Recently in Employment Category

A Sikh filed a discrimination lawsuit today after being told to remove his religiously-mandated beard if he wanted a job. The Sikh, Gurpreet Singh Kherha, filed his lawsuit in New Jersey state court against Tri-County Lexus where he wanted to work as a sales representative.

In 2008, Mr. Kherha was recruited for a sales position at Tri-County Lexus in Little Falls, New Jersey.  After completing two days of training at Lexus, Mr. Kherha participated in a final group interview with a Tri-County Lexus manager.  

After the interview ended, a recruiter approached Mr. Kherha to ask if his beard is a religious requirement.  Mr. Kherha explained that he is a practicing Sikh who does not cut his hair, including his facial hair.  The recruiter then asked Mr. Kherha if he would be willing to remove his beard in order to obtain a job as a Tri-County Lexus sales representative.  Mr. Kherha replied he would not.

The recruiter then left Mr. Kherha to speak to his colleagues. Upon his return he informed Mr. Kherha that he had not been selected for a sales position at Tri-County Lexus.

The recruiter told Gurpreet that Tri-County Lexus' General Manager stated he was "exactly what they were looking for," "well-qualified" and "well-educated" but that the company has a corporate policy prohibiting salespersons from maintaining facial hair.  The recruiter also stated that Tri-County's general manager had contacted the corporate headquarters to request an accommodation for Mr. Kherha's religious practices, but had been rejected.

"I am taking a stand against not only Tri-County Lexus, but all employers who discriminate against qualified applicants," said Mr. Kherha. "I don't want any other Sikh to be told they are well educated and well qualified, but not hired because of their faith."

The Sikh Coalition has represented Mr. Kherha since April 2008. The Coalition engaged attorney Ravinder Singh Bhalla, an experienced New Jersey litigator, to work with jointly on the case. Since then, the legal team has:

• Been in direct contact with attorneys for Tri-County Lexus, which denies any wrong-doing. 
• Filed a charge of discrimination with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).  The legal team has met with the EEOC and is cooperating with the agency's ongoing investigation of the case.
• Filed a lawsuit in New Jersey state court to vindicate Mr. Kherha's rights.

"Tri-County Lexus forced a Sikh to choose between his religion and employment," said Ravinder S. Bhalla. "Now they will have to answer for their discrimination in court."

Background:

Sikhism is the fifth largest world religion, with approximately 21 million adherents worldwide. Under the principals of their faith, Sikhs are mandated to leave their hair uncut, wrapping the hair on their heads underneath a turban.

Since 9/11, misperceptions about this appearance have led to hate attacks and discrimination against Sikhs across the country, by both public and private actors. The Sikh Coalition has worked to end this discrimination.

SOURCE Sikh Coalition

Judge Robert Schaffer of the 152nd Judicial District Court in Houston has approved a class-action lawsuit settlement that would distribute approximately $4.6 million to former employees of the former First City Bancorporation. Each of the more than 2,400 eligible members of the class may receive payments of approximately $1,800 or more.

"These beneficiaries are likely to be retirees in their 70s and 80s for whom this financial settlement could be very welcome," says David Furlow of Thompson & Knight LLP and counsel for the class. "There remain several hundred former First City employees who have not responded to our efforts to contact them about their rights to receive a distribution from the settlement fund, and the deadline to do so is approaching."

Former First City employees who have questions about their eligibility should review the information on the Class Administrator's Web site at www.firstcityclassaction.com. Under the terms of the settlement, class members must currently submit a claims form before Friday, Dec. 18, 2009, to receive a distribution from the settlement fund. Membership in the class depends on whether a former First City employee was an annuitant under Prudential Insurance Company Group Annuity Contracts GA-5858 (which includes GA-5524) and GA-5523.

The dispute involved a defined-benefit retirement plan established and funded solely by First City for employees in 1976. First City cancelled the plan for being overfunded 10 years later. The company then made lump-sum payments to some participants and purchased long-term annuities on behalf of other employees from the Prudential Insurance Company.

After First City was declared insolvent in 1992 and went through an involuntary bankruptcy, successor corporations took the position that the former First City employees should receive nothing from the annuity investments.

Lead Class Counsel Robert S. MacIntyre, Jr. of Houston's MacIntyre & McCulloch, LLP, emphasizes that these payments will not affect anyone's right to receive pension benefits.

SOURCE Thompson & Knight LLP

This week hundreds of delivery drivers at the nation's largest uniform provider, Cintas, were notified a $22.75 million settlement agreement had been reached in the class action overtime lawsuit, Veliz v. Cintas Corporation. It was a long road for the uniform delivery drivers, whose suit, filed in 2003, alleged Cintas misclassified thousands of their route drivers as exempt employees in order to avoid paying overtime required by state and federal laws.

"After six long years of delay tactics and needless posturing by Cintas, drivers will finally receive just compensation for overtime work performed that was wrongly withheld," said Bruce Raynor, President of Workers United, the laundry workers union that has been working with Cintas production workers seeking to form a union. "In the end justice was delayed but not denied, as Cintas ultimately agreed to the recommended settlement agreement negotiated through the arbitration process."

The Cintas drivers who pick up soiled uniforms, oily rags and other items and drop off a fresh supply were classified by the company as salaried workers instead of hourly workers, who would be entitled to overtime pay. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires workers to be compensated for all hours worked, unless they are specifically exempted. Executives and professionals are exempted and can be required to work more than 40 hours a week without being paid overtime. The drivers argued that their jobs driving trucks, delivering uniforms and servicing existing contracts do not make them exempt from being paid for hours worked over 40 hours.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs, Altshuler Berzon LLP, are notifying plaintiffs that the general terms of settlement had been reached. However, a frame work for allocation of funds is still being worked on and it will still be months before the final settlement agreement is approved by the court. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

Cintas is the largest uniform rental provider and industrial launderer in North America. Cintas provides laundry, uniforms and other business services to customers across North America. The company has a troubling history with worker protection laws, including being assessed the largest proposed OSHA fine in the service sector for safety violations surrounding the death of Eleazar Torres Gomez in Oklahoma.

Workers United, SEIU is a union of 150,000 workers in the US and Canada who work in the laundry, food service, hospitality, gaming, apparel, textile, manufacturing and distribution industries.

Source: Workers United

A class action lawsuit has been filed on behalf of bus drivers and dispatchers employed by First Student, Inc. at its terminal in Little Rock, Arkansas. The lawsuit, Douglas, et al. v. First Student, Inc., Civil Action No. 4:09-cv-00652, was filed on Friday, July 31, 2009 in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas, on behalf of "all persons employed by First Student, Inc. as drivers and/or dispatchers at its terminal in Little Rock, Arkansas at any time from August 1, 2006 to the present."

This is the second class action lawsuit filed on behalf of bus drivers and dispatchers employed by First Student, Inc., which describes itself on its website as "North America's leading school bus transportation services company and responsible for safely transporting 4 million students to and from school every day." Another class action lawsuit, Hoffman v. First Student, Inc., Civil Action No. 06-1882, is currently pending against First Student, Inc. in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland. The Hoffman case, which also alleges claims of unpaid wages and unpaid overtime on behalf of bus drivers and dispatchers in Maryland, has already been approved by the court as a class action and will go to trial soon.

