Labor & Employment

7th Circuit Affirms $80K Sanction: If Lawyer Can’t Pay, Bankruptcy Is Next Step

Known for his sometimes-blistering views on attorney competency issues, Judge Frank Easterbrook of the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals takes something of a kindly tone, initially, in an opinion today upholding an $80,000 sanction against an impoverished attorney. But, writing on behalf of a three-judge panel, Easterbrook nonetheless…

Feb 28, 2009 1:59 AM CST

Gag Order Lifted in Judge Kent Case; Congressman Opposes ‘Disability’ Plan

Over the objections of an attorney representing U.S. District Judge Samuel Kent in a criminal case, the federal jurist hearing the case today lifted an unusual gag order that had prevented those involved from commenting publicly. Kent pleaded guilty Monday to an obstruction count and announced his retirement from the…

Feb 27, 2009 12:22 AM CST

High-Profile Ex-Staff Lawyer Sues Covington & Burling, Alleges Discrimination

Last year, a onetime staff attorney at Covington & Burling wrote a controversial article for the Huffington Post that accused her former firm of “stockpiling its staff attorney ghetto with blacks and other minorities.” Now Yolanda Young has filed a pro se federal race discrimination and retaliation suit against the…

Feb 25, 2009 9:28 PM CST

TV Reporter Loses Job After Faked Video ‘Slur’ Against AG Eric Holder

A FOX News radio host never actually compared U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to a monkey who had escaped from a Seattle zoo as he discussed the AG’s recent comments about the U.S. being a “nation of cowards.” But after a doctored video was posted on the Internet, falsely making…

Feb 25, 2009 2:17 AM CST

Supreme Court Finds No First Amendment Problem in Union Law

The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld an Idaho law that bars local governments from making payroll deductions to pay for political activities by labor unions. The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had ruled the ban burdened political speech by labor unions in violation of the First Amendment.…

Feb 24, 2009 6:25 PM CST

Law Firms, Other Employers Battle New Enforcement of WARN Layoff Rules

For years, because of a stronger economy and a lack of enforcement, the Worker Adjustment & Retraining Notification Act wasn’t on some employers’ radar screens. But now laid-off workers are seeking to enforce their right to severance pay, and state and federal lawmakers are eyeing changes that would strengthen the…

Feb 24, 2009 12:20 AM CST

How Law Firms Can Protect Themselves Against Suits by Laid-Off Workers

Some fired associates are firing back with suits against their law firms, highlighting the need for firms to plan and follow the law when laying off workers. The National Law Journal spoke with experts about their advice for firms. They told the newspaper that firms should: • Decide which employees…

Feb 19, 2009 1:56 PM CST

Arbitrator Accuses E-Discovery Firm of Failing to Turn Up Its Own Evidence

An arbitrator has awarded a former employee of an e-discovery firm $300,000 after chastising her one-time employer for failing to turn up e-mails that supported her case. Cassondra Todd, the former managing director of Guidance Software Inc., claimed the company fired her in part because she was a woman. An…

Feb 17, 2009 6:02 PM CST

Nearly Half of Nation’s Largest Law Firms Bar Gender Identity Discrimination

Nearly half of the nation’s large law firms offer job protections to transgender employees, a new report says. Forty-five percent of the nation’s top 200 law firms have policies that bar discrimination based on gender identity, according to the report (PDF) by the Human Rights Campaign. It found job protections…

Feb 17, 2009 1:59 PM CST

Ohio Judge Axes NCAA Ban on Lawyers for Student-Athletes

An Ohio judge’s finding that a National Collegiate Athletic Association ban on student-athletes using attorneys in contract negotiations is “arbitrary and capricious” could encourage significant legal representation changes nationally concerning Major League Baseball draft picks. The ruling came in a case filed by Andrew Oliver, an Oklahoma State pitcher. Drafted…

Feb 13, 2009 7:56 PM CST

Ledbetter Law Cited in Suits Over Promotions, Demotions and Pensions

Updated: Three words in the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act could help plaintiffs suing over promotions and demotions. The act signed into law last month reverses a 2007 U.S. Supreme Court decision that interpreted the statute of limitations to bar a pay discrimination suit by plaintiff Lilly Ledbetter. The new…

Feb 12, 2009 2:32 PM CST

Locked-Out Lord & Whip Partner Pursues ‘Nuclear Option’

A year ago, Lord & Whip had 15 lawyers. But now it is down to no more than four partners, and they reportedly can’t agree on anything. So managing partner Kathleen Bustraan allegedly took matters into her own hands. Without a partnership vote, she locked attorney John Boyd and his…

Feb 12, 2009 1:05 AM CST

Ex- Associate Claims Fried Frank Didn’t Promote Her Because She Is Gay

A former litigation associate at Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson claims in a bias complaint that the firm refused to promote her to partner because she is openly gay. Julie Kamps filed the complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission as well as human rights divisions in New…

Feb 11, 2009 6:44 PM CST

Working at the Car Wash Can Be Criminal, LA City Attorney Says

Dozens of Los Angeles employees aren’t singing the praises of working at the car wash. In fact, it’s a sweatshop situation for many that resembles indentured servitude, says City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo. He has filed criminal charges against three men, accusing two brothers, Benny and Nissan Pirian, of systemic labor…

Feb 11, 2009 6:11 PM CST

Ex-PD Admits Sex Harassment, Agrees to License Suspension

The former public defender for Durham, N.C., has admitted that he sexually harassed three women who worked for him and has agreed to a five-year suspension of his law license. Bob Brown Jr., who was public defender from 1990 until his resignation in 2006, agreed to the suspension in a…

Feb 10, 2009 6:48 PM CST