Former Law School Employee Says in Sworn Statement She Was Pressured to Inflate Graduates’ Job Stats

A former assistant career services director at Thomas Jefferson School of Law has admitted to padding the school’s 2006 graduate employment data to include unemployed graduates who had been employed at any time since graduation. Karen Grant, who held the job for one year in 2006 and 2007, says she…

Oct 24, 2012 7:59 PM CDT

Chicago Will Borrow $80M to Pay Settlement with Black Firefighters

Chicago will borrow approximately $80 million to settle a discrimination action filed by black firefighter candidates who say that the city’s 1995 entrance exam was discriminatory. Previously, the U.S. Supreme Court nixed the city’s argument that the candidates waited too long to challenge the test. According to CBS 2, officials…

Oct 23, 2012 10:03 PM CDT

What Do DOMA Decisions Mean for Employment Law?

As courts strike down laws that ban same-sex marriage, lawyers wonder if employers will change benefits to be more inclusive for lesbian and gay employees, reports Corporate Counsel. The article cites the recent U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit opinion (PDF) that nixed the Defense of Marriage Act.…

Oct 23, 2012 3:06 PM CDT

Temporary Employees File Wage-and-Hour Claim Against Wal-Mart

Temporary employees at Wal-Mart were asked to come early, stay late and skip lunch, claims a proposed class action filed Monday in Chicago federal court. According to Reuters, the filing accuses the retail giant and two staffing agencies of violating federal wage and overtime laws. The case is Twanda Burkes…

Oct 22, 2012 7:40 PM CDT

Retaliation Claim Allowed in ‘Macho Culture’ Suit by Fired Dechert Associate

A former Dechert associate who maintains he was fired partly because of the firm’s macho culture will be allowed to proceed with a retaliation claim. Ariel Ayanna claims the firm retaliated against him, for taking leave to care for his children and mentally ill wife, in violation of the Family…

Oct 19, 2012 1:55 PM CDT

Do You Know What Your Co-Workers and Superiors Earn, or Not? What’s a Better Workplace Policy?

At Above the Law, columnist “Anonymous Partner” weighed in on a recent partner compensation survey (PDF) that noted that partners in law firms with open-compensation systems (a firm at which every partner knows what every other partner makes or could easily find out) earned far more than partners at firms…

Oct 10, 2012 4:45 PM CDT

Judge Tosses Fired Employee’s Computer Hacking Claim over Takeover of Her LinkedIn Account

A fired employee won’t be able to pursue a federal claim alleging her employer violated a federal computer hacking law when it took over her LinkedIn account. The employee, Linda Eagle, had alleged her former company had violated the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act by its actions. But U.S. District…

Oct 10, 2012 11:15 AM CDT

Suit Against DA Claims Complaints About Lack of Breast-Feeding Stations, Hispanic Bias Led to Firing

The District Attorney’s Office for Topeka’s Shawnee County is being accused of race and gender discrimination in a federal lawsuit (PDF) filed by two former employees. The plaintiffs, Krystal Boxum-Debolt and Lisa Anne Moore, were victim witness specialists before they were fired in 2010. They claim they were dismissed in…

Oct 10, 2012 11:00 AM CDT

‘Good Girls Revolt’ Author Discusses Groundbreaking 1970s Sex-Discrimination Suit Against Newsweek

Oct 9, 2012 1:35 PM CDT

Former BigLaw Partner Who Lost Age Bias Suit Is Ordered to Pay $182K on Counterclaim

A former Holland & Knight partner who lost his suit against the law firm for age bias got some more bad news last week. John Weir will have to pay $182,000 on the firm’s counterclaim for breach of fiduciary duty, a New York judge ruled last week. Judge Cynthia Kern…

Oct 5, 2012 11:00 AM CDT

Legal Assistants Sue Quadriplegic Ex-Boss, Claim Harassment Over Duties Related to His Disability

Four former employees have sued a California lawyer for alleged sex discrimination, contending that the lawyer, who has a disability practice and is himself quadriplegic, created a hostile work environment in part due to his requirement that they perform job duties related to his disability. Scott Johnson operates Disabled Access…

Oct 4, 2012 5:47 PM CDT

Lawyer Suing for Sex Discrimination Says She Was Fired; Firm Calls It ‘Facilitating Her Transition’

New salvos have been shot in a much-watched legal battle between a highly credentialed female lawyer and the Silicon Valley venture capital firm for which she has been working as a junior partner while simultaneously pursuing a sex discrimination suit. Ellen Pao, a highly credentialed former BigLaw attorney, says, through…

Oct 4, 2012 3:30 PM CDT

Lawyer Disciplined for Using Personal Laptop at Work to Earn Extra Bucks from JustAnswer.com

A Kentucky lawyer has been reprimanded for using his personal laptop computer during downtime at work to earn extra income by answering legal questions on JustAnswer.com. Matthew Scott Finley also got into hot water by occasionally using his state computer at his job in the public protection cabinet of Kentucky’s…

Oct 1, 2012 5:47 PM CDT

Prison Guard Reinstated After Investigation Shows Other Guards Were Friends with Inmate on Facebook

After being fired in May for violating Texas prison policy by friending an inmate on Facebook, a Huntsville corrections officer has been reinstated. The reinstatement comes after an investigation showed several others at the prison, including the prison’s chief financial officer, were associated on Facebook with the same convicted murderer.…

Oct 1, 2012 10:30 AM CDT

Hearsay: Short Takes and Fast Facts on the Law

Oct 1, 2012 8:10 AM CDT