The lawsuit that was just filed on behalf of bus drivers and dispatchers employed by First Student, Inc. in Arkansas alleges that First Student, Inc. violated the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and Arkansas state laws by failing to pay its bus drivers and dispatchers for all hours and overtime worked. For example, the Complaint alleges that drivers are paid for two and a half hours for their morning route and two and a half hours for their afternoon route regardless of how many hours it actually takes them to complete their routes and complete other work associated with their routes such as pre-trip and post-trip inspections. Similarly, the bus drivers allege that they are not paid for all of their work time for field trips and athletic events. First Student, Inc.'s website states that it maintains a fleet of more than 60,000 school buses and 68,000 drivers nationwide.

"First Student, Inc. appears to be engaging in violations of the federal and state overtime laws by requiring its bus drivers and dispatchers to spend numerous hours working off-the-clock and without compensation. The plaintiffs have filed this lawsuit to ask that First Student, Inc. be held accountable for failing to pay its employees wages they have legitimately earned," said Shanon Carson of Berger & Montague, P.C., one of the attorneys for the plaintiffs. Another attorney for the plaintiffs in both cases, C. Christopher Brown of Brown, Goldstein & Levy, LLP, states, "The conduct we have seen in these cases and across First Student, Inc.'s terminals, whether in Baltimore, Maryland or Little Rock, Arkansas, is similar, and it is important that it be addressed by the courts and that a remedy is fashioned that will ensure that First Student, Inc. changes its policies to ensure that workers are paid for all of their time spent working."

Current and former employees of First Student, Inc. can obtain additional information about these lawsuits by calling Shanon Carson at (215) 875-4656 or Sarah R. Schalman-Bergen at (215) 875-3053, or by email at scarson@bm.net or sschalman-bergen@bm.net. Information concerning the above cases, including electronic copies of the complaints, is also available at www.bergermontague.com .

This case is being prosecuted by a national consortium of law firms including Berger & Montague, P.C., based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Brown, Goldstein & Levy, LLP, based in Baltimore, Maryland; and Schneider Wallace Cottrell Brayton Konecky LLP, based in San Francisco, California. An additional law firm, Lavey & Burnett, based in Little Rock, Arkansas, is also representing the workers in the case filed on behalf of bus drivers and dispatchers in Arkansas.

SOURCE Berger & Montague, P.C.

The NAACP and nine class representatives today filed a motion for class certification in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis Division, on behalf of a nationwide group of current and former employees of Eli Lilly Company. At the same time, the plaintiffs filed an amended complaint alleging that the pharmaceutical giant discriminates against its African-American employees in pay, promotion and related promotional opportunities and that Lilly's discriminatory policies and practices deny these African Americans an equal opportunity to advance in their careers.

Accompanying the class certification motion and amended complaint were certified declarations by more than 100 members of the class throughout the United States regarding their adverse employment experiences at the company.

The legal actions were announced at 11 a.m. Tuesday on the steps of the U.S. District Courthouse in Indianapolis by Angela Ciccolo, National General Counsel of the NAACP; plaintiffs' spokesperson Cassandra Welch; and the plaintiffs' attorney and new Co-lead Counsel David Sanford, of Sanford Wittels & Heisler LLP.

Sanford Wittels & Heisler, a national civil rights firm with offices in Washington, D.C., New York City and San Francisco, and the Morelli Ratner firm, a New York City-based plaintiff's firm have joined with Rose & Rose, a civil rights firm in Washington, DC, as Co-lead Counsel in the matter. The plaintiff's local counsel in Indiana is Rob Dassow of Hovde, Dassow & Deets, LLC.

The NAACP, Cassandra Welch in her individual capacity, as well as Raynard Tyson, Sheryl A. Davis, Clara Walker, Delores Ryan, Allison Carter, Lawanda Rutledge, Joy Mason, Kelly French and Jackie Colbert are named as class representatives on behalf of themselves and the class of current and past employees of Eli Lilly who experienced pervasive and longstanding racial discrimination as Lilly employees. There are an estimated 2,000 members of the class.

"More than 100 African American employees have filed declarations outlining the toll of Eli Lilly's discrimination on them and their families. Lost earnings and benefits coupled with the humiliation and distress of years of not being recognized for their merit and being held back because of the color of their skin," said Mr. Benjamin Jealous, President of the NAACP. "Companies like Eli Lilly who practice the anachronistic policies of racial discrimination harm not only the victims, but the competitiveness of U.S. business which must conduct business in an increasingly diverse marketplace."

The plaintiffs seek declaratory and injunctive relief, back pay, front pay, and attorneys' fees, costs and expenses to redress Lilly's pervasive and discriminatory employment practices.

All of the plaintiffs worked at Lilly locations in the U.S. over the past three decades and many continue to work there today: Mr. Tyson resided in North Carolina and was employed by Lilly from 1999 through 2004; Ms. Davis has been employed as a sales representative by Lilly in Memphis, TN, since March 2000; Ms. Walker resides in Indianapolis and has been employed at Lilly since 1988; Ms. Ryan resides in Indianapolis and has been employed at Lilly since 1977; Ms. Carter resides in Indianapolis and has been employed at Lilly since 2000; Ms. Rutledge resides in Olympia Fields, IL, and has been employed at Lilly since 2003; Ms. Mason resides in Indianapolis and has been employed at Lilly since 1998 and Kelly French resides in Indianapolis and was employed at Lilly from 1999 through 2008.

"Lilly discriminates against its African-American employees by advancing the company's white employees more quickly, and by denying African-American employees equal job assignments, promotional opportunities, training, compensation and other benefits of employment," said Mr. Sanford, Co-Lead Class Counsel. "These actions are part of Lilly's continuing pattern and practice of treating African-American employees differently from white employees. Such callous and unlawful behavior gives a new and warped meaning to the term 'lily white.' It cannot be allowed to continue."

Ms. Welch resided in Indianapolis during her employment by Lilly from 1992 until 2004. She is a long-time member of the NAACP, which is committed to the improvement of the social and economic status of minority groups, the elimination of racial prejudice and discrimination, and the attainment of civil rights and equal opportunities for its members and others. The majority of the members of the NAACP are African American.

"I have been subjected to blatant and persistent pay discrimination throughout my tenure at Lilly," said Ms. Welch. "I had to endure years of racist comments and threats -- including having a dark-colored doll with a noose around its neck left on my desk -- just to remain employed. My complaints to supervisors were never properly investigated, and I was ultimately let go by the company based on an untrue allegation by a co-worker."

Similar employment horror stories of the nine class representatives are described in the filing and in the more than 100 declarations.

"As these individual and collective employment experiences make clear, for several decades Lilly has intentionally engaged in discriminatory practices with indifference to the federally protected rights of its African American employees," said Ms. Ciccolo, General Counsel of the NAACP. "This company's longstanding policies and patterns of discrimination have injured and damaged these nine class representatives and all of the other African-Americans it employs. The legal actions we are taking in Indianapolis federal court are required to bring that injury and damage to a prompt and permanent end."

