FL — Florida jury awards prison guards $630,000 in sexual harassment case.
PA — Former police officers win $10 million in retaliation lawsuit in Philadelphia.
IA — Postal worker awarded $382,500 in racial discrimination lawsuit in Iowa. Additional coverage here.
NJ — Jury awards Orkin employee $5.1 million in whistle-blower lawsuit in New Jersey.
The Maryland General Assembly has passed, and the Governor approved, a bill amending the Maryland Wage Payment and Collection Law to provide that employers may prohibit employees from receiving accrued leave upon termination of employment, provided that the company has a written policy to that effect and the employee receives the appropriate notice as provided in the statute. The text of the new law is here.
Note that in order for an employer to deny payment of accrued leave benefits upon termination it must have in place a written policy to that effect and it must give notice of leave benefits at the time of hiring. If the employer does not do so, the accrued leave benefits arguably should be paid upon termination as “wages” under the Maryland Wage Payment and Collection Law.
Hat tip to the Maryland Employment Law Blog.
In Ahuja v. Ericsson Inc., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit reversed an award of summary judgment in favor of the Ericsson Plan and remanded the case to the district court for the entry of an award in favor of the plaintiff, a former Ericsson employee who challenged the Plan Administrative Committee’s denial of severance pay benefits.
Three recent decisions by the Courts of Appeals offer the opportunity to discuss discrimination or retaliation based on a person’s association with another person. The first is Holcomb v. Iona College, No. 06-3815 (2d Cir. 2008). The opinion can be found here. The second is Thompson v. North American Stainless, LP, No. 07-5040 (6th Cir. 2008). The opinion can be found here. The third is Trujillo v. Pacificorp, No. 06-8074 (10th Cir. 2008). The opinion can be found here. While the Trujillo decision applies the express associational discrimination provision of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the other two decisions interpret Title VII to include such protection in the absence of an express provision.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced today two settlements with restaurants.
The first, here, announced a settlement with Razzoo’s, a Dallas/Fort Worth-based Cajun food restaurant chain, for $1 million. The case was a sex discrimination lawsuit filed by the EEOC alleging discrimination against a class of male applicants and employees. “The EEOC said that Razzoo’s refused to hire or promote men to the position of bartender in its restaurants. Razzoo’s management set up and communicated to managers by e-mail a plan for an 80-20 ratio of women to men behind the bar, the EEOC said. Male applicants and servers were expected to testify at trial . . . that managers told them Razzoo’s wanted mostly “girls” behind the bar. Men who worked as servers at the restaurants were generally denied promotion to bartender because of their gender. The few men who were promoted to bartender were not allowed to work lucrative “girls-only” bartending events.”
The second, here, involved Specialty Restaurants in Los Angeles. The $625,000 settlement resolves class claims of sexual harassment and retaliation at banquet facilities.
The U.S. Department of Labor has posted a new Administrator-signed FLSA opinion letter regarding the application of the administrative exemption. The opinion letter can be found here. The position is question was a Product Technology Application and Marketing Analyst (PTA). The letter concludes that the position is exempt.
According to WashingtonPost.com, “A former judge who lost a $54 million law suit against a dry cleaners over a missing pair of pants is suing to get his job back and at least $1 million in damages. In the suit filed in federal court, Roy Pearson [claims] he was wrongfully dismissed for exposing corruption within the Office of Administrative Hearings, the department where he worked. In court documents, Pearson said he was protected as a whistle-blower and that the city used the fact that he was being “vilified in the media” to cut him out of his job. In a response to a Freedom of Information Act request from The Associated Press, the city’s general counsel wrote that Pearson’s term as an administrative law judge expired in May 2007, and the D.C. Commission on Selection and Tenure of Administrative Law Judges voted not to reappoint him.”
Based on the media coverage of the $54 million dry cleaner lawsuit, this case should make some interesting press.
UPDATE: Click here for a copy of Pearson’s 52-page complaint: roy-pearson-complaint.
According to a press release issued by the U.S. Department of Labor, the DOL has released a new “elaws” tool to help employers comply with the recordkeeping, posting and notice requirements of various labor and employment laws. The elaws site can be found here.
The website notes:
This Advisor provides three basic starting points depending on your interests and needs:
Please note that the FirstStep Employment Law Advisor is intended as a guide on major DOL laws – it does not cover all laws administered by DOL. In addition, the system will not identify laws administered by other federal agencies that might be applicable to your business or organization.
IL — Chicago woman awarded $1.7 by U.S. Magistrate Judge in age and sex discrimination suit. Her employer allegedly pulled her hair back and asked the 72-year old woman if she had had a face lift before terminating her employment. The district court had previously denied the employer’s motion for summary judgment. A copy of the opinion is here.
A review of the court’s docket shows that the judgment is actually a default judgment entered by the court. Apparently the employer had trouble maintaining legal counsel.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced a $1.65 million settlement in a racial harassment case in Pennsylvania today. According to the press release, “The EEOC said that harassment included a life size noose made of heavy rope hung from a beam in a class member’s work area for at least 10 days before it was removed; the regular use of the “N-word”; racially offensive comments made to black individuals, including “I think everybody should own one”; “Black people are no good and you can’t trust them”; and “Black people can’t read or write.” Additionally, racist graffiti was present written in portable toilets, with terms such as “coon”; “If u not white u not right”; “White power”; “KKK”; and “I love the Ku Klux Klan.””
The U.S. House approved the Senate version of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 today in a 414-1 vote. According to PointofLaw.com, the bill is expected to be signed by the President.
On April 15, 2008, Judge Gerald Bruce Lee of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia granted a motion to dismiss breach of contract claims relating to an employee noncompete and nonsolicitation agreement in Nortel Communications, Inc. v. Carl Lee-Llacer, No. 1:08cv127 (opinion here: nortec-comm-inc-v-lee-llacer). The court granted the motion because the provisions of the agreement at issue were not limited to the performance of the same work the employee had done for the company and because key terms were undefined. This opinion highlights the changing law regarding noncompete agreements in Virginia during recent years. Employers using such agreements in Virginia would be well advised to have them reviewed and updated for continued viability.
The Ohio Employer’s Law Blog has a post today with additional reflection on the Reeves case, posted immediately below.
In Reeves v. C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit overturned the entry of summary judgment in a sexual harassment case, finding that alleged sexual remarks do not have to be directed at the plaintiff to establish a cause of action. The Court focused on the “based on” and “severe or pervasive” elements of a hostile work environment claim in overturning the award of summary judgment. A sexually offensive radio show played in the office every morning also played a role in the Court’s decision.
IA — Woman awarded $250,000 in sexual harassment case against landlord. Additional coverage here.
DC — Former director of audits at HUD awarded $488,000 in age and gender discrimination and retaliation case. The award will be reduced to $300,000 per the damage caps under Title VII. The plaintiff was removed from her position and reassigned involuntarily.
MD — Church awarded $3.7 million in zoning discrimination lawsuit against county.
CA — U.S. Court of Appeals affirms $1,000,000+ verdict in sexual harassment case involving EEOC and farm worker.
CA — State court of appeals affirms $1.8 million employment verdict against Sybase.
