Labor & Employment

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

Lawyer Seeks Criminal Investigation of U.S. Judge for Sex Harassment

The lawyer for a woman who has accused U.S. District Judge Samuel Kent of sexual harassment is asking a federal appeals council to consider referring the matter to a body that has the power to recommend impeachment. Kent was reprimanded in September after the complaint of former case manager Cathy…

Nov 27, 2007 2:33 PM CST

N.J. Partner Sues Firm for Age Bias, Partner Payout

A 52-year-old partner has sued his former New Jersey law firm for age discrimination. James Toll claims in his suit that he was forced out of Sills Cummis & Gross because of his age and a perceived disability because of a 1997 heart attack, the New Jersey Law Journal reports.…

Nov 27, 2007 2:09 PM CST

Supreme Court Likely to Allow Individual’s 401(k) Suit

The U.S. Supreme Court appears likely to allow a lawsuit against the administrators of a 401(k) plan accused of causing an individual’s $150,000 loss, the New York Times reports. The issue in LaRue v. DeWolff, Boberg & Associates Inc. is whether the Employee Retirement Income Security Act allows suits for…

Nov 27, 2007 1:28 PM CST

More Companies Suing Job Hoppers for Luring Away Co-Workers

Even without a noncompete agreement, workplace experts are advising job-hoppers to be careful about urging subordinates to join them. The Wall Street Journal reports that a growing number of companies are suing their former employees for luring staff away. The cause of action? Breach of fiduciary duty. Plus, the threat…

Nov 26, 2007 9:56 PM CST

Court Considers Right to Sue for Mishandled 401(k)

Three justices from the U.S. Supreme Court’s liberal wing appeared sympathetic today to arguments on behalf of a man who lost $150,000 in his 401(k) plan. James LaRue claims he lost the money because administrators of his 401(k) retirement plan twice failed to follow his direction to move the money…

Nov 26, 2007 6:59 PM CST

Grinch Live on Broadway: N.Y. Judge Grants Injunction

Saying that one Grinch in New York right now is enough, a state court judge has granted an injunction that provides for a Broadway show based on the Dr. Suess book How the Grinch Stole Christmas to go on. The play had been shuttered by an ongoing stagehands strike that…

Nov 21, 2007 9:05 PM CST

Deal Would Give Plaintiffs About $3M in DA Race Bias Case

Dozens of employees who won a suit against New Orleans District Attorney Eddie Jordan for firing them because they were white would receive about $3 million under a deal financed by the city and the state of Louisiana. The troubled DA’s office was facing threats from lawyers for the fired…

Nov 21, 2007 2:30 PM CST

Supreme Court Accepts Challenge to Union Law

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a challenge to a California law that bars some employers from commenting on labor organizing efforts. The law prohibits employers that accept state money from using the funds to “assist, promote, or deter union organizing,” according to the petition for certiorari (PDF…

Nov 20, 2007 6:56 PM CST

Health Plans More Aggressive in Seeking Legal Recoveries, Thanks to High Court

Some people who are injured and receive a settlement or verdict are getting a big surprise: More litigation from the health plan that paid their benefits and now wants the money back. Employee health plans are getting more aggressive about enforcing subrogation clauses that permit recovery of the money, buoyed…

Nov 20, 2007 11:55 AM CST