SOURCE Sanford Wittels & Heisler, LLP

Berger & Montague, P.C. has filed a class action lawsuit in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, Rieke, et al. v. Monaco Coach Corporation, Civil Action No. 09-50444-KJC, on behalf of 2,600 employees who were laid off by Monaco Coach Corporation in December 2008 and thereafter without receiving any notice. Monaco Coach Corporation, the manufacturer of luxury recreational vehicles headquartered in Coburg, Oregon, and traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol MNC until trading was suspended on March 3, 2009, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on March 5, 2009. The lawsuit claims that Monaco violated the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (the "WARN Act") which provides that employers must give sixty days notice to employers prior to a plant closing or mass layoff. The lawsuit seeks sixty days wages and benefits in lieu of the notice.

The lead plaintiffs, Randy Rieke, Cary Rieke, Gary Betts, Joyce Betts, Michael Dager, Angel Dager, Diana Hensley, and Jenny Ossthun, were all employed by Monaco at its headquarters in Coburg, Oregon. However, the lead plaintiffs filed this lawsuit on behalf of all employees who were part of the layoffs, including those who worked at Monaco's facilities located in Milford, Indiana, Wakarusa, Indiana, and Warsaw, Indiana.

"The WARN Act provides for sixty days advance notice of plant closings and mass layoffs to affected employees, and Monaco Coach Corporation has admitted publicly that it did not give such notice," said Shanon Carson of Berger & Montague, P.C., an attorney for the plaintiffs. "We will vigorously seek just compensation for our clients and their co-workers and ask simply that the company comply with the federal laws passed by Congress to protect employees from being abruptly terminated without notice, which substantially impacts their ability to find substitute work and support their families." Mr. Carson also noted that some of the lead plaintiffs and other affected workers are doubly impacted because they are husband and wife.

Former employees of Monaco Coach Corporation who were part of these layoffs can obtain additional information by calling Shanon Carson at (215) 875-4656, or by email at scarson@bm.net" target=_new>scarson@bm.net. This lawsuit is being prosecuted by the Philadelphia law firm of Berger & Montague, P.C. (www.bergermontague.com), which consists of over 60 attorneys who represent plaintiffs in complex litigation. The firm's Employment Law Group has extensive experience in representing employees in class and collective action litigation, and the firm has played lead roles in major cases for almost 40 years resulting in recoveries of billions of dollars for its clients and the classes they represent.

SOURCE Berger & Montague, P.C.

Lawsuits brought by the families of six Pennsylvania men who died of malignant mesothelioma were successfully resolved this past week, announced Baron & Budd, P.C. The deceased men -- an electrician, a carpenter, a pipefitter, a maintenance worker, a weekend home remodeler, and a Navy sailor -- had all been the victims of occupational asbestos exposure.

Asbestos exposure has been known for decades to cause mesothelioma, lung cancer, and other cancers. Asbestos exposure kills an estimated 10,000 people a year in the U.S. alone. Mesothelioma is a cancer of the lung's lining. The cancer is incurable. Asbestos caused mesothelioma leads to the deaths of approximately 3,000 Americans each year.

"Before mesothelioma took their lives, each of these men asked our law firm to take care of their families," said John Langdoc of Baron & Budd. "We hope that through this verdict, we've gone beyond that, and that we have also been able to shape future safety policies of companies who choose to use hazardous substances in their consumer products. It was an economic analysis for these companies, asbestos was known to cause cancer, but it was cheaper to use."

Three of the cases settled before verdict for more than $1 million each. The remaining three cases were tried to verdict against Ericsson, Inc., Georgia-Pacific, and Melrath. In what is believed to be the nation's first asbestos verdict against a wiring manufacturer, an electrician was exposed to asbestos in the lining of certain Anaconda electrical wiring that he used while working at a printing company.

The six Philadelphia, Pennsylvania cases involved:

• An electrician who was exposed to asbestos in the lining of certain Ericsson, Inc. "Anaconda brand" electrical wiring.
• A professional carpenter and remodeler who was exposed to Georgia-Pacific asbestos-containing joint compound.
• A weekend and evenings home remodeler who was exposed to Georgia Pacific asbestos-containing joint compound.
• A maintenance worker who was exposed to asbestos fireproofing and gaskets in boilers made by Kewanee, now known as Oakfabco;
• A pipefitter who for many years was exposed to asbestos-containing pipe insulation and asbestos gaskets used to join hundreds of miles of pipe at a large chemical plant.; and
• A Navy sailor who was exposed to asbestos-containing gaskets made by Crane Co.

Baron & Budd attorneys John Langdoc, Eric Brown and Chris Norris represented the families at trial. Dallas-based Baron & Budd has been a leader in asbestos litigation for decades and has been responsible for uncovering evidence of egregious misconduct by the asbestos industry and for discovering asbestos exposure from products not previously known to present a risk.

SOURCE Baron & Budd, P.C.

CWA union officials threaten financial penalties against independent-minded workers; national group announces offer of free legal aid

MORRISTOWN, N.J., Feb. 10 / -- Responding to employee reports across America of union intimidation, a national organization announced today that it will provide free legal assistance to AT&T Mobility employees who are threatened with fines for exercising their right to go to their jobs during an imminent national strike.

Communication Workers of America (CWA) union officials may order 20,000 AT&T employees to abandon their jobs at any moment. Numerous employees across America have contacted National Right to Work Foundation attorneys for advice after being falsely informed that they have no right to resign from formal union membership and will face hefty fines as union members if they choose to do their jobs during the strike.

Foundation attorneys have already helped two New Jersey AT&T employees file unfair labor practice charges against the Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 1101 union for this misconduct.

Under the Supreme Court decision Pattern Makers v. NLRB, workers have an absolute right to resign from formal, full dues-paying membership at any time. Union officials' attempts to block workers from resigning clearly violate this precedent. Union officials have no legal power to punish nonmember employees for honoring their commitments to their employer.

Union officials have told CWA union members in Washington, Michigan, Ohio and New Jersey that any attempt to resign from union membership is prohibited. In Ohio, CWA bosses responded to one worker's inquiry by telling him that he was employed in a "forced union" state. Foundation attorneys anticipate filing additional unfair labor practice charges for these union-abused workers in the coming weeks.

Moreover, union officials informed workers that anyone who refuses to follow strike orders will be subject to exorbitant financial penalties. In previous Foundation cases, union strike fines have exceeded thousands of dollars per worker per day.

The charges filed by Foundation attorneys seek an immediate injunction from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to prevent CWA union bosses from stopping workers' voluntary resignations. The charges also call for a rescission of any disciplinary action taken against workers attempting to resign, a repeal of the union's illegal rules preventing workers from resigning union membership and a notice informing all employees of their legal right to resign from the union at any time.

