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Labor & Employment Law

Ross' Employment Law Blog

By Ross Runkel, Professor of Law Emeritus, arbitrator, and editor at LawMemo.Com - First in Employment Law.

Post Frequency: 4.8/day

Last Entry: March 29, 2011 at 20:01:45

Rules require parity in treatment of mental and substance disorders

Posted on February 07, 2010
Interim Final Rules Under the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 were filed in the Federal Register on Tuesday. The Act requires parity between mental health or substance use disorder benefits and medical/surgical benefits with respect to financial requirements and treatment limitations under group health plans and health insurance coverage offered in connection with a group health plan...

$1,001,438 FLSA settlement

Posted on February 07, 2010
Department of Labor sued poultry producer Pilgrim?s Pride Corp, claiming a failure to pay overtime. In a consent judgment, the company has agreed to pay $1,001,438 in overtime back wages for 798 former and current employees, and agreed to pay for time spent by employees "donning and doffing," or putting on and taking off work-related gear in all processing plants nationwide...

$380,000 sex discrimination settlement

Posted on February 07, 2010
The EEOC brought two suits against The Boeing Company, alleging gender-based harassment and retaliation involving three employees. The suits were settled for $380,000, an injunction prohibiting future discrimination and retaliation, and other relief...

$43,000 religious discrimination settlement

Posted on February 07, 2010
EEOC claimed that Ivy Hall Assisted Living fired a female housekeeper rather than accommodating her religious belief that she wear a Muslim head scarf (hijab) outside her home. The suit was settled for $43,000 plus other relief. EEOC Press release: 1-29-10 Ivy Hall Assisted Living Pays $43,000 to Settle Religious Discrimination Lawsuit EEOC Charged Female Employee Fired Because of Muslim Headdress ATLANTA ? Ivy Hall Assisted Living, LLC will pay $43,000 and furnish other relief to settle a religious discrimination lawsuit brought by the U...

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EEOC sues law firm claiming age discrimination

Posted on January 31, 2010
EEOC sued Kelley Drye & Warren last week, claiming that attorneys who practiced law after turning 70 years of age received dramatically reduced compensation compared to similarly productive younger attorneys solely because of their age. EEOC also claims the firm retaliated against one attorney for complaining and filing an EEOC charge...

$1.5 million verdict in Crawford's retaliation case

Posted on January 31, 2010
A federal jury returned a verdict of almost $1.5 in a retaliation case that went to the US Supreme Court and back. Vicky Crawford claimed she was fired for reporting sexual harassment during an internal investigation. The US Supreme Court one year ago held that Title VII's anti-retaliation provision extends to an employee who speaks out about discrimination not on her own initiative, but in answering questions during an employer's internal investigation...

$428,500 settles sexual harassment claim

Posted on January 31, 2010
EEOC and Eagle Wings Industries have settled a sexual harassment suit for $428,500, which will go to a class of females. EEOC claimed that the company discriminated against a class of female employees by subjecting them to sexual harassment, retaliated against one woman for engaging in protected activity, and also required one woman to undergo an unlawful medical examination, contrary to the ADA...

EEOC defends MSJ; employee trying to become pregnant

Posted on January 31, 2010
EEOC successfully defended a motion for summary judgment filed by Menards hardware store. EEOC is claiming that the store discriminated against an employee on the basis of her sex by demoting her because she underwent surgery to prepare her for in-vitro fertilization...

EEOC sues Wal-Mart under ADA

Posted on January 31, 2010
EEOC has filed suit against Wal-Mart, claiming�a refusal to provide a reasonable accommodation to a deaf employee. EEOC charged that in order to perform her job, the employee needed an American Sign Language interpreter and/or comprehensive written notes at various times throughout her employment to effectively communicate with her managers, co-workers and, occasionally, with customers...

$79,880 settles pregnancy discrimination suit

Posted on January 31, 2010
U.S. Security Associates, Inc. will pay $79,880 to settle a pregnancy discrimination suit brought by the EEOC, which charged the company with unlawfully subjecting a security guard to pregnancy discrimination and then firing her in retaliation for complaining about it ? in addition to firing her husband, a coworker, for supporting her in the matter...

$25,000 settles religion case

Posted on January 31, 2010
New Community Corporation will pay $25,000 to a former employee to settle a religious discrimination and retaliation suit brought by the EEOC. The EEOC claimed that the non-profit organization refused to grant a part-time employee a reasonable accommodation when he requested that he be excused from a requirement that employees donate money to a Catholic school that is part of a Catholic parish because the school?s religious mission was different than his religious beliefs as a Muslim...

$30 million suit claims discrimination by law firm

Posted on January 29, 2010
A former associate of Howrey LLP filed her $30 million race and national origin discrimination suit Wednesday in DC Superior Court. Kamisha Menns, a black female citizen of Jamaica, had worked in the firm's Brussels office. She claims she was subjected to escalating hostility and discrimination from colleagues, staff and supervisors...

Installing webcams an unfair labor practice?

Posted on January 26, 2010
The NLRB's General Counsel has filed a complaint against a radio station claiming that the station installed web cameras without first negotiating with the union representing on-air talent. The complaint says the station bargained directly with employees on compensation and new duties related to developing simultaneous webcasts of radio programming...

$20 million restitution in worker comp fraud case

Posted on January 26, 2010
A California court has ordered a temporary staffing company to pay $20 million in restitution after a plea bargain was reached in a workers' compensation insurance fraud case. The state claimed that the company purposely misrepresented the types and number of employees in order to pay a smaller amount in premiums...

