Business Week reports that “federal officials say Union Pacific Corp. should pay $612,215 for retaliating against three employees.” The Occupational Safety and Health Administration said that UP violated the rights of two conductors and an engineer for reporting workplace safety concerns and a work-related injury. OSHA also says that these violations “seem to be a part […]
Federal Judge Gives Women Until Oct 28 To Sue Wal-Mart In Gender Bias Case
In a 5-4 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court denied a class-action suit brought against Wal-Mart Stores Inc. by 1.5 million current and former female employees of the retail giant in June of this year. But U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer of the Northern District of California said in a ruling on August 19th that the women […]
Court OK’s Class Action Against AT&T
The Birmingham Business Journal reported that the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia granted class action status to a lawsuit filed by workers of Bellsouth Telecommunications against AT&T Inc. The workers are claiming that they are owed $1billion in overtime pay. This ruling is the third approved overtime class-action that alleges that AT&T and […]
Court OK’s Class Action Against AT&T
The Birmingham Business Journal reported that the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia granted class action status to a lawsuit filed by workers of Bellsouth Telecommunications against AT&T Inc. The workers are claiming that they are owed $1billion in overtime pay. This ruling is the third approved overtime class-action that alleges that AT&T and […]
Wage Lawsuits On the Rise
While layoffs are hard on employees and their families, they are also hard on employers, as lawsuits that are brought by former employees rise. A weekly industry publication, Business Insurance, reports that, “The Department of Labor said there were 40,000 wage-and-hour complaints during fiscal 2010, up about 15% from roughly 35,000 complaints in fiscal 2009.” The […]
Verizon Settles Lawsuit For $20 Million
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 […]
Supreme Court Rules Oral Complaints Can Recieve Retaliation Protection
In a 6 – 2 ruling on Tuesday March 22, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of workers that file retaliation suits who verbally complained to their employers even if they did not file a written complaint. The case involved a suit filed by Kevin Kasten who had verbally complained to a former employer about where the […]
Supreme Court Siding With Underdogs
The LA Times noted in a recent article that, although the Supreme Court has often been thought of as more conservative and pro-business, several recent cases have shown them to be unpredictable, often siding with workers rather than employers. “The judges have been unanimous, or nearly so, in dealing defeats to employers and to corporations”, […]
Judge Rules Wal-Mart May Fire Employee For Use of Medical Marijuana
Joseph Casias, age 30, was an inventory control manager at Wal-Mart in Battle Creek, Mi, until 2009 when he was fired for testing positive for marijuana. Casias has cancer and an inoperable brain tumor and posses a medical marijuana card.
Supreme Court Affirms 3rd Party Right To Sue For Retaliation
Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act prohibits “people who haven’t complained of discrimination to sue for retaliation.”, and federal courts had initially rejected a claim by Eric Thomson citing this Title. But in January, the Supreme Court unanimously upheld the retaliation suit filed by Thomson, who claimed his employer fired him three weeks after […]