"It's particularly despicable to threaten workers with fines if they refuse to abandon their jobs in the midst of an economic crisis," said Stefan Gleason, vice president of the National Right to Work Foundation. "All workers should be free to support their families, free from ugly threats by union bosses."

"The National Right to Work Foundation stands ready to defend the rights of any AT&T employee who is being illegally threatened or coerced by CWA union bosses," added Gleason.

The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation is a nonprofit, charitable organization providing free legal aid to employees whose human or civil rights have been violated by compulsory unionism abuses. The Foundation, which can be contacted toll-free at 1-800-336-3600, is assisting thousands of employees in over 200 cases nationwide. Its web address is www.nrtw.org.

SOURCE National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation

The U.S Justice Department filed a lawsuit against a Washtenaw County commissioner and a man who managed his rental units in Ypsilanti for subjecting female tenants to unwanted sexual advances.
Filed in U.S. District Court in Detroit, the lawsuit states that property manager Glen E. Johnson had been subjecting actual and prospective female tenants to unwanted sexual advances since 2005 at 11 single family properties owned by County Commissioner Ronnie Peterson.
Allegedly, Johnson entered the apartments of female tenants without their permission or advance notice and took adverse action against them if they objected to his advances.
The suit further alleges that Peterson who has been county commissioner since 2001 is responsible for Jonhson's conduct on account of the fact that he was not aware of the discriminatory conduct and because he failed to take preventive or corrective action.
To read more about the case click here.

The former head of HealthSouth Corporation, Birmingham, Alabama, is set to face yet another court date after being acquitted of federal criminal fraud charges more than three years ago.
Richard Scrushy's trial will begin on May 11 as ordered by a Jefferson County Circuit Court judge who presided over the long-running lawsuit. The lawsuit alleges that Scrushy seriously hampered the physical rehabilitation company while leading it.
At the moment Scrushy is lodged in a federal prison in Texas after being convicted for bribing former Gov. Don Siegelman for a spot on a health-care permitting board.
The Jefferson County lawsuit was filed by shareholders on behalf of HealthSouth.
To read more about the case click here.

The former Sherriff of Henry County, Tennessee, David Bumpus, who recently finished serving a federal prison sentence in November, after he pleaded guilty to the crime of misappropriating county funds to purchase firearms for his personal use, now finds himself facing a civil lawsuit.
The county government is filing a civil lawsuit against Bumpus and a co-defendant, Samuel J.Ferren, seeking $238,000 in compensatory damages and $100,000 in punitive damages. The lawsuit states that the county is suing Bumpus and Ferren for breach of contract, fraud, theft , embezzlement and breach of trust.
To read more about the case click here.

The Knicks center, Eddy Curry, who was sued for sexual harassment by his former driver, is considering filing a defamation suit against him in retaliation.
Curry was accused of racial discrimination and sexual harassment in a suit filed on Monday in the Southern District of New York, by his former driver, David Kuchinsky, who had worked for the NBA star for three years.
The lawsuit seeks $68,000 in unpaid wages and $25,000 in expenses that the Kuchinsky claims were not reimbursed, apart from $5 million in damages.
Allegedly, Curry made inappropriate sexual advances on Kuchinsky and exposed himself on two occasions. The lawsuit also claims that Curry referred to Kuchinsky in racially offensive and derogative terms and on one occasion, even pointed a loaded gun at his head.
Curry denied all of Kuchinsky's allegations on Monday night. Chicago based lawyer Kelly Saindon, who is currently representing Curry in the lawsuit claims that Kuchinsky filed the lawsuit because he was fired in October without any notice.
As a result of the sexual harassment lawsuit, Curry may sue Kuchinsky for defamation of character. Saindon stated that she will also file a motion to dismiss Kuchinsky's lawsuit on the basis that it goes against his employment contract according to which any workplace disputes would be resolved before the American Arbitration Association in Chicago.
To read more about the case click here.

A Newark, Ohio city employee, who filed a defamation suit against the city in June 2004, has finally reached a settlement.
Robert Gregory Ketter filed a federal defamation suit against the city in U.S. District five years ago alleging that public remarks made by then-Mayor Bruce Bain, had painted him as a criminal. In his lawsuit, Ketter had stated that his rights as a classified employee had been violated for which he was seeking damages.
A housing rehabilitation supervisor in the city's Community Development Department, Ketter was placed on paid leave in February 2004 during an investigation into the department's handling of federal community Block Grant money. He was reinstated on a probationary basis the next January, almost a year later, after the investigation did not turn up any evidence of wrongdoing.
Newark Law Director Doug Sassen said yesterday that the city and Ketter had reached a verbal settlement. Ketter's attorney, Mike Moses stated that the settlement vindicated Ketter.
The settlement includes monetary damages and allows Ketter to continue working at the department.

Luna Community College, New Mexico has become embroiled in a sexual harassment controversy with the U.S. Department of Justice suing the institution for doing little to halt the sexual harassment of a subordinate employee by the president of the institution.
The lawsuit was filed in Albuquerque and seeks unspecified damages on behalf of the victim, Charlene Ortiz-Cordova. The suit was filed under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
At the time of the alleged harassment, Ortiz-Cordova was academic director of the institute. During her tenure at the college, she was subjected to unwanted sexual contact, gestures and comments by the college president at that time, Leroy Sanchez. His behavior towards Ortiz-Cordova created a hostile working environment for her.
As per her lawsuit the plaintiff's repeated complaints to her immediate superiors went unheeded. After a year of inaction, her complaint finally reached the human resource department of the college after which Sanchez was instructed to avoid contacting Ortiz-Cordova. However, nothing was done to discipline Sanchez or to see that the department's order was implemented.
In 2006, Ortiz-Cordova left her job and filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission which investigated and verified the allegations. The case was then transferred to the Justice Department after repeated attempts to negotiate with Sanchez failed.
To read more about the case click here.

Four trainers who were wrongfully notified that they had EPO positives and were hence prevented from entering events at the Red Mile, have filed a lawsuit against the premier, harness- racing institution, for the adverse publicity they received as a result of the declaration.
Jan Johnson, Jim Arledge, Jr., Bob McIntosh and Joe Seekman are suing the Red Mile for defamation. They are seeking a reimbursement for the cost of the additional testing, lost entry fees, potential lost purse earnings and attorney costs.
The four trainers were cleared of the doping allegation after more stringent and dependable tests were conducted to detect the hormone erythropoietin which is used to boost the formation of RBCs in the bloodstream. This form of doping is called blood doping and is used to improve an athlete's aerobic capacity and endurance. That because an increased RBC count directly causes an increase in the oxygenation of muscles. Blood doping can be done in several ways. To read about blood doping click here.
To read more about the case first reported in the Lexington Herald-Leader click here.

The Deputy Chief of Police of Oakland, California, one of the department's highest ranking officers, has been accused of sexually harassing a female sergeant. The complaint, which was initially filed with the department's Internal Affairs Division, was filed after the sergeant became uncomfortable when Jeff Loman discussed meeting her for dinner to talk about a possible promotion (the sergeant was due to be promoted to the rank of lieutenant).
The lawsuit against Loman comes while he is also undergoing a probe in the department's handling of the investigation into journalist Chauncey Bailey's killing in August 2007.    
To read more about the case click here.

