Labor & Employment

Verdict Stands, Despite Yankees Talk Between Juror and Witness

A conversation about the Yankees between a juror and a witness didn’t require reversal of an employment discrimination verdict, according to a federal appeals court. The New York City-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the retaliation verdict against the Nassau County Sheriff’s Department, according to the Connecticut Employment…

Sep 17, 2009 2:45 PM CDT

Mace General Counsel Gets 6 Months Home Confinement Over Illegal Workers

The general counsel of Mace Security International Inc. was sentenced yesterday by a federal judge to six months of home confinement and a year of probation for his role in hiring undocumented Mexican immigrants to work at company car washes in the Philadelphia area. Robert Kramer pleaded guilty in June…

Sep 16, 2009 11:34 PM CDT

Law Firms Outshine Other Companies in Ranking by Gay Rights Group

Law firms have come a long way since the Human Rights Campaign Foundation started including them in ratings based on their protections and benefits for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees. In 2006, the first year law firms were included in the Human Rights Campaign survey, 12 got a perfect…

Sep 14, 2009 12:10 PM CDT

Covington & Burling Gets Partial Win in Ex-Employee’s Disability Bias Case

A former employee of Covington & Burling has lost most points in an appeal of her disability bias lawsuit against the law firm. Kathleen Barrett, a former programmer and analyst for the law firm, had claimed Covington discriminated against her because of a series of illnesses and surgery, according to…

Sep 11, 2009 3:57 PM CDT

Pizza Shop Must Pay for Worker’s Weight-Loss Surgery, Appeals Court Says

A pizza shop must pay for a worker’s weight-loss surgery, an Indiana appeals court has ruled in a case that is making headlines, because an on-the-job back injury contributed to his subsequent obesity. If Adam Childers doesn’t have the weight-loss surgery, doctors say, the back surgery he needs as a…

Sep 10, 2009 7:50 PM CDT

7 Doctors and Nurses Suspended for Playing Facebook Photo Game at Work

Seven doctors and nurses who apparently didn’t have enough to do while working overnight in a hospital emergency department last month reportedly decided to play a popular Facebook game. Now officials say their participation in the “lying down game,” in which participants post photos of themselves lying down flat, with…

Sep 10, 2009 6:05 PM CDT

Feds to Ramp Up Enforcement of ‘Rampant’ Wage-and-Hour Violations

After the release last week of a 72-page report documenting what the National Law Journal sums up as alleged “rampant” violations of wage-and-hour laws by employers, the U.S. Department of Labor is already gearing up for more stringent enforcement. It is hiring 250 additional investigators to pursue claimed widespread practices…

Sep 9, 2009 8:48 PM CDT

Judge Rules In-House Chief Patent Counsel Is Protected by Age Bias Law

A federal judge has ruled that the forced retirement of a company’s in-house chief patent counsel violated the law barring age discrimination because the lawyer did not qualify as an executive who is exempted from protection. U.S. District Judge Vanessa Bryant of Connecticut ruled Aug. 27 in the case of…

Sep 3, 2009 12:37 PM CDT

Fired Over Office E-Mail, Accountant Wins $17K and Wants More

Accountant Vicki Walker’s e-mail may indeed have contributed to disharmony in the workplace, as her employer claimed. But her block capitals, use of boldface and colored type and alleged “confrontational” attempts to find out about complaints made against her didn’t establish sufficient grounds to warrant her termination, a New Zealand…

Sep 1, 2009 6:59 PM CDT

Mom Loses Case Over Unauthorized 10 a.m. Breast-Pumping Bathroom Break

A ruling last week by a divided Ohio Supreme Court in a pregnancy discrimination case is igniting controversy on the Internet. Although the court didn’t reach the key issue of whether an employer violated a state law barring discrimination against pregnant women, its final dismissal of the claim brought by…

Aug 31, 2009 11:42 PM CDT

Ex-Toyota Lawyer Alleges Destruction of Evidence in Rollover Suits

The former managing counsel for Toyota Motor Sales USA has filed a lawsuit against his former employer alleging the automaker destroyed evidence in hundreds of rollover suits, leading to his mental breakdown and firing. The racketeering suit by Dimitrios Biller claims Toyota destroyed evidence in a “ruthless conspiracy” to keep…

Aug 31, 2009 1:43 PM CDT

3rd Circuit Allows Suit by Gay Man Claiming Bias Due to Mannerisms

A federal appeals court has ruled that a gay man who claims his effeminate mannerisms led to workplace discrimination may sue under Title VII. The Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Brian Prowel may pursue a Title VII claim alleging discrimination stemming from failure to conform to gender…

Aug 31, 2009 12:57 PM CDT

Ex-Judge’s Disability Pension Related to Winning $2.1M Libel Suit Is Rejected

A divided state retirement board voted 3-2 today to reject a former Massachusetts judge’s request for a disability pension because of diagnosed post-traumatic stress that he says is related to a series of 2002 newspaper articles. Former Superior Court Judge Ernest Murphy won a $2.1 million libel judgment against the…

Aug 28, 2009 9:10 PM CDT

Ex-Receptionist Sues Littler Over Alleged Lack of Bathroom Breaks

Updated: A former receptionist in a suburban Washington, D.C., office of a national labor and employment boutique has sued her ex-employer over an alleged lack of bathroom breaks. Plaintiff Rebecca Landrith contends in the D.C. Superior Court suit that the McLean, Va., office of Littler Mendelson had no formal policy…

Aug 28, 2009 6:42 PM CDT

Ex-Judge Who Filed $54M ‘Pants Suit’ Appeals Dismissal of Job-Loss Claim

The now-former Washington, D.C., administrative law judge who made international headlines after he filed a $54 million lawsuit against his dry cleaner over a missing pair of trousers is back in court again. Roy Pearson Jr., who also lost the so-called pants suit case, plans to ask the U.S. Court…

Aug 27, 2009 5:09 PM CDT