Labor & Employment

Merrill Lynch reportedly agrees to $160M settlement in bias case

Merrill Lynch has agreed to pay $160 million to settle racial bias claims by 700 African-American brokers who alleged unequal treatment impeded their careers at the brokerage, according to a lawyer for the plaintiffs. The settlement is the largest amount ever distributed to plaintiffs in a racial discrimination suit against…

Aug 28, 2013 4:02 PM CDT

Bill seeks to change ‘but for’ test in age bias cases as laid-off older workers plot strategies

For the last several years, legislation has been introduced in Congress which would reverse a 2009 U.S. Supreme Court decision that has discouraged lawyers from bringing age bias suits. The latest bill was introduced in the Senate with bipartisan support, but a legislative specialist for AARP says it won’t become…

Aug 28, 2013 11:35 AM CDT

Paula Deen suit is dismissed; plaintiff says celebrity chef is ‘woman of compassion and kindness’

The restaurant manager who sued Paula Deen and her brother for alleged workplace discrimination has dismissed the lawsuit and issued a statement calling Deen a “woman of compassion and kindness.” The suit settled on Friday for undisclosed terms, report the Huffington Post, Bloomberg News, Reuters and Fox News. There was…

Aug 27, 2013 10:40 AM CDT

Nightclubs violated law by requiring workers to pay tabs of deadbeat customers, says top Minn. court

Minnesota law protects nightclub workers who were forced to cover the tab for deadbeat customers who didn’t pay their bills or failed to sign credit card receipts, the Minnesota Supreme Court has ruled. The employees are protected even if their pay didn’t fall below minimum wage after making up the…

Aug 26, 2013 11:00 AM CDT

How one firm successfully recoups its costs; ‘Breaking Bad’ legal fan-fiction?

Attorney at Work asked lawyers from four different firms about their most effective cost-recovery methods. “The clients in one of our practice sectors especially do not appreciate being ‘nickel-and-dimed’ with charges for photocopy, fax, postage and online legal research. But these clients have no problem paying an ‘administrative fee,’” said…

Aug 23, 2013 1:30 PM CDT

See the video: Law firm puts fake associate to work with summer hires, urges actor to stir up office

In what may be the best prank of the season, a Chicago law firm put an actor to work as a purported summer associate among its actual hires during their first week of employment. Partner Jay Edelson tells the ABA Journal the idea was to to help break the ice…

Aug 19, 2013 3:17 PM CDT

Unlocked office door can be as big a threat as computer hackers, experts say

With all the attention that’s been focused on cybersecurity lately, it’s easy for those in charge of business operations to lose sight of a simple fact. Criminals don’t necessarily have to hack into the computer system to get hold of confidential information from law firms or other companies. Often, employees…

Aug 15, 2013 5:52 PM CDT

Paula Deen wins dismissal of racial bias claim by white plaintiff

A federal judge in Savannah has ruled a white plaintiff who worked at a Georgia restaurant owned by Paula Deen and her brother has no standing to pursue a racial bias claim. U.S. District Judge William Moore Jr. said plaintiff Lisa Jackson is no more than “an accidental victim of…

Aug 13, 2013 12:58 PM CDT

EEOC is using labor law to bring civil actions against suspected human traffickers

Efforts to thwart human trafficking in workers has increased significantly in recent years, and the pace will quicken as employment rights intersect with human rights as an enforcement tool, shining a spotlight on employers. “This is not just a [Justice Department] problem, not just a criminal problem,” Robert Canino, a…

Aug 11, 2013 7:21 PM CDT

Major League Baseball faces suit over unpaid volunteer workers

Add Major League Baseball to a growing list of major employers facing wage-and-hour class action litigation over the use of unpaid volunteer workers, including but not limited to interns. The governing body of the sport has been sued in Manhattan federal court by a man who says MLB violated New…

Aug 7, 2013 5:20 PM CDT

Suit says co-workers shocked employee with stun gun dozens of times and posted videos on YouTube

A fired employee at a Houston car dealership claims in a lawsuit that his co-workers shocked him with a Taser dozens of times in his last nine months on the job, and some of the incidents were taped and posted on YouTube. Bradley Jones, 45, claimed his boss at Fred…

Aug 7, 2013 12:35 PM CDT

Judge orders EEOC to pay $4.7M in legal fees in Jenner & Block case

In the latest chapter of a litigation saga that has proven expensive for the feds, Jenner & Block has won what could be a record $4.7 million in attorney fees and costs from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. At issue was an employment discrimination case brought by the EEOC against…

Aug 6, 2013 8:31 PM CDT

Cuccinelli ‘egomaniac’ criticism by blog commenter led to my firing, says suit by ex-assistant AG

A former assistant attorney general in Virginia claims in a lawsuit that she was improperly fired because of suspicions she called her boss an “egomaniac” in an anonymous comment on a newspaper blog. Samantha Vanterpool says she was fired because of suspicions she was the person who posted negative comments…

Aug 6, 2013 2:41 PM CDT

Ex-prosecutor fired after testifying against boss can assert 1st Amendment claim, 7th Circuit says

A former assistant prosecutor in suburban Chicago can assert a First Amendment claim concerning his allegation that he was fired for cooperating when he was subpoenaed by a special prosecutor to testify against his then-boss, a federal appeals court has ruled. Reversing a district court judge, the Chicago-based 7th U.S.…

Aug 5, 2013 10:50 PM CDT

Blogger says farewell to tech expert who treated solos with respect, not like ‘desperate morons’

Ross Kodner, a legal technology expert who died this week at age 52, could have set his sights on large firms and large paychecks, Carolyn Elefant wrote at My Shingle. “With his talents and energy, Ross could have easily abandoned the solo and small firm community to focus on helping…

Aug 2, 2013 1:30 PM CDT