The only female truck driver for the sanitation department in Atlantic City has filed a lawsuit against the city claiming that the city failed to protect her from the sexual harassment meted out to her by her supervisors.
Lisa Fundberg-Carr who has been a truck driver for the city since 2006, alleges that her supervisor, Melvin Jones, 'pinned her against a wall and tried to put his tongue down her throat'. She reported the incident, which took place in March or April 2006, to Barbara Camper, the city's equal opportunity employment officer at that time but no action was taken.
Fundberg-Carr also claims that her co-worker, Brian Williams, passed sexually offensive comments about her while they were both in training together such as 'how does it feel between your legs'. Her lawsuit also alleges that Williams also sent her obscene photos of himself to her celphone.
Again she claims that she reported the incident but nothing was done. All the while Williams continued to harass her by calling her 'bitch' and yelling in her face.
Her lawsuit filed on December 15 also named Jones, Williams, Herman Baskerville, Camper, David Callaway and former assistant city solicitor John Hegarty as defendants.
Fundberg-Carr is being represented by David Castellani of Northfield. In her lawsuit she alleges that she suffered 'extreme emotional distress, mental anguish, embaressment, humiliation, loss of past and future wages, physical injury and other damages' and that Atlantic City failed to enforce policies relating to sexual harassment at the workplace. She is seeking punitive damages, legal fees and other costs associated with filing the lawsuit.

A former deputy sheriff of Calhoun County, Mississippi has sued the county after he was fired from his job in March this year. In his lawsuit, John Roger Westmoreland has alleged that he was fired because he was black and because he took unavoidable medical leave.
Speaking on behalf of Westmoreland, his attorney Jim Waide stated that the county was being sued by his client, for the actions of Sheriff Bill Gore who fired his client only to replace him with his son. Waide further alleged that his client was hired two years ago because officials felt they needed a black deputy. Westmoreland also claims he was never even sent to the police academy for training and that he was fired the day after he returned from medical leave.
Westmoreland claims that his firing violates the Family and Medical Leave Act, as well as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended in 1991.
  

 A Lingerie Bowl player recently sued her ex-boyfriend for posting nude pictures of her on MySpace.com.
Melissa J. Berry, 24, who is a model and lingerie football league player, sued her ex-boyfriend, Mark C. Dawson, a safe dating expert, for posting nude pictures of her on the internet. She alleges that he even sent some of the pictures to her mother.
In her lawsuit, Berry alleges that Dawson used his cellular phone to take several nude pictures of her including one taken without her knowledge. She further states that she never agreed for the photos to be shown to anyone else.
Berry is worried that these pictures will damage her reputation and affect her work.
To read more about the case click here.

A Colombia woman who claims to have been forced to quit her work shortly after filing a criminal lawsuit against an executive of her company, American Office Equipment Co. after being assaulted at their retreat by him, was disappointed with the jury's verdict earlier this month.
A federal jury in Baltimore awarded Barbara A. Surran $53,000. She has filed a motion for a new trial solely on the issue of damages.
Harriet Cooperman, attorney for James A. Kuntz, the executive of American Office who assaulted Surran, is happy with the verdict since her client had offered Surran $250,000 to settle the case, in late October this year.
Kuntz could recover $3,498 from Surran, under federal rules for not accepting his offer two months ago which nearly equals the $3,880 in medical damages that Surran was awarded for counseling after the incident.   
To read more about the case click here.

A veteran county constable, who is facing a lawsuit to oust him from the force, is filing a counter lawsuit.
Roane County, Tennessee constable Mark Patton is seeking $250,000 in damages from the county, 15 commissioners, the county attorney, Tom McFarland and Roane County purchasing agent, Lynn Farnham. He is also suing Johnny Griffin, an insurance agent for an auto company.
Patton alleges that Griffin was directed by Farnham to remove the county from the bond Patton had obtained to satisfy requirements for office.
To read more about the case click here.

A Fresno County Superior Court jury decided in favour of an investigator who alleged gender discrimination by the county district attorney, Elizabeth Egan and her predecessor, Ed Hunt. The jury decided that while the attorneys were not guilty of denying the plaintiff a promotion because of her gender they were guilty of discriminating against her in retaliation to the complaint she filed with the state department of fair employment and housing in 2002.
The jury decided that Judy Tucker had to be paid $300,000 in damages for future lost wages and $50,000 for the mental anguish she suffered after filing her complaint.
Tucker alleged that she was denied a promotion in favour of male candidates who were less qualified and less educated.
David Petrie, Tucker's lawyer stated in his arguments that Egan had launched an internal investigation into Tucker's personal life and that she had also failed to give his client an evaluation for nearly five years.
To read more click here.

Allegations levelled against a Louisiana farmer, of the abuse of his Mexican farmhands, are being investigated by the FBI.
The lawsuit against the farmer alleges that he often fired shotgun blasts over Mexican guest workers' heads and that he even exposed them to pesticides and paid them less than minimum wages. The lawsuit also alleges that he confiscated the workers' passports so that they could not flee his farm.
An immigrant rights organization filed the lawsuit against Charles 'Bimbo' Relan, owner of Bimbo's Best Produce, on behalf of the workers.
FBI spokeswoman Sheila Thorne confirmed that the FBI was investigating possible civil rights violations in the case. 
To read the whole article click here.

The owners of Sarno and Son formal wear have filed a civil lawsuit against three men alleging that they were responsible for stealing hundreds of pieces of formal wear in a scam that took place over six years costing the firm more than $2.5 million.
Earlier this year, Robert Riviello, 39, Michael J. Pantano, 42, and John Vermack, 45, were charged by Lackawanna County authorities with stealing tuxedos and other items from Sarno's distribution center. Pantano and Riviello have been accused of stealing goods worth $121,830 while Vermack, who has been a long time employee of the company, is accused of stealing merchandise worth $50,000.
The suit was filed by Mark Sarno and his sister Nancy Sarno-De Los Rios and they seek to recover thrice the amount of their losses from the defendants which amounts to $7.5 million, under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO).
The suit also names Pantano's wife Elizabeth and Ryan Rowinski, who owns Tuxedo Junction of King of Prussia, as defendants.
To read all the details of the case click here.

The family of a 17- year old employee of Automotive & Truck Services, Inc., who died while unhooking a vehicle he had towed to an impound lot, cannot sue the company for violating child labour laws as per the ruling of an appeals court in Wisconsin.
Joshua Reif was asked to drive a tow truck by is company in violation of state laws that barred him from doing so because he was not 18 yet. Reif, who was in Brookfield because of an apprentice program was made to operate vehicles illegally along with other minors by the company, which an investigation by the Department of Workforce Development revealed, had committed 1,434 violations of child labour. As a result regulators fined the company $12,000 in penalty wages.
The Waukesha boy's parents along with his estate agents sued Automotive and its insurance company for damages related to his death. A Waukesha County judge dismissed the case however, stating that state law only allowed compensation through the workers' compensation program. Under state law, the compensation program is for employees injured in work accidents to seek recourse from their employers.
The estate's lawyers plan on appealing to the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
To read more about the case click here.
 

