EEOC settles case of ironworker who claimed bias for failing to conform to manly-man stereotype

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has settled two same-sex harassment cases, including the case of a heterosexual ironworker who claimed he was subjected to gay slurs and simulated sex because he failed to conform to his boss’s male stereotypes. The ironworker’s suit against Boh Brothers Construction settled for $125,000, Legal…

Mar 4, 2014 11:45 AM CST

3 slain in attacks at 2 German law firms; suspect, a former client, is in custody

Apparently angry over an adverse ruling in an employment case which he had unsuccessfully sought to appeal, a 48-year-old man fatally attacked three people, including at least two lawyers, and set fire to two German law firms on Friday, authorities say. Authorities say Yanqing T. stabbed attorney Ulrike F. to…

Mar 3, 2014 5:30 PM CST

Companies claim contraceptive mandate goes against owners’ religious beliefs

Mar 1, 2014 10:10 AM CST

Judge OKs injury suit by lawyer decked in court by death-row client

A Pennsylvania criminal defense lawyer who says he is still trying to recuperate from being struck in the face by a handcuffed death-row client and knocked to the courtroom floor last May has gotten a green light to proceed with his personal injury suit against Blair County, its prison board…

Feb 27, 2014 5:30 PM CST

Law firm won’t split $250K check with attorney’s estate, says his suicide voided fee-share agreement

After Ira Bordow committed suicide at his Wisconsin home last year, his brother found a $250,000 check from an insurance company on the front seat of the dead man’s Lexus. It was made out to Bordow and Styles & Pumpian, the law firm with which the 54-year-old practitioner had been…

Feb 24, 2014 7:30 PM CST

Workers protest courthouse dress code: ‘Don’t hate, we look great!’

Due to admittedly lax enforcement of a 1996 dress code for San Francisco Superior Court, some court employees had gotten too comfortable. A number often showed up for work in court in jeans and hoodies or track suits, according to KCBS and KGO. And, of course, the court is located…

Feb 21, 2014 7:30 PM CST

Retired Arizona judges are entitled to promised pension increases, state supreme court says

Citing a state constitutional guarantee, the Arizona Supreme Court has ruled that lawmakers can’t trim pension increases for retired judges. The court said the pension increases must be reinstated because of a constitutional provision providing that public pension benefits can’t be diminished or impaired, Capitol Media Services and the Arizona…

Feb 21, 2014 4:06 PM CST

Bill to ban employer demands for social media passwords is amended to allow limited access

A proposed Florida bill intended to ban employers from demanding workers’ social media logins and passwords has been tweaked to allow those demands in certain circumstances. On Monday, a state senate committee amended the legislation to allow companies to demand access to accounts that are used for a “business purpose,”…

Feb 18, 2014 10:29 PM CST

Lawyer’s report for NFL backs up Miami Dolphins bullying claims, warns readers of vulgar content

After being brought in by the National Football League to investigate claims that Richie Incognito and two other Miami Dolphins starters bullied a junior player, a partner of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison has substantiated the allegations. The nearly 150-page report (PDF) released Friday warns readers that it contains…

Feb 14, 2014 6:20 PM CST

Activist law prof files suit claiming he was wrongly barred from campus because of PTSD

An activist law professor who spent three weeks in a Rwandan jail has filed a lawsuit claiming he was wrongly barred from campus because of his post-traumatic stress disorder. Peter Erlinder’s suit against William Mitchell College of Law was removed to federal court in Minnesota on Friday, according to Pacer…

Feb 13, 2014 3:18 PM CST

Lawyer suing for document-review OT applies for job with defendant; sanctions bid fails

A lawyer who filed a suit contending that lawyers in document-review jobs deserve overtime pay is still looking for contract work—and even sent his resume to one of the defendants. The resume sent by David Lola to Tower Legal Staffing spurred a sanctions bid by its lawyers, who contended Lola’s…

Feb 12, 2014 3:48 PM CST

ABA resolution urges businesses to adopt policies against child labor and labor trafficking

The ABA House of Delegates has adopted a resolution urging businesses to adopt policies against child labor and trafficking that are consistent with four model principles. The principles outlined in Resolution 102B say the business will prohibit child labor and labor trafficking in its operations, will assess the risk of…

Feb 10, 2014 7:32 PM CST

EEOC won record $372M in settlements last year, despite filing fewer employment-discrimination suits

The federal agency charged with overseeing the pursuit of employment discrimination claims throughout the country has had some setbacks during the fiscal year that ended on Sept. 30, 2013. But despite a drop in the number of complaints, which topped out around 100,000 a few years ago and dropped to…

Feb 10, 2014 2:05 PM CST

ABA committee throws in the towel on new bar pass standard

After several years and as many false starts, an ABA committee has for the time being given up trying to improve upon the existing bar exam requirements in the law school accreditation standards. The Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar’s standards review committee, which met Friday in…

Feb 9, 2014 4:51 PM CST

Trio of labor and employment partners exits Paul Hastings for Proskauer

The co-chair of the employment discrimination practice group at Paul Hastings is leaving the firm, along with two colleagues, for Proskauer Rose. Joining Zach Fasman at Proskauer are Allan Bloom and Erika Collins, reports the Wall Street Journal Law Blog (sub. req.). “We felt as though we had a triple…

Feb 3, 2014 7:30 PM CST