Fired Lawyer’s ERISA Claim Tossed

A federal judge has dismissed a claim filed by a former Holland & Knight partner who claims he was improperly fired. John Weir claims the firm fired him at age 55 partly to avoid paying retirement benefits under an ERISA plan. But U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain of Manhattan…

Jul 2, 2007 1:55 PM CDT

Israel Prez Admits Sex Offenses, Resigns

In a controversial plea bargain denounced by women’s rights activists, the president of Israel has agreed to step down from office immediately and plead guilty to sexual harassment and abuse of authority charges. Accused of twice raping a female employee, among other offenses, during an earlier stint as tourism minister,…

Jun 29, 2007 12:13 AM CDT

LexisNexis Sues Ex-Executive

LexisNexis is relying on a forensics examination of a former executive’s computer in a lawsuit alleging he violated a noncompete agreement. The information services company says it learned through filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission that Paul Colangelo, formerly vice president of sales for its Information Analytics Group, went…

Jun 28, 2007 1:56 PM CDT

EEOC Sues Merrill Lynch

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission contends in a lawsuit that Merrill Lynch & Co. discriminated against an employee because he is Muslim and Iranian. The suit filed in Manhattan federal court says Majid Borumand lost a promotion and finally his job, the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) reports. He was…

Jun 27, 2007 2:24 PM CDT

New Immigration Bill Making Progress; Is ‘Clay Pigeon’ Really an Emu?

An effort to pass landmark immigration legislation failed in the last Congress, and there is no guarantee that it will pass this time around either. But some forward progress is being made on a new version of a bill that would provide millions of now-illegal immigrants currently in the U.S.…

Jun 26, 2007 11:44 PM CDT

‘Pepgate’ Pits Prosecutor Against Police

Only five months into his new job, the top prosecutor in rural Knox County, Illinois, several hundred miles southwest of Chicago, is already at odds with local authorities. Accused in a federal lawsuit of sexually harassing female employees, State’s Attorney John Pepmeyer fired several lawyers in his office who supported…

Jun 25, 2007 6:39 PM CDT

Ex-Employees Sued in Client Disputes

A California investment-advice firm has sued former sales people and two companies that hired them, claiming they used proprietary information to steal clients. Fisher Investments claims the employees violated contracts by taking client contact information to new jobs, the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) reports. The employees respond that the…

Jun 20, 2007 4:08 PM CDT

Employment Firm Expands With Merger

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart is on a growing spree. The 365-lawyer labor and employment firm has gained 19 attorneys by merging with Lewis Fisher Henderson & Claxton, the National Law Journal reports. The move gives the national firm new offices in Memphis, Tenn., and Jackson, Miss. Ogletree, Deakins…

Jun 18, 2007 1:11 PM CDT

Obesity Claims Likely to Rise

Disability claims based on obesity are likely to increase as American waistlines continue to grow. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and disability lawyers say obesity claims are an emerging area, according to Joan Biskupic of USA Today. The agency considers only morbid obesity—defined as weight 100 pounds higher than the…

Jun 13, 2007 3:53 PM CDT

Courts Differ on Wal-Mart Suits

Courts in two states yesterday differed on workers’ quests for class action status in lawsuits against Wal-Mart.

A Missouri appeals court ruled that a class action suit could proceed after a trial judge revises definitions for subclasses, the Wall Street Journal reports (sub. req.).

A New York court refused to certify a class in a similar suit, saying the claims should be tried individually.

Jun 13, 2007 2:37 PM CDT

Kennedy Pushes OT Law After Ruling

Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., says he will work to amend a federal labor law to protect the wages of home-health aides.

Kennedy said a U.S. Supreme Court ruling barring overtime for most home-care workers highlights “a significant gap in the protections of our laws.”

Jun 12, 2007 4:14 PM CDT

Home-Care Workers Not Entitled to OT

The U.S. Supreme Court has held that home health-care workers are not entitled to overtime pay under federal law.

The opinion today by Justice Stephen Breyer upheld a Labor Department regulation that exempted the workers from the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Los Angeles Times reports.

“The court’s ruling is another blow to struggling, low-wage women,” says Nancy Duff Campbell, co-president of the National Women’s Law Center.

Jun 11, 2007 8:00 PM CDT

Bill Would Boost Pay-Bias Claims

A former chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is leading an effort to introduce legislation that will overturn a recent Supreme Court ruling on pay discrimination.

The court ruled on May 29 in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. that Title VII pay disparity complaints must be filed with the EEOC within 180 days of the original pay discrimination.

D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, a Democrat who oversaw the EEOC in the late 1970s, has met with House and Senate staffers about drafting a new law to change the 180-day limit, Legal Times reports.

Jun 11, 2007 12:33 PM CDT

Big Labor Boutique Raids Orlando Rival

The nation’s biggest labor boutique has set up shop in Orlando, Florida, with six attorneys raided from the local office of a rival multistate employment firm. Littler Mendelson, headquartered in San Francisco, opened an Orlando office on June 1 staffed with six attorneys from Fisher & Phillips, which has offices…

Jun 5, 2007 9:25 PM CDT

Family-Status Bias Bill Passes Calif. Senate

“Familial status” would be protected from discrimination under a measure passed yesterday by the California Senate. The proposed law would bar employers from discriminating against workers who care for children, sick spouses or aging parents. The bill is one of the first in the country, the Los Angeles Times reports.…

Jun 1, 2007 7:14 PM CDT