 2015 8:48 AM CST

Midwest law firm wins record $62M settlement from Lockheed in suit over 401(k) fees

Lockheed Martin Corp. has agreed to pay $62 million to settle a federal lawsuit by a St. Louis law firm contending that it charged excessive fees and in its 401(k) plans. The amount is a record high settlement for a case of this kind, reports the Wall Street Journal (sub.…

Feb 23, 2015 5:45 PM CST

EEOC expert made an ‘alarming number of errors,’ 4th Circuit says in background-check case

Updated: An expert witness for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission made “an alarming number of errors” in an analysis of a discrimination claim, according to a federal appeals court opinion that upheld dismissal of an EEOC lawsuit. The Richmond, Virginia-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled (PDF) on Friday…

Feb 23, 2015 10:55 AM CST

Steamy novel writer will have to get psych exam in wrongful firing suit against BigLaw firm

The self-published author of an erotic novel will have to submit to a psychiatric examination in her suit claiming Allen & Overy used the book as a pretext to fire her. Plaintiff Deidre Clark, who had worked as a senior lawyer in the firm’s Moscow office, must have the exam…

Feb 23, 2015 6:15 AM CST

Ex-clerk sues judge, says his own mental health was questioned when he refused to be bullied

A former clerk has filed a pro se federal lawsuit against the New Jersey judge he worked for, alleging a number of dubious practices by the jurist. Plaintiff Joseph Dearie Jr. also says in the Section 1983 civil rights suit that his own mental health was questioned when he walked…

Feb 20, 2015 11:05 AM CST

Some gay state workers in Kansas still protected from discrimination, despite action by governor

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback’s decision to lift employment protections for LGBT state workers won’t disable protections for some in this group. Several state universities have announced they don’t plan to change their policies barring discrimination against workers on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, the Wichita Business Journal…

Feb 17, 2015 9:41 AM CST

NBC staffers are told to review news policy manual after Brian Williams is put on leave

An NBC announcement this week that the network is suspending Nightly News anchor Brian Williams without pay for six months for embellishing an account of his Iraq war coverage in 2003 isn’t just having an impact on viewers. Fellow NBC News employees have been given until Friday to confirm in…

Feb 11, 2015 3:00 PM CST

Suit claims departing lawyers weren’t paid promised bonuses

Seven lawyers who left the Nelson Brown law firm last year have filed a lawsuit claiming they were never paid bonuses promised before their departure. The lawyers left the insurance boutique that was then known as Nelson Levine de Luca & Hamilton in February 2014, the Legal Intelligencer (reg. req,)…

Feb 11, 2015 8:46 AM CST

Both sides proclaim victory in jury’s $140K award to ex law firm associate, but say they may appeal

Both sides proclaimed victory following a a federal jury’s award Thursday of $140,000 to a former associate of Faruqi & Faruqi, but say they may appeal aspects of the verdict won by Alexandra Marchuk in her sexual harassment case against the law firm and one of its partners. Attorney Scott…

Feb 6, 2015 11:30 AM CST

Ex-associate who sued law firm seeking $2M wins $90K plus undetermined punitives

An ex-associate at a New York law firm who alleged she was sexually harassed by her former employer, in a lawsuit that provided graphic details, has won a jury verdict, but it may not be the award that Alexandra Marchuk had hoped for. Her federal employment discrimination suit had sought…

Feb 5, 2015 4:15 PM CST

See the video: PD is handcuffed in court hall for refusing to step aside for police photo of client

When a longtime public defender heard Tuesday afternoon that a misdemeanor client was being questioned by plainclothes police in a hallway outside a San Francisco Hall of Justice courtroom, she headed for the hallway herself. There, as Jami Tillotson stood at the man’s side and calmly explained to police she…

Jan 29, 2015 10:40 AM CST

Are app-summoned workers contractors? Suits seek protections; profs say new category needed

Workers who find jobs through apps such as Uber are questioning whether they are being wrongly classified as independent contractors who aren’t covered by minimum-wage laws and other protections. Lawsuits filed against cleaning and handyman service Handy and digital jobs service CrowdFlower claim workers are employees, rather than contractors, the…

Jan 29, 2015 5:45 AM CST

6th Circuit botched contract law by favoring retiree benefits in ambiguous union pacts, SCOTUS says

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled against retirees who argued their health benefits could not be cut after expiration of their collective bargaining agreement. Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the unanimous opinion (PDF) finding that a federal appeals court was wrongly favoring retirees when interpreting ambiguous union contracts governing insurance benefits.…

Jan 26, 2015 10:04 AM CST

Posner ruling tosses Social Security judges’ grievance claim, compares them to assembly line workers

The Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that administrative law judges for the Social Security Administration can’t pursue a grievance against their agency. As the National Law Journal (sub. req.) reported, Judge Richard Posner compared the ALJs to workers on “a poultry processing assembly line” in rejecting…

Jan 26, 2015 9:00 AM CST

Suit claims humiliation by Target store managers caused cashier’s suicide

A cashier at a Target store committed suicide after managers allegedly directed his humiliating “walk of shame” in front of co-workers, a shaming imposed on workers suspected of theft, according to a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles superior court. The suit was filed by the mother of 22-year-old Graham Gentles,…

Jan 26, 2015 7:37 AM CST