Why You Spell Out Amounts in Agreement
Since I try to avoid legalese where ever possible and eliminate as much unnecessary verbiage from agreements I prepare, I frequently look at the spelling out of dollar amounts, followed by the numerical sum in parentheses, "ten thousand dollars, ($10,000.00), and wonder if we couldn't just eliminate one of those.
"Trial by Formula" Rejected and $15M Overtime Judgment Overturned
In Duran v. U.S. Bank National Association, the California Court of Appeal, First Appellate District, overturned a $15 million judgment against U.S. Bank ("USB") entered in a case tried before Alameda County Superior Court Judge Robert Freedman. In its lengthy and very detailed opinion, the court shredded all the major trial management and evidentiary rulings made by the trial court, holding that its use of flawed statistical evidence and refusal to admit relevant testimony in support of USB's defense of exempt status denied USB its right to due process. In the first California appellate decision to apply the U.S. Supreme Court's 2011 Wal-Mart Stores v. Dukes decision, the court determined that the trial management plan was a fatally flawed exercise in "Trial by Formula." As a final repudiation of the trial court's rulings, the Duran court also ruled that the class should be decertified.
Settlement Highlights Importance of Considering State Law in Assessing Employment Practices
Last week, in Meeks v. Allen Memorial Hospital, a state court in Iowa approved a $2 million settlement in a race discrimination class action against an Iowa hospital. This case is yet another reminder that health care employers must consider both federal and state laws when assessing their employment practices.
Settling a Discrimination or Harassment Lawsuit
GOP presidential contender Herman Cain has been in the news for more than his political platform recently. Instead of addressing issues like job creation, Cain has been facing tough questions about on-the-job harassment. Specifically, Cain is having to deal with charges of unlawful harassment leveled against him when he was the head of the National Restaurant Association in the 1990s.
EEOC Strikes Again: SUPERVALU Pays to Settle "100% Healthy or Else" Case
As we wrote in July 2010, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is cracking down on inflexible leave of absence policies that: (1) call for automatic termination when an employee cannot return to work upon expiration of the employer’s “maximum†medical leave period; or (2) require employees to be cleared to return to work with no restrictions before returning to work. Many employers believed these policies were nondiscriminatory because they applied neutrally to all employees on medical leave. The EEOC disagrees and is aggressively taking the position that these policies violate the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirement that requests for medical leave (including extended leave) and accommodation to return to work be assessed individually on a case-by-case basis.
MMA Body Slam
Although the newspaper article calls it a wrongful termination claim, the facts emphasized in the article were that Thomas was not paid the commissions she was promised
Dealing a $2 Million Dollar Verdict in the California Wine Country.
Sexual comments and jokes, including a Levitra pen that apparently grows in length, followed by a complaint with no follow up and then a termination were what a Sonoma County jury apparently believed was the hand Shannen De La Cruz , a minimum wage card dealer, had been dealt. $2 million harrassment verdict against Petaluma card room.
The Note From the Jury That You Didn't Want.
At least if you are on the defense side: Novartis Jury Asks About 'Range' of Damages . The note comes in a sex discrimination case brought by twelve named plaintiffs againt Novartis.
Company Pays Judgment for Sexual Harassment of Teenaged Employees.
The EEOC announced on May 5, 2010 that Ohio-based Everdry Marketing and Management, Inc., has paid over $500,000 in damages in interest to satisfy a judgment against that company stemming from a 2006 jury trial. The original claims were filed by 13 women, mostly teenagers at the time of the incidents, who worked at the company’s Rochester, N.Y., location as telemarketers.
Company pays judgment for sexual harassment of teenaged employees.
The EEOC announced on May 5, 2010 that Ohio-based Everdry Marketing and Management, Inc., has paid over $500,000 in damages in interest to satisfy a judgment against that company stemming from a 2006 jury trial. The original claims were filed by 13 women, mostly teenagers at the time of the incidents, who worked at the company’s Rochester, N.Y., location as telemarketers.
