Labor & Employment

Supreme Court Overturns Calif. Law Restricting Employers’ Anti-Union Speech

The U.S. Supreme Court has struck down a California law that barred employers from using state money to oppose union activities. The 7-2 decision said the state law is pre-empted by a federal labor law that bars states from restricting the rights of employers to speak out about labor organizing,…

Jun 19, 2008 3:48 PM CDT

Supreme Court Rules for Workers in Age-Bias Proof Case

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled 7-1 that employers, rather than employees, have the burden of proving layoffs did not discriminate against older workers in disparate impact lawsuits. The employer must provide evidence and persuade a court that its actions were done for reasons other than age, says the majority…

Jun 19, 2008 3:20 PM CDT

Billed: $278,000,Valid: $142,000, Judge Says in Auto Accident Case

An Australian law firm has been ordered to repay its client, after charging a former butcher $278,000 in an automobile accident case. An appropriate bill for the services rendered by the Keddies law firm would have been $142,000, according to a cost assessor appointed after the client complained, reports the…

Jun 18, 2008 10:46 PM CDT

9th Circuit to Employers: Don’t Look at Workers’ Text Messages

Venturing into what a federal appeals court panel described as a new frontier of electronic communications law, the San Francisco-based 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals decided today that employers have no right to read their employees’ text messages without their consent. Plus, even if employers pay for the service,…

Jun 18, 2008 10:03 PM CDT

Lawyer’s Libel Suit Against Appeals Judge Gets Tossed

A lawyer’s libel suit against a federal appeals judge has been tossed out of court. U.S. District Judge Dora Irizarry of Brooklyn dismissed the suit against Judge Robert Katzmann of the New York City-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the New York Law Journal reports. Irizarry said Katzmann was…

Jun 17, 2008 3:48 PM CDT

Objectors Claim Morgan Stanley Settlement Was ‘Lawyer Driven’

A federal judge is considering an evidentiary hearing into a contention that a $16 million Morgan Stanley racial discrimination settlement was “lawyer driven.” Linda Friedman, a lawyer for about 30 African-American retail brokers, said during a hearing yesterday that the class action settlement had been negotiated with defense lawyers before…

Jun 17, 2008 12:30 PM CDT

Mayor’s Aide Files Discrimination Suit Over a Volunteer—the Mayor’s Wife

Ordinarily, an employment discrimination lawsuit against a government entity is sparked by a problem between employees, or an employee and a supervisor. But an unusual case in Kansas City, Mo., involving an unusual full-time volunteer is stretching the boundaries of this area of law practice. The volunteer is Gloria Squitiro,…

Jun 11, 2008 10:07 PM CDT

Judge Rules Coffee Request Wasn’t Sex Harassment

A federal judge has ruled that a receptionist who was fired for refusing to serve coffee to her supervisors can’t sue for sex discrimination. U.S. District Judge Berle Schiller of Philadelphia ruled that serving coffee is “not a gender-specific act” and the job requirement cannot be grounds for a lawsuit,…

Jun 11, 2008 12:44 PM CDT

Wal-Mart to Pay $250K Settlement for Firing Worker Disabled in Shooting

Wal-Mart will pay $250,000 to settle a claim that it violated federal disability law when it fired a pharmacy technician who was injured in a shooting. The employee, Glenda Allen, was working at Wal-Mart in Maryland in 1994 when she was shot in a robbery attempt at a different job,…

Jun 10, 2008 4:51 PM CDT

Some Law Firms Give Managing Partner Firing Authority

A lawsuit brought by the former chairman of the intellectual property practice at Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman highlights an unusual policy at law firms: The managing partner has authority to fire partners without approval from others. The suit by Jeremy Pitcock claims he was fired by the managing partner…

Jun 10, 2008 11:25 AM CDT

Supreme Court Rejects Cases on Pay for Changing Clothes

The U.S. Supreme Court has turned down three cases that asked when employers have to pay workers for changing into and out of work gear. In one of the cases, Anderson v. Cagle’s Inc., workers at Tyson Foods sought to overturn a federal appeals ruling, Dow Jones reports. The decision…

Jun 9, 2008 4:50 PM CDT

Supreme Court Rules Against State Worker’s Equal Protection Claim

The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected a “class of one” equal protection claim by a worker who says she was fired from her state job because of discrimination. The 6-3 decision (PDF posted by SCOTUSblog) said Anup Engquist cannot bring such a claim unless she was a member of a…

Jun 9, 2008 3:33 PM CDT

‘Love Contract’ Can Legalize Office Romance

An apparent proliferation of workplace affairs is sending a steady stream of new business into the offices of employment lawyers with a specialized practice expertise: the so-called love contract. Eager to avoid possible litigation and embarrassing headlines should the romance sour, the parties concerned and office administrators are calling on…

Jun 6, 2008 8:54 PM CDT

Magistrate Cuts 50 Hours, $400K From Fees, Cites ‘Contentiousness’

A federal magistrate has cut 50 hours and $400,000 from a request for attorney fees by the firm Outten & Golden in employment litigation that at times turned rancorous. New York Magistrate Judge James Francis IV said some work performed by the law firm was unjustified and partly agreed with…

Jun 5, 2008 1:57 PM CDT

Women’s Rights Lawyer Sued for Sexual Harassment

A partner at a New York law firm that bills itself as “dedicated to the empowerment of women in the workplace” has been accused of sexually harassing a former client who is now also the former office manager for Tuckner, Sipser, Weinstock & Sipser. “Lisa Brockington says in court papers…

Jun 4, 2008 10:57 PM CDT