A recent legal battle against the Hilton Hotels, for the wrongful dismissal of a hotel staffer, Deborah Smit, after she informed her HR department of catching top executives of the hotel in a sexual orgy, may get more interesting with co-workers involved in the orgy suing each other. 
April Bezdichek alleges that James M. Vennewitz, 38, who was the hotel beverage manager at the time of the incident, invited her to the evening of group sex. She is suing Vennewitz as well as the company on eight counts, including sexual harassment, assault, invasion of privacy etc.
Bezdichek alleges that she was unwittingly lured into meeting Vennewitz on the night the incident occurred as a result of which she was sexually abused. After she complained she was not called for shifts and hence had to resign.
Smith was the first to file a lawsuit against Minneapolis Hilton Hotel. After she reported the incident to the HR department she was no longer called in for shifts and had to resign from her work.
To read the complete details of the case and to read the full pdf with all the case information click here.

The decision by University of Georgia's (UGA) administrators to uphold a sexual harassment complaint against one of their employees may have been wrong.
U.S. Magistrate Judge C. Christopher Hagy stated that there was no substantial evidence against the defendant.
Journalism college dean, John Soloski was accused by his colleague, Jane Jones Kendall, in the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication of passing comments about her appearance that made her uncomfortable. In 2005, the UGA's Office of Legal Affairs found Soloski to be guilty of violating the university's policy of Non-Discrimination and Anti- Harassment.
Soloski's comments to Kendall were "That is a nice dress. It really shows off your assets," and "You have brown eyes. I don't believe I've ever noticed that before. What colour are my eyes?" Judge Hagy stated that these statements fall far short of what the law says is sexual harassment.
UGA President Michael Adams has come under heavy criticism for his decision. Soloski's case is often compared with that of Keith Parker who massaged a female student's feet and told her that she looked like she was the type of girl who liked to have fun. The UGA Office of Legal Affairs, acting on a complaint by the student, did not feel that Parker's behaviour was a violation of the UGA harassment policy. Parker's case seems to highlight the fact that the administration of the UGA made an arbitrary and uninformed decision.
To read the complete details of the case click here.

A woman of the Sikh religious sect from India who allegedly suffered racial, religious and sexual harassment at her work place won a civil case against her former employers recently. After a three year legal battle Sukhbir Kaur, reached a settlement agreement with her former employers which also included a clause that forced them to change their employment policies.
The National Wholesale Liquidators (NWL) agreed to make changes to their employment policies that would rid the company of discrimination and pay monetary damages to Kaur and eight other victims of harassment worth $255,000.
Kaur alleged that her manager harassed her because she was a Sikh, a woman and an Indian. He told her on several occasions to remover her traditional turban because she would 'look sexier' without it.

A professor of Sussex County Community College is suing her institution claiming that she was sexually harassed and then denied a promotion and wrongfully dismissed by a superior when she refused his advances.
Darla Silverman is seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages from the college. Silverman has named the college, its president, Constance Mierendorf, vice president, Harry Damato and associate professor of psychology, Richard Linden as defendants in her lawsuit.
Hired by the Newton school as an assistant professor of psychology in 2000, Silverman alleges that in the first two years of her appointment, Linden made several inappropriate advances to her. As she was not tenured yet and he was the only other member of the department who could have a say in whether she could get tenure, she did not confront him. She alerted Damato instead, who just told her to be patient with Linden.
In 2002, Silverman and Linden attended a conference together in Catskills during which they were given adjoining hotel rooms. At one point Linden entered her room and tried to forcibly hug and kiss her while telling her that he was in love with her. Silverman spurned his advances after which his behaviour towards her became very negative. He harassed her and humiliated her in front of students and colleagues.
Two of her colleagues who witnessed Linden's behaviour wrote a letter to the human resources department of the college in 2004. The former vice president dismissed the allegation and directed the pair to have minimal contact.
The injustice continued when in 2006 Silverman was passed over for a post that she was obviously qualified for. Later the person they hired quit the job owing to an illness after his first day. Silverman was then given the post but her designation was altered and she received less pay. She was classified as an executive assistant to the vice president even though her duties were the same as those of a dean. She took the job hoping to be promoted in 6 months to a year.
In 2007, Mierendorf became SCCC president but did not make Silverman a dean. In April when she resigned her post, the college made her former position a dean and hired a colleague of Mierendorf from Raritan Valley Community College in Somerset County.

A Wayne, NJ resident, who blew the whistle against the township last year, has filed another lawsuit against a lawyer who represented the township in the case last year. The defamation lawsuit alleges that lawyer Eric L. Harrison, bad- mouthed him while talking about the settlement to the media. Jeffrey DelVecchio is suing both Mount Olive, his former employers, and Harrison for falsely stating that his job as building inspector was terminated because of his rude and insubordinate behaviour.
DelVecchio has stated in his lawsuit that these defamatory statements violated the settlement agreement reached by both parties last year and also caused him mental anguish, stress, humiliation, pain and suffering. For this he is seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.
In October 2007, DelVecchio won a $130,000 lawsuit against Mount Olive under the Conscientious Employee Protection Act also known as the whistle- blower law alleging that he had been removed from his job in retaliation for reports he filed in 2005 about supposed violations of construction codes in the building of a Best Western hotel in Budd Lake. 

A Missouri Court of Appeals in Kansas City recently exchanged it's own punitive reward amount for one determined by a trial judge, setting a precedent under the Missouri Human Rights Act by awarding a plaintiff $3.75 million in punitive damages.
Federal anti-discrimination laws restrict damages against large companies at $300,000 but the Missouri Human Rights Act did not do so in this case. Since the lawsuit began however, Missouri Legislature has limited punitive damages to $500,000 or five times the amount of compensatory damages, whichever is greater.
Auto parts supplier TNT Logistics of North America Inc was asked to pay $6.5 million in punitive damages to their former employee Kendra Lynn in 2006 by a Jackson County Jury. A judge later ruled that, that amount was excessive and reduced it to $450,000.
TNT argued to reduce that amount to $250,000. The appeals court ruling on Friday said $6.75 million was excessive but that $450,000 in itself was not sufficient. Thus they settled on an amount of $3.75 million noting that the company did not try to correct the actions of its errant supervisor creating a hostile work environment for Lynn. The plaintiff has to accept the decision in three days. Kirk D. Holman, who represents Lynn stated that he was happy with the decision.
In her 2004 lawsuit Lynn alleged that her shift supervisor, Michael Gill, repeatedly made vulgar and sexually graphic comments to her. Her complaints to her superiors about this went unheeded and she was placed on a 2 a.m. shift instead. After working at TNT as an assembly line scanner for 16 months and earning positive evaluations, Lynn was fired in January 2004.
Evidence showed that TNT never interviewed or disciplined Gill that the company had even tried to conceal its handling of Lynn's complaints.
Information from: The Kansas City Star, http://www.kcstar.com

