Make That Retaliation Three, Employers Zero - Another MDV- May 28, 2008 Although chronologically the verdict came before the two Supreme Court decisions I mentioned yesterday, I just read this Boston Globe headline this morning, Ex-Cambridge city worker is awarded $4.5m in suit. A good reminder on the heels of the Supreme Court decisions, as if we needed one, that retaliation cases carry great weight with juries. Here, the jury award was more than $4.5 million, with $3.5 of that being punitive damages. In fact there are a lot of interesting aspects to this case...http://employerslawyer.blogspot.com/2008/05/make-that-retaliation-three-employers.html Supreme Court Scoreboard: Retaliation 2, Employers 0- May 27, 2008 Today the Supreme Court issued two employment related decisions -- holding that there is a cause of action for retaliation under 42 USC 1981, CBOCS West, Inc. v. Humphrey (S.Ct. 52708) and that federal employees who claim age discrimination are also protected against retaliation for doing so, Gomez v. Potter (S.Ct. 52708).It is hard to be too surprised by CBOCS West. Although 1981 does not mention retaliation, in light of the Supreme Court finding retaliation under Title IX in the same...http://employerslawyer.blogspot.com/2008/05/supreme-court-scoreboard-retaliation-2.html Hello GINA: Our Newest Friend- May 22, 2008 As an employment law blog, it seems almost mandatory that I post about the newest labor and employment law, which would be the Genetic Information Nondisclosure Act, signed into law by President Bush yesterday. For some reason I can't get excited about it.Maybe I am still mellow from the two weeks in France, maybe because I thought I was going to be in trial this week and we got bumped to a future setting, maybe it's because it's not effective for 18 months, maybe it's because I don't really...http://employerslawyer.blogspot.com/2008/05/hello-gina-our-newest-friend.html A Belated Happy Blog Anniversary- May 21, 2008 I am late, but five years of doing this is a remarkable accomplishment. Hat's off to Michael Fitzgibbon at Thoughts from a Management Lawyer.http://employerslawyer.blogspot.com/2008/05/belated-happy-blog-anniversary.html If It's Wednesday, Watch Your Eyes- May 21, 2008 I am finally catching up on some of the stories I wasn't reading while on vacation, and here's another one, very timely if you're reading this on Wednesday, even though it was posted two weeks ago. It's from the good folks at Lynch Ryan their blog, Workers' Comp Insider: Eye safety and eye health on the job.The reference to Wednesday -- more eye injuries occur on the job on that day than any other.There are not many things that I am more squeamish about than my eyes (I could never wear...http://employerslawyer.blogspot.com/2008/05/if-its-wednesday-watch-your-eyes.html There is FMLA Expansion and Then There Is FMLA Expansion- May 21, 2008 As I mentioned in an earlier post, I am doing a speech at the SHRM national convention on the potential impact of the 2008 elections. One of the areas I will be covering is possible expansion of the FMLA. But those bills are pikers compared to what was offered in the Connecticut legislature. Thanks to Daniel Schwartz at the Connecticut Employment Law Blog for his post, The Right to Attend Opening Day at Yankee Stadium...and Get Paid by Your Employer.Actually it was better than just opening day,.http://employerslawyer.blogspot.com/2008/05/there-is-fmla-expansion-and-then-there.html Bush Era Ending Sooner Than You Think- May 19, 2008 At least from an administrative standpoint. Although one of the Bush countdown timers shows 246 days as of this writing, a memorandum from his Chief of Staff Josh Bolton sent to the heads of federal agencies sets an earlier end point for administrative regulations. According to the website OMB RegWatch article, Bush Sets Policy on Midnight Regulations Bolton wrote: Except in extraordinary circumstances, regulations to be finalized in this Administration should be proposed no later than June 1,..http://employerslawyer.blogspot.com/2008/05/bush-era-ending-sooner-than-you-think.html Heat A Few Steps Closer in Georgia- May 19, 2008 That's heat, as in "packing heat" as Georgia becomes the latest state to allow licensed gunholders to bring their guns with them to an employer's parking lot. The Business Security and Employee Privacy Act which passed both Houses of the Georgia legislature was signed on May 16 by Governor Perdue.http://employerslawyer.blogspot.com/2008/05/heat-few-steps-closer-in-georgia.html City of Brotherly Love Not Always, At Least Not in the Police Department- May 19, 2008 When former Philadelphia Mayor, now Pennsylvania Governor, Ed Rendell was quoted as saying that some voters might not be ready to vote for a black candidate before the Keystone state's Democratic primary, some just thought it a bit of a political gaffe, but it may have been he just had some extraordinary insight based on his past experiences.Or at least you could draw that conclusion from the story behind Friday's Philadelphia Inquirer headline, 3 ex-Phila. police officers win $10 million...http://employerslawyer.blogspot.com/2008/05/city-of-brotherly-love-not-always-at.html So Many MDV's; So Few Posts- May 14, 2008 Although posting has been skimpy in general recently, I have been particularly lax on reporting on million dollar verdicts. Unfortunately, it is not that they have gone away, I just have not been a good reporter.Perhaps I will catch up with them in the coming weeks as well as do updates on some that I have written about earlier. The latter is often a much harder job as the most newsworthy point of most such cases is the day the jury verdict is returned before the the rest of the legal process...http://employerslawyer.blogspot.com/2008/05/so-many-mdvs-so-few-posts.html |