Verizon Communications Inc. will pay $20 million to settle a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission over unlawful policies for disabled workers. According to the EEOC suit, Verizon employees were disciplined or fired when they needed more time off than by the company’s leave policies for reasons directly related to their disabilities, and […]
GA Court Says Store Can Be Held Liable For Beer Sale
The Assosiated Press reported that the Georgia Supreme Court found that a convenience store can be held liable for a fatal auto accident that was caused by a driver after he bought a 12 pack of beer. Billy Grundell purchased the beer from Exprezit! Stores 98-Georgia while noticeably intoxicated and later struck a van with his vehicle, […]
Supreme Court Finds Civil Litigants Have No Automatic Right To Counsel
The Wall Street Journal reports that the Supreme Court has ruled that poor civil litigants that face incarceration do not have automatic right to counsel. The justices voted 5-4 to uphold the appeal of Michael Turner of South Carolina who was sent to jail after he insisted that he could not pay his child support payments. […]
Loose Standards On Window Blinds Dangerous For Children
The cords on window shades and blinds have been a cause of injury and death in children because of the strangulation hazard they present for decades, resulting in about one child dying every month. Last summer, safety regulators in several countries, including the U.S., instructed the window covering industry to enact new safety standards that […]
Report Shows 27% Rise In Judgeships Held By Women
A report by New York’s Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy noted a near 27% rise in federal and state judgeships occupied by women, with Vermont ranking first at almost 40% and Idaho raking last at 11.3%. The Associated Press highlighted these findings, but noted that the report also shows that some judicial districts in the […]
Supreme Court Dismisses Class Action Suit Against AT&T
Vincent and Liza Concepcion purchased a cell phone plan from AT&T, signing a two year contract, a contract that also provided for arbitration of all disputes between parties. This contract came with cell phones that AT&T advertised as free, but the Concepcions were charged $30.22 in taxes. The Concepcions then sued the company for fraud. […]
Bank’s Fine Print Requires Struggling Homeowners To Waive Rights
Often, struggling homeowners may have to make a tough choice: waive certain rights or face foreclosure. Some banks and others who handle mortgages can force homeowners to waive their right to ever sue the bank for anything related to the loan, even though mortgage servicers often make errors, have long delays, and lose documents, as […]
FDA Revamps Website For Better Access To Food Recalls
President Obama signed the Food Safety Modernization Act into law on January 4th, which gives the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the power to recall food that may be tainted, access records from food producers, and and quarantine geographical areas. This law also requires the creation of a consumer-friendly recall search engine. In keeping with the new […]
Medicare publishes data on hospital injuries and infections
About one person in three in the United States will encounter some sort of mistake during a hospital stay, recent reports say, and 90 percent of those go unreported. Federal officials have announced the release of data that that allows consumers to to find out how often local hospital patients acquire bed sores or infections, […]
Nevada Supreme Court Overturns Class Action Ban
From Public Justice: “Car dealerships are notorious for scams. But charging customers an emissions testing fee on brand new cars? And then weaseling out of responsibility by banning class actions? Come on. Late last week, as we urged, the Supreme Court of Nevada ruled unanimously that a Las Vegas dealership’s class action ban violates state public […]