Matt Blunt, the governor of the state of Missouri, involved in a defamation lawsuit, failed to convince a Jackson County Circuit judge to dismiss the charges against him. Allegedly, Blunt ruined a staff member's reputation to cover up the destruction of public records. Judge Michael Manners did not accept the argument that Blunt had the authority to make derogatory remarks while performing his job. Such a stance would undermine public policy as expressed in the state's whistleblower- protection laws as well as in laws that encourage government accountability.
The judge wrote that, the state not only needed to encourage high ranking public officials to speak out on issues of public interest but also needed to support lower ranking public employees to blow the whistle on instances of misconduct by their superiors.
Scott Eckersley, the governor's former deputy legal counsel, filed the lawsuit. His allegations stem from a controversy that arose in the summer of 2007 over the destruction of e-mail messages in Blunt's office. Supposedly, Eckersley had warned Blunt's aides in mid September last year that destroying those e-mails was illegal following which he was fired. The e- mails that were destroyed ascertained that Blunt's staff had tried to use the Missouri Highway Patrol to discredit a political opponent and used state workers and state equipment to coordinate political attacks.
Blunt and his aides have denied that Eckersley ever suggested that they stop deleting e-mails. They maintain that Eckersley was fired in late October last year for his poor job performance. After firing him they also distributed packets of information to news houses containing memos that accused Eckersley of doing private legal work on state time, viewing adult websites on his state computer and allowing personal problems to interfere with work. Eckersley claims that Blunt and his staff did this to humiliate him and discredit his name as they were afraid he would publicly accuse them of destroying official records.
Eckersley eventually sued Blunt and his aides, seeking damages for injury to his reputation and wrongful dismissal. The lawsuit is also seeking damages for violation of the state's open-records law and of the state's whistleblower law, according to which disciplinary action against a state employee who discloses illegal conduct is prohibited.
Blunt's attorneys have stated that, as governor, Blunt has complete immunity against being held liable for any allegation he makes.
Manners disagreed, writing that, such an argument restricts the public's right to know, only encompassing the official version projected by high government officials. To allow a public official to defame his critics also undermines the objectives of whistleblower laws, he ruled.
Information from an article written by Kit Wagar on The Kansas City Star website.

Oscar winning actress Charlize Theron has had to make a settlement of $20 million for a breach of contract lawsuit filed against her by the Swiss watchmaker Raymond Weil. The Monster star had signed a deal with the luxury watch brand in 2005 according to which she had to exclusively endorse their timepieces in public. However, in 2006, she was photographed wearing a Christian Dior watch at the Texas Film Festival. The American press added fuel to her momentary faux pas which lasted all of one hour by running pictures in the paper the next day with the caption 'Charlize Theron wears Dior'. Stating that her decision to wear the watch was 'regrettable', Theron has already moved on to ink a new watch, jewellery and accessories contract with Breil Milano. The new ad campaign of the Italian firm has already begun, featuring Theron who looks very seductive in an elegant black cocktail dress.

Terms of the settlement were no disclosed.

Pic courtesy indoloony/ Joy Banerjee from flickr.com

Five police officers have sued Detroit police, saying that they were forced to go on leave once their bosses realized they were pregnant, even if they could perform their duties.

The officers are challenging a policy that prevents them from working unless a doctor certifies them capable of crawling in confined spaces, jump and forcibly make arrests.

The lawsuit seeks financial damages and restoration of seniority.

A federal jury Friday awarded $380,000 to Kristine Buffone, 32, who had sued Rosebud Restaurants, claiming that she was discriminated against when she became pregnant.

Kristine Buffone, 32, who worked at La Rosetta restaurant, said she was removed from the work schedule when her pregnancy became noticeable in July 2003. Buffone, a manager at the restaurant, had planned to work until her due date in November 2003.

Buffone's attorney, Eugene Hollander said his client testified that a supervisor told her: "You're getting too big -- we have to get you out of here."

There was also testimony that a restaurant cook said: "'No one wants to see a pregnant lady while they're eating dinner. It's disgusting,'" Hollander said.

Buffone said a manager took her off the schedule in July 2003 and that an executive instructed her to start family and medical leave. "There was absolutely no issue with Kristine's performance,'' Hollander said.

The jury awarded Buffone $55,000 in back pay, $75,000 in compensatory damages and $250,000 in punitive damages.

Wal-Mart has settled a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the parents of a 19-year-old store clerk who was abducted, sexually assaulted and killed following her night shift.

The employee, Megal Leann Holden, was kidnapped in January 2005, from the parking lot of a Wal-Mart Supercenter in Tyler. Johnny Lee Williams, Jr. later pleaded guilty to the crime and was sentenced to life.

Holden's parents, Sheri Kay Dunlap and James Vincent Holden sued Wal-Mart and the store's security company, the Wackenhut Corporation, alleging that the companies' negligence resulted in their daughter's death.

Dunlap and Holden said the terms of the settlement are confidential. The lawsuit had been scheduled to go to trial tomorrow.

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Twenty-nine more workers from the Jasper Popcorn Co. plant have filed a lawsuit claiming they suffered lung damage due to a butter flavoring used at the plant.

The suit filed in the Jasper County Circuit Court names as co-defendants the makers of butter flavoring used at the plant, International Flavors and Fragrances, and the company with which it merged in 2001, Bush Boake Allen, Givaudan Flavors, Aldrich Chemical Co. and Sigma-Aldrich.

International Flavors and Fragrances and Bush Boake Allen were defendants in prior lawsuits brought by 43 other workers at the plant, 30 of which have been either adjudicated or settled.

The popcorn lawsuits allege that exposure to the flavoring caused a rare progressive lung disease, known as bronchiolitis obliterans.

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A federal jury awarded $3.7 million to a former suburban Chicago police officer who sued for the retaliation he suffered after he discovered evidence of corruption in the village of Stickney.

Under Monday's ruling, Richard Hare Sr., 48, will receive $1.7 million in compensatory damages from the village and $1 million in punitive damages each from Mayor Donald Tabor and Police Chief John Zitek.

"It's a victory for me on paper," Hare said, "but I'm sad because it brought down the entire village," he said.

Hare sued in 2002 alleging that Tabor and Zitek retaliated against him after he and five others brought evidence of corruption to the Cook County state's attorney's office. The action against him included demotion, taking away his car and trying to revoke his gun license.

In 2000, Hare testified before a grand jury that money, guns and drugs had disappeared from the police department's evidence room.

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U.S. District Court Judge Patti B. Saris ruled that the state of Massachusetts discriminated against black and Hispanic applicants for firefighter jobs by using exams that were unfair to minorities. The class-action suit was brought on behalf of all minority firefighters who took the 2002 and 2004 firefighters exams in hopes of joining fire departments in Boston, Lynn and other communities.

Saris said the state has continued to rank applicants based on how well they score on written exams that test cognitive ability, even though such tests were found discriminatory in the early 1970s. A 1974 federal consent decree ordered that a more fair exam be created. Massachusetts has failed over 30 years to create a more equitable exam for minorities seeking firefighter jobs throughout the state, despite court order to do so, the judge ruled.

