Labor & Employment

Medical Privacy Gets Celebrity Billing

Movie star George Clooney has given the issue of medical privacy an unexpected boost. His treatment at a New Jersey hospital for a broken rib after a motorcycle accident may have prompted some 40 staff members, including doctors, at Palisades Medical Center to peek inappropriately into his medical file, according…

Oct 10, 2007 5:34 PM CDT

Ballard Spahr Stumbles in Race to Court

A Philadelphia judge has ruled that a law firm’s attempt to head off a gender discrimination complaint is premature. Judge Gary DiVito ruled Sept. 24 that Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll could not obtain declaratory relief “in anticipation of an action at law by another party,” the Legal Intelligencer reports.…

Oct 10, 2007 12:22 PM CDT

Foreign Farmworker Regulation Eases

Despite opposition from many fellow Republicans, the White House has been quietly spearheading an effort to streamline regulations and make it easier for farmers to import foreign field workers. Attempting to alleviate a severe farmworker shortage apparently caused at least in part by stepped-up border and immigration enforcement, the Bush…

Oct 8, 2007 5:46 PM CDT

Sidley ‘Partner’ Payout: Up to $1.8 M

The 32 former partners of Sidley Austin who were demoted in 1999 will receive a payment of between $122,000 and $1.8 million under an age discrimination settlement approved yesterday by a federal judge. “The amount to be paid to each of the 32 former Sidley [partners] was placed under seal,”…

Oct 6, 2007 12:39 AM CDT

$6.1 M Award in McDonald’s Strip Search

A Kentucky jury has awarded $6.1 million to a young McDonald’s employee who was pressured by a supervisor into cooperating with a strip search and bizarre requests made over the telephone by a male caller pretending to be a police officer investigating a theft. Louise Ogborn, who was 18 at…

Oct 5, 2007 7:55 PM CDT

Sidley to Pay $27.5 M in EEOC Partner Case

Updated: In a settlement that should send shock waves throughout many of the nation’s major law firms, Sidley Austin has agreed to pay $27.5 million to resolve a landmark federal case alleging that the law firm discriminated against 32 of its own partners. The 1,700-lawyer Chicago-based firm also agreed in…

Oct 5, 2007 5:17 PM CDT

Top NJ Judge Joins 2—Yes, 2—Family Firms

When it came time to retire from the bench and return to law practice, former New Jersey Chief Justice James Zazzali had a hard time making a choice between two family law firms. So he didn’t. Zazzali is now counsel at both a Newark, N.J., law firm started by his…

Oct 4, 2007 7:05 PM CDT

Exploding OT Claims for Many Employers

Wage-and-hour class action claims brought over unpaid overtime are a hot practice area—and, as today’s $62 million judgment against Wal-Mart illustrates, one that can be extremely costly to employers. “Multiplaintiff wage-and-hour lawsuits pose the greatest employment litigation threat to American businesses today,” says Seyfarth Shaw, a law firm known for…

Oct 3, 2007 11:54 PM CDT

Wal-Mart Workers Win $141 M in OT Case

In the latest judgment in ongoing class actions against the world’s largest retailer, a Pennsylvania judge is requiring Wal-Mart to pay $62.3 million to 125,000 workers who didn’t receive required overtime pay for overtime work. The award today by Philadelphia Common Pleas Judge Mark Bernstein supplements a previous $78.5 million…

Oct 3, 2007 11:06 PM CDT

Isiah Thomas Liable for Harassment, But Not Punitives

Updated: A federal jury has found that New York Knicks coach Isiah Thomas sexually harassed a team executive. Jurors also found that Madison Square Garden was liable for the harassment and will have to pay punitive damages, the New York Times reports. Jurors could not decide whether Thomas should pay…

Oct 2, 2007 5:50 PM CDT

Anita Hill Sees ‘Outright Smears’ in Thomas Book

It’s Anita Hill’s turn. Reports on Justice Clarence Thomas’ new book yesterday highlighted his anger at Hill, the woman who accused him of sexual harassment during confirmation hearings. Thomas called Hill his “most traitorous adversary” in his new memoir, My Grandfather’s Son. Today, Hill defended her testimony in an appearance…

Oct 2, 2007 3:29 PM CDT

Ex-Associate’s Gay-Bias Suit Partly Tossed

Sullivan & Cromwell has succeeded in narrowing a former associate’s gay-bias lawsuit against the law firm. Manhattan Judge Bernard Fried dismissed two claims by ex-associate Aaron Charney on Friday, the New York Law Journal reports. Fried ruled Charney could not pursue a claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress since…

Oct 2, 2007 12:07 PM CDT

If Getty Returns Art, Italy Drops Suit

As the J. Paul Getty Museum reconfirmed an earlier pledge to return allegedly stolen works of art, the Italian government promised to drop civil claims against a former museum antiquities curator. However, an Italian criminal case continues against Marion True, who is now on trial in Rome on charges that…

Sep 26, 2007 12:37 AM CDT

Sprint’s 30-Day Settlement Total Nears $150 M

With a $57.5 million Kansas class action settlement just announced by Sprint-Nextel Corp., the company’s settlement agreements in three cases during the past month now total nearly $150 million. If approved by the judge in the case, the latest settlement would amount to only a small fraction of the $1.3…

Sep 25, 2007 11:41 PM CDT

Feds Sue IL Over New Immigration Law

In an action that puts the supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution at issue, the federal government is suing the state of Illinois over a new law that bans employer participation in a new voluntary federal program that verifies the identity of legal immigrants. Filed in federal court in Springfield,…

Sep 25, 2007 6:11 PM CDT