McDonald’s sued by former employees over ‘racist’ franchise in Virginia

Ten former employees of a McDonald’s franchisee in Virginia are suing the company over allegations of racism, sexual harassment and wrongful termination at three of its Virginia restaurants. The lawsuit, filed Thursday in federal court in Virginia, will test the extent of the company’s legal responsibility for the actions of…

Jan 22, 2015 2:30 PM CST

Gender identity disorder should be protected by ADA, transgender plaintiff argues

Can a transgendered individual sue for workplace discrimination? Yes, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said last year, and the question of whether gender identity disorder should be covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act is currently being litigated in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania U.S. District Court. Lawyers for…

Jan 21, 2015 4:30 PM CST

Fired air marshal can seek whistleblower protection for revealing security cuts, SCOTUS rules

A federal air marshal who disclosed plans to cut security on certain flights may seek whistleblower protections because his disclosure wasn’t banned by law, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled. The court ruled 7-2 (PDF) on behalf of Robert MacLean, who was fired three years after he leaked the information…

Jan 21, 2015 10:06 AM CST

Widow of longtime FedEx worker sues over denial of spouse’s pension benefits

The same-sex widow of a longtime FedEx worker is suing the company, saying it refused to pay her spousal survivor’s benefits. The suit (PDF), filed Wednesday in federal court in Oakland, Calif., alleges that FedEx refused to provide the benefits because its pension plan incorporates the federal Defense of Marriage…

Jan 16, 2015 3:41 PM CST

Secretary’s suit says she was the only staffer who could handle the managing partner’s vulgarity

A fired legal secretary claims in a sexual harassment lawsuit against Arnstein & Lehr that the firm’s former managing partner talked about his sex life and required her to inject him in the buttocks with a shot of vitamin B-12. The suit by Dasschinka Storani says the firm wrongly accused…

Jan 14, 2015 7:03 AM CST

Law firm ripped up bloody carpet to hide sex assault by partner, ex-associate alleges at bias trial

A Manhattan law firm ripped up carpet stained by blood when a partner “painfully and forcefully” had sex with an associate following a 2011 holiday party, the former associate’s lawyer alleged as her bias trial got under way on Monday. The now-former associate, Alexandra Marchuk, is seeking $9 million in…

Jan 13, 2015 7:28 AM CST

State lawyer fired for anti-gay blog posts can’t collect unemployment pay, appeals court rules

A Michigan appeals court has ruled that an assistant attorney general can’t collect unemployment benefits after his firing for harassing a gay student leader on his blog. In a decision (PDF) released on Friday, the Michigan Court of Appeals said that the firing of Andrew Shirvell was justified because he…

Jan 12, 2015 7:35 AM CST

Stock trader ejected from courtside seat in final seconds of Knicks game sues arena

A stock trader who says he was ejected from his courtside seat for shouting “Carmelo, you stink!” at the New York Knicks’ Carmelo Anthony during the final seconds of a January 2014 game against the Detroit Pistons has sued the arena over the incident. Plaintiff Anthony Rotondi, 43, says he…

Jan 6, 2015 1:45 PM CST

Citing loss of judicial independence, Iowa judge takes early retirement

An Iowa unemployment appeals judge is about to join the ranks of the jobless. According to the Associated Press, Judge Marlon Mormann announced that he was taking early retirement. Mormann’s act came several months after warning legislators that he and his fellow administrative law judges at Iowa Workforce Development believed…

Jan 6, 2015 12:14 PM CST

Ogletree Deakins opens new office in Milwaukee

Labor and employment firm Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart has opened an office in Milwaukee. The firm announced on Monday that it had acquired nine Milwaukee-based attorneys to run the new office, Ogletree Deakins’s 47th across the United States, Europe and Mexico. According to the Milwaukee Business Journal, the…

Jan 6, 2015 11:30 AM CST

1915-1924: Wilson, women and war

Jan 1, 2015 5:35 AM CST

1935-1944: A New Deal

Jan 1, 2015 5:25 AM CST

Looking for a promotion or a new job? Secret statistical programs could doom or aid your chances

If you’ve been checking LinkedIn to search for a job, your employer may know. That’s the conclusion of a new book called The Reputation Economy: How to Optimize Your Digital Footprint in a World Where Your Reputation Is Your Most Valuable Asset. The New York Bits blog has a story.…

Dec 30, 2014 5:45 AM CST

Cleary Gottlieb sued by former project lawyer for alleged racial bias in firing

Updated: A former project lawyer at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton claims in a lawsuit that the firm discriminated against him when it fired him in August 2012. The Dec. 23 suit by Maryland lawyer Lyle Silva, who is African American, says he “received nothing but outstanding praise” during his…

Dec 29, 2014 8:33 AM CST

Former judge loses suit claiming bias after disclosure of his affair with bailiff

A former New Jersey municipal court judge has lost his federal lawsuit claiming court officials discriminated against him because of his interracial affair with a bailiff. The former part-time judge, Wilson Campbell, who is black, had claimed court officials treated him more harshly than a white judge who sent amorous…

Dec 29, 2014 7:55 AM CST