Labor & Employment

MLB Steroids Scandal: 50 Named in Mitchell Report

Updated: A much-awaited report on steroid use in Major League Baseball will be released tomorrow, and it reportedly will identify at least 50 current and former players who may have cheated on the game with steroids, stimulants and human growth hormone. Apparently, former Sen. George Mitchell, a former federal prosecutor…

Dec 12, 2007 6:16 PM CST

Isiah Thomas Settles Sex-Harass Suit

A settlement in an undisclosed amount was reached today by Madison Square Garden and New York Knicks coach Isiah Thomas with a former female team executive in a sexual harassment and retaliation case. One apparent impetus for the pact: additional compensatory damages beyond the $11.6 million in punitives previously awarded…

Dec 11, 2007 12:06 AM CST

Prominent Partner Beaten in Street

The chairman of Dilworth Paxson’s labor and employment practice was found at around 8 p.m. Thursday in a southwest Philadelphia street near his Acura, badly beaten. Police think that Gino Benedetti, who has chest and severe head injuries, may have been the victim of a botched robbery, reports the Legal…

Dec 10, 2007 9:56 PM CST

No-No-No: Tips for Holiday Parties

Lawyers and clients alike can cut down on potential liability for holiday merrymaking at office events by following a few simple tips. Among them: hire professional bartenders, arrange for free taxis home and make clear to managers that they are considered on duty at such holiday events and should not…

Dec 10, 2007 8:25 PM CST

Court to Consider Whether Disabled Employees Get Preference

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether a worker who cannot perform her present job because of a disability should be given preference for an open position. The suit by Pam Huber claims Wal-Mart should have given her a job as a router, which paid $12.50 an hour,…

Dec 10, 2007 12:23 PM CST

Court Bans Age Discrimination in Worker’s Comp Award

Siding with a 76-year-old worker who injured her back bending over to pick up some dropped brochures, the California Court of Appeals has reversed a reduction in disability benefits it said was because of her age. Although a medical expert concluded that Lois Vaira’s injury was in part attributable to…

Dec 7, 2007 7:12 PM CST

‘Confrontational’ Lawyer Loses DLA Piper Bias Suit

A lawyer who claimed DLA Piper fired her for complaining about discriminatory treatment has lost her lawsuit against the firm. U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan dismissed the suit by Charlene Morisseau after she failed to file court papers opposing the law firm’s summary judgment by the court’s extended deadline, the…

Dec 7, 2007 11:04 AM CST

Police Informant Sues Over Job Loss

A confidential police informant in Atlanta who lost his job after his identity was revealed because of a furor of publicity over a botched drug raid has sued the city for damages. Alex White contends in his federal lawsuit that he made about $25,000 annually from this work and seeks…

Dec 6, 2007 10:47 PM CST

Supreme Court Skeptical of ‘Me, Too’ Bias Evidence

During U.S. Supreme Court oral arguments in an age bias suit yesterday, several justices appeared to side with an employer who is seeking to exclude testimony by other workers alleging discrimination by different supervisors. The New York Times reports that “several justices, perhaps a majority” agree that such “me, too”…

Dec 4, 2007 1:36 PM CST

Overlooked No Longer

A new ABA commission will address sexual orientation and gender identity issues in the legal profession

Dec 1, 2007 4:58 PM CST

Refusal to Hire Pregnant Woman to Cost Company $$

A unanimous Washington Supreme Court has ruled that a southwestern Washington woman was wrongfully barred from getting a job as a clerk and checker because she was pregnant. In 2001, Stacey Hegwine was offered a job at Longview Fibre Co. pending the results of a physical, the Daily News, of…

Nov 30, 2007 7:59 PM CST

Japan Court Orders Comp for Worker Who Died From Overwork

A Japanese court has ordered the government to pay benefits to the widow of a Toyota employee because he died from overwork. The court found that Kenichi Uchino had worked about 106 hours of overtime in the month before he died, the Economic Times reports. Uchino’s wife, Hiroku, had argued…

Nov 30, 2007 6:57 PM CST

In-House Lawyer Files Age Bias Suit

A 52-year-old former staff lawyer for Philip Morris has filed a suit that contends he was fired for being too old and for complaining about others who were dismissed for the same reason. D’Arcy Quinn maintained he had stellar performance reviews until he turned 50, when he was told he…

Nov 29, 2007 2:31 PM CST

Axing Mandatory Retirement Brings ‘Economic Opportunity Cost’

Law firms eliminating mandatory retirement have their work cut out for them. Several big firms have announced they are abandoning their forced retirement policies in favor of more flexible systems. They include Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Preston Gates Ellis, Dewey & LeBoeuf, Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft, and Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman.…

Nov 28, 2007 4:19 PM CST

Lawyer’s Sex Bias Claim Against Jackson & Campbell Allowed

A Washington, D.C., judge has refused to dismiss a lawyer’s claims of sex discrimination and retaliation against her former law firm, Jackson & Campbell. Judge Judith Bartnoff allowed the claims of Elisa Eisenberg to go forward but expressed some doubt about whether she will ultimately succeed, Legal Times reports. Eisenberg…

Nov 28, 2007 3:27 PM CST