"These cognitive examinations do not predict how quickly a firefighter can climb stairs with equipment or raise a ladder," Saris wrote in a 68-page decision in favor of four black firefighter applicants in Lynn.

The judge gave the lawyers for the four 30 days to propose a remedy. The state and the city of Lynn then will have 30 days to respond.

Lynn Mayor Edward "Chip" Clancy said his city has followed state Civil Service guidelines for hiring applications, and will continue to do so if the exam is changed.

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El Paso's National Center for Employment of the Disabled, recently renamed Ready One Industries, is suing its former president & CEO, Bob Jones, for over $30 million.

Bob Jones is credited with having built Ready One, which was recently investigated by the FBI, a U.S. Senate committee and two regulatory agencies. The nonprofit disclosed that it paid Jones $6 million last year, according to the lawsuit. The suit demands the return of $24 million in compensation paid to Jones since 2003 and accuses Jones of putting millions of company dollars to his personal use and of other financial improprieties.

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Attorneys for employees who won a $172 million jury verdict against Wal-Mart for not providing paid meal and rest breaks are seeking an injunction to enforce changes in practices at the retailer.

116,000 current and former hourly workers at Wal-Mart and Sam's Club stores in California won their lawsuit against Wal-Mart last December. The suit claimed that Wal Mart had violated their rights under state labor laws by denying them their meal and rest breaks and by secretly deleting hours worked from their paychecks.

An Alameda County Superior Court jury had awarded the plaintiffs $57.3 million in compensatory damages and $115 million in punitive damages. The workers were represented by San Francisco attorney Fred Furth.

Furth is now seeking an injunction ordering Wal-Mart to have all its employees punch in and punch out for their paid rest breaks.

Wal-Mart attorney Neal Manne said "the alleged need to impose the extraordinary remedy of a meal period injunction is moot" because Wal-Mart employees have been able to take their breaks more than 99 percent of the time since mid-2003.

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The Supreme Court has upheld a lower court decision in favor of a woman forklift operator who said she had been retaliated against after accusing a supervisor of sexual discrimination.

Sheila White, employed at the maintenance department at a railroad yard in Memphis, Tennessee, had complained in 1997 to the railroad of harassment by her supervisor. She then complained to a federal agency, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, of sex discrimination and retaliation.

White was reassigned from forklift operator to track laborer, which meant her pay and benefits remained the same but she had to do a more difficult job. She was later accused of insubordination in a matter not related to the sex discrimination case and was suspended without pay for 37 days.

After the company determined that she had not been insubordinate, White was reinstated in 1998 with full back pay.

A federal jury rejected White's claims of sex discrimination but found she had been retaliated against and awarded her $43,000 in damages.

A U.S. appeals court upheld the award and ruled a 37-day suspension without pay constituted an adverse employment action, regardless of her later reinstatement. It also said reassignment of duties within the same job classification can constitute retaliation.

The Supreme Court upheld the appeals court's decision for White.

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Two FedEx Ground drivers of Lebanese descent who claimed a manager harassed them with racial slurs for two years were awarded $ 61 million by a jury.  Edgar Rizkallah and Kamil Issa said in the discrimination lawsuit that they were called "terrorists," "camel jockeys" and other derogatory terms in 1999 and 2000 by Stacy Shoun. Shoun was the terminal manager for the Oakland facility where the two men were contract drivers.

An Alameda County Superior Court jury on Friday awarded the men $50 million in punitive damages, on top of $11 million in compensatory damages.  The lawsuit accused FedEx Ground of failing to enforce its anti-discrimination policies.

Shoun was ordered to pay $1 million to the drivers under a California law allowing individuals to be held personally liable for workplace harassment.

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A federal jury has awarded nearly $2 million Wednesday to three Delaware state police troopers in their lawsuit against the agency. The troopers, Sgt. Christopher D. Foraker, Cpl. Wayne Warren and Cpl. B. Kurt Price, accused former and current commanders of retaliating against them for speaking about environmental conditions at the department's firing range.

Retired Col. L.Aaron Chaffinch and Col. Thomas F. MacLeish were found to have violated the troopers' rights. Chaffinch mocked the troopers in front of other high-ranking officers and used profanity when referring to Foraker.

The troopers said that Chaffinch and MacLeish violated their free speech by retaliating against them after they spoke to state auditors about concerns at the Smyrna-area range, which included high levels of toxic metals. The range was closed in 2004.

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Howard Stern's new employer,  Sirius Satellite Radio Inc., will pay CBS Radio,  a subsidiary of CBS Corp., $2 million for its rights to the recordings of the Howard Stern Show. This settlement will enable the shock jock to regain control of the master tapes of his terrestrial radio program. The other details of the settlement have not been revealed.

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A group of 52 Indian men have been awarded over $ 1.2 million in a lawsuit against their former employer, John Pickle Co. for fraud, false imprisonment and civil rights violations.

"Defendants recruited Indian workers in India, brought them to the United States, housed and fed them separately from the non-Indian JPC employees, identified them as Indians and made numerous discriminatory comments about their ancestry, ethnic background, culture, and country," wrote Federal judge Clair V Egan.

The verdict comes more than four years after the workers left the west Tulsa (Oklahoma) factory, where they were forced to work long hours for only a few dollars per day. The men accused the company of making them live in a dormitory on the factory grounds and keeping them from leaving the factory grounds even when off-duty.

If divided equally, each worker might receive more than $20,000.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has announced that Jones Apparel Group Inc. has settled a sexual harassment suit for $600,000.  This settlement resolves a 2004 government class- action lawsuit against Jones, parent company of Nine West shoes and a maker of jeans, suits and sportswear. The lawsuit accused two vice presidents of soliciting sex from female co-workers, groping them and making disparaging remarks about Latino women.

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Eight women have sued their employer, American Building Maintenance Industries, alleging sexual harassment by their supervisors. The plaintiffs, who clean commercial buildings at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and  other Twin Cities locations,  complain that their immediate supervisors demanded sex, fondled them and, in one case, coerced a worker into having sex.  They also say that complaints to their supervisor's boss were either ignored or they were retaliated against.
All the plaintiffs are Latina and Spanish speakers, and allege that their supervisors took advantage of their limited knowledge of English. They are now seeking unspecified monetary damages and class action status for their lawsuit.

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Krispy Kreme employees had sued the company last year, alleging that they lost millions of dollars in retirement savings because company executives hid evidence of declining sales and profits. A settlement of $ 4.7 million has now been reached between the company and the workers.

The class-action lawsuit was filed in federal court in Greensboro last year. The suit said that company executives said nothing about the company's troubles, and workers who bought stock for their 401(k) accounts, or were paid stock in bonus plans, had no way of knowing that the stock was a risky investment.

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Three former workers who sued the LIRR for exposing them to dangerous substances in hellish conditions without any warning or protection have been awarded $ 16.4 million in damages. The three men suffer from asbestosis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. They said they had unknowingly breathed air contaminated by asbestos fibers for years.

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