$105,000 settles race case

Posted on January 25, 2010
EEOC claimed that Memphis Goodwill Industries fired a transportation director in retaliation for reporting alleged race discrimination and because of her race. The employer agreed to pay the former employee $105,000, purge her personnel file of negative disciplinary actions, and provide her with a reference agreed to by the parties...

$70 million settles TV writers age case

Posted on January 25, 2010
A long-running suit by Hollywood writers against 24 networks, production studios and talent agencies has been settled for $70,000,000. The suit, involving about 165 plaintiffs, claimed systematic age discrimination by talent agents who aided and abetted networks and studios by refusing to represent and refer older writers for work at the studios...

Federal court grants relief to New York firefighters

Posted on January 25, 2010
Two weeks ago the Eastern District of New York held that New York City violated Title VII (intentional pattern of discrimination) through the use of written examinations to screen and rank firefighter applicants. [Order] Now the court has issued its remedial order, designed to remedy discrimination against black and Hispanic applicants...

Emotional distress damages are taxable

Posted on January 25, 2010
The US Tax Court has reiterated that settlement proceeds for emotional distress not attributable to physical injury or physical sickness are includable in taxable income. Thus, payments to settle claims of gender-based employment discrimination and unlawful retaliation were not excludable from gross income, except to the extent of any amounts expended for medical care to treat the emotional distress...

Employees may speak to EEOC investigators without company counsel present

Posted on January 25, 2010
The EEOC and Aerotek, Inc, an employment agency, have reached an agreement under which the company is instructing its non-supervisory recruiters that they may speak with EEOC investigators "privately and confidentially, without notifying Aerotek and without the presence of Aerotek?s legal counsel...

NLRB seeks back pay for 400

Posted on January 25, 2010
NLRB has filed a complaint claiming that new owners of a former GE plant cut wages of 400 union workers by $5 to $10 per hour after failing to gain concessions from the union. NLRB press release: NLRB complaint seeks back pay for 400 New York employees The National Labor Relations Board has issued a complaint alleging that an employer substantially cut the wages of union employees at a former GE plant in Waterford, New York a year ago, in violation of the National Labor Relations Act...

Sam's Club cutting 11,200 jobs

Posted on January 25, 2010
Sam's Club, part of Wal-Mart, is cutting about 10% of its workforce: about 11,200 jobs. This is the result of outsourcing in-store product demonstrations. [Article]

School not liable when it passed off sexual assaulter to another school where student was assaulted.

Posted on January 24, 2010
The sad facts alleged in this case are that officials at School #1 knew one of its teachers had been sexually assaulting grade-schoolers, they did not report this, and instead they allowed the teacher to resign and get a new job at School #2. Guess what? The teacher assaulted a student at School #2...

Unionization: More public sector that private sector

Posted on January 23, 2010
Union membership declines during 2009. In 2009 union membership dropped from 12.4% to 12.3%, down by 771,000 to 15.3 million. Private sector: Down from 7.6% to 7.2%. Public sector: Up from 36.8 to 37.4. For the first time ever, more public sector employees (7...

Supreme Court argument on ERISA: Deferral, discretion

Posted on January 22, 2010
Conkright v. Frommert was argued at the US Supreme Court on Wednesday. Questions presented: Whether the Second Circuit erred in holding (1) that a district court has no obligation to defer to an ERISA plan administrator's reasonable interpretation of the terms of the plan if the plan administrator arrived at its interpretation outside the context of an administrative claim for benefits...

Becker renominated to NLRB

Posted on January 22, 2010
The President has renominated Craig Becker to be a Member of the NLRB. First nominated last Spring, Becker was approved by a Senate committee, but the nomination was "returned" to the White House in December. Becker, a Democrat, is associate general counsel to SEIU and the AFL-CIO...

DOJ settles USERRA suit

Posted on January 22, 2010
Department of Justice sued the City of Milwaukee, claiming that the city violated USERRA when it did not provide a police officer with the opportunity to take a make-up examination for promotion to detective that he missed while on active duty military service, thereby denying him the seniority, status and compensation he would have received but for his active duty service in the military...

$237,072 settles age class action

Posted on January 22, 2010
EEOC claimed that the Mineola, NY fire district refused to let volunteer firefighters over age 60 accrue credit toward a ?length of service award,? the equivalent of a retirement pension, because of their age. EEOC said this resulted in senior firefighters losing pension amounts after they turned 60...

$250,000 and reinstatement settles race case

Posted on January 22, 2010
EEOC claimed that Conmed Linvatec discharged an employee because of his race. The company has agreed to pay the employee $250,000 and reinstate him to his former position. [Press release]

What? Becker renominated to NLRB

Posted on January 21, 2010
The President has renominated Craig Becker to be a Member of the NLRB. First nominated last Spring, Becker was approved by a Senate committee, but the nomination was "returned" to the White House December 24. Becker, a Democrat, is associate general counsel to SEIU and the AFL-CIO...

Supreme Court argument: Arbitration; tortious interference

Posted on January 20, 2010
Granite Rock Co v IBT was argued at the US Supreme Court on Tuesday. The employer claimed that (1) an international union tortiously interfered with a local CBA, and (2) the local union breached the CBA by going on strike. The 9th Circuit held that (1) the employer failed to state a claim for tortious interference, and (2) the entire contract dispute should go to arbitration...

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