Wet Seal sued by ex-managers for alleged racial bias

July 12, 2012|Jonathan Stempel | Reuters (Reuters) – Wet Seal Inc has been sued by three former employees who accused it of discriminating against black store managers because they did not fit the image the U.S. retailer, which sells clothes for young women, wanted to convey. According to a complaint filed Thursday in a federal […]

Wells Fargo, Justice Department settle discrimination case for $175 million

By Ylan Q. Mui, Published: July 12 In one of the largest fair- lending payouts in history, Wells Fargo agreed on Thursday to spend at least $175 million to settle federal accusations that it steered black and Latino borrowers into high-cost loans and charged them excessive fees. The settlement with the nation’s largest home mortgage […]

Former FOP Secretary Sues Union For Sexual Harassment

CHICAGO (CBS) – A woman who was a secretary for the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police has filed a federal sexual harassment suit against the union. The lawsuit goes into some salacious detail, using words we cannot use. It accuses FOP attorney Paul Geiger of asking then-secretary Marie Marrero, “How do you like this” as […]

Brother of victim files wrongful-death suit in Lakeview taxi accident

July 10, 2012|By Naomi Nix | Tribune reporter A relative of an 86-year-old pedestrian who was fatally struck by taxi last year in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood filed a wrongful-death lawsuit Tuesday against the driver and cab company. Brian Kier says Mohammed Ahmed was negligent last August when he failed to yield to Coral Kier while […]

Florida A&M president resigns over hazing death

In the lawsuit filed on Wednesday, Champion’s parents alleged that FAMU leaders tolerated hazing that had hospitalized three other band members and was implicated at least 107 other incidents since 1983. They also alleged that the university failed to act three days before Champion’s death on a proposal by the school’s dean of students to […]

Family of motorcyclist killed in crash sues city

June 25, 2012|By Naomi Nix | Tribune reporter The mother of a motorcyclist who died in an accident last June filed a lawsuit Monday alleging the city was negligent in its placement of a traffic-control device. The lawsuit filed in Cook County Circuit Court says a sign gave motorists inadequate notice that the southbound lane […]

“Talent” Contestant Sues Hotel in Wife’s Death

A contestant on “America’s Got Talent” files a wrongful death lawsuit against the Biltmore Hotel in connection with his wife’s 2010 death at the LA landmark By Jason Kandel Monday, Jul 9, 2012 | Updated 7:24 PM CDT A wrongful death lawsuit against the Biltmore Hotel moved forward on Monday when a man whose wife […]

CIA cracks down on sexual harassment in its ranks

Spy agency reacts to complaints of sexual harassment by women working in CIA war zones. Former officers say trysts are part of the agency’s culture. By Ken Dilanian, Los Angeles Times July 4, 2012, 3:04 p.m. WASHINGTON — Spurred by complaints from women working for the CIA in war zones, the spy service is stepping […]

Hospital Safety Ratings Released By Consumer Reports

redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports – Your Universe Online Billings Clinic in Montana is the safest hospital in the US, while Sacred Heart Hospital in Chicago scored lowest, according to Consumer Reports’ first-ever list of the best and worst medical facilities. According to the organization, a 2010 US Department of Health and Human Services report […]

Wrongful Death Suit Filed in Train Derailment

By Charlie Wojciechowski, Friday, Jul 6, 2012 Two victims found beneath the wreckage of Wednesday’s train derailment have been identified A judge has ordered all clean-up halted at the site where a train derailed Wednesday in Glenview after a couple was found dead buried beneath the rubble. Two people discovered inside a car beneath debris […]

AIG workers compensation settlement disputed by Liberty Mutual units

CHICAGO—Subsidiaries of Boston-based Liberty Mutual Group Inc. have asked a federal judge to reverse a $450 million settlement paid by American International Group Inc. for its alleged underreporting of workers compensation premiums. In a June 12 filing in the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Safeco Insurance Co. and Ohio Casualty Insurance Co. say the […]

Too many creeps see opportunity on buses, trains

BY DR. LAURA BERMAN drberman@bermancenter.com July 3, 2012 9:33AM Crowded buses and dirty train cars are just the beginning. Sexual harassment can be an issue, as is sexual assault in the form of unwanted touching, indecent exposure and public masturbation. This is especially true in Shanghai, China, where sexual harassment on public transportation has reached […]

Yellow Transportation Inc. discrimination case shows why racism is so frustrating

BY MARY MITCHELL marym@suntimes.com July 2, 2012 5:48PM The $11 million settlement in a discrimination case brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission shows why racism is so frustrating. The suit was against Yellow Transportation Inc., a trucking company in Chicago Ridge that is now known as YRC Freight. Harry Glasper, who received professional […]

BREAKING NEWS: AAJ Response to SCOTUS decision on the Affordable Care Act

Posted by: Katie Gommel Washington, DC—The following is a statement from the American Association for Justice (AAJ) President Gary M. Paul in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act: “Today’s Supreme Court ruling is a step forward not only in the fight to expand access to healthcare, […]

Celine Dion sued by employee for overtime violations

Tim Kenneally Reuters 1:42 p.m. CDT, June 29, 2012 LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – Celine Dion is being sued by a former employee who claims that he was illegally denied overtime compensation by the singer, and says that there are other people in Dion’s employ who’ve been similarly stiffed. In a complaint filed in U.S. District […]

Racist antics cost trucking firm $11 million

Glasper, of Park Forest, is among dozens of current and former employees represented in a federal racial discrimination lawsuit against their one-time employer, Yellow Transportation Inc., a freight-hauling company