Former Ropes & Gray associate loses retaliation case

Jurors deliberated only 2½ hours Wednesday before rejecting a former associate’s retaliation lawsuit against Ropes & Gray. Former associate John Ray III had claimed the law firm retaliated for his complaints about discrimination by refusing to give promised recommendations and later disclosed confidential information about the case to Above the…

Nov 21, 2013 2:25 PM CST

Appellate lawyer decked in court by handcuffed death-row client sues county for damages

A Pennsylvania lawyer who was decked in court by a handcuffed death-row inmate while working as a contract appellate lawyer earlier this year has sued Blair County for damages. Plaintiff Timothy S. Burns, 40, lost consciousness briefly when he was knocked to the floor by his client at the counsel…

Nov 19, 2013 9:50 PM CST

Outten & Golden opens a San Francisco office, plans to help workers sue financial and tech companies

An employment boutique that’s been in the news recently because of its unpaid-internship litigation against big entertainment companies is now opening a third office. Outten & Golden announced Monday that Jahan C. Sagafi, formerly a partner of Lieff, Cabraser, Heimann & Bernstein, will head its new office in San Francisco.…

Nov 18, 2013 10:10 PM CST

Law profs’ ‘satanic’ pay-raise claim is tossed by state labor relations board

Law professors who alleged they were punished for union activities with pay raises of zilch or $666 have lost their case before the Ohio State Employment Relations Board. The law professors at Cleveland-Marshall had alleged in their unfair-labor complaint that the $666 pay raise was intended as a message that…

Nov 15, 2013 2:47 PM CST

SCOTUS considers whether union neutrality agreements are improper ‘thing of value’

The U.S. Supreme Court considered on Wednesday whether “neutrality agreements” between unions and employers violate federal labor law. Under the agreements, businesses help labor unions in organization efforts in exchange for labor peace, the New York Times reports. The Washington Post offers some examples: An employer might grant access to…

Nov 14, 2013 6:06 PM CST

Reuters: Snowden accessed some classified US info by persuading NSA coworkers to provide passwords

Even at one of the top U.S. security watchdogs, some workers may not be following basic rules to safeguard employer data. Edward Snowden, who was granted temporary asylum in Russia after exposing secret mass surveillance programs he learned about while working as a contract employee for the National Security Agency,…

Nov 8, 2013 9:55 PM CST

County attorney is ordered off the job amid investigation

A New Hampshire county attorney has been ordered off the job and banned from the courthouse amid an investigation into a complaint about management and operations of his office. Rockingham County Attorney James Reams and Deputy Rockingham County Attorney Tom Reid were placed on paid leave, report Foster’s Daily Democrat,…

Nov 8, 2013 4:30 PM CST

Distracting sex-harassment allegations spur law dean to take leave of absence

Case Western Reserve law dean Lawrence Mitchell has announced he is taking a temporary leave of absence because of the “distraction” of a pending suit that accuses him of retaliation and possible sexual harassment. In an email to faculty and students, Mitchell said he is confident that the university’s review…

Nov 7, 2013 3:48 PM CST

Lawyer Ted Wells to investigate Miami Dolphins workplace misconduct allegations

The National Football League has tapped high-profile lawyer Ted Wells to investigate allegations of workplace misconduct at the Miami Dolphins. Wells, a partner at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, will prepare a report that will be released to the public, report the New York Times, the Miami Herald and…

Nov 7, 2013 12:52 PM CST

Texas sues EEOC over federal guidance on employer use of arrest and conviction info

The state of Texas has sued the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in federal court in Lubbock over enforcement guidance provided by the EEOC in April 2012 concerning the use of arrest records and criminal convictions when making employment decisions. The EEOC says that relying on such records can have…

Nov 5, 2013 4:45 PM CST

Miami Dolphins starter is suspended indefinitely, team asks NFL to probe player’s bullying claims

A week after a 24-year-old offensive tackle left the Miami Dolphins to deal with what news reports described as emotional issues after an incident in the team’s lunchroom, another starting player has been suspended indefinitely for “conduct detrimental to the team” and the Dolphins have asked the National Football League…

Nov 4, 2013 8:46 PM CST

Firm’s new blog looks at other egregious L&E blunders in pop culture, after ‘The Office’ ends

Nov 1, 2013 8:30 AM CDT

Workers object to spending time that’s not on their employers’ dime

Nov 1, 2013 5:40 AM CDT

Motel-sex injury doesn’t merit workers’ compensation, Australian high court rules

A government worker injured during motel sex on a business trip is not entitled to workers’ compensation, Australia’s highest court has ruled. The High Court of Australia ruled the woman was not entitled to compensation because the injury did not occur in the course of employment. How Appealing links to…

Oct 30, 2013 4:09 PM CDT

Target removes criminal history questions from job applications nationwide

Target Corp. will remove questions about criminal history from its job applications nationwide, the Minneapolis-based retailer recently announced. Various states now prohibit government agencies from asking about criminal histories in job applications, the New York Times reports, and Minnesota recently extended the law to private employers. The statute prevents employers…

Oct 30, 2013 4:08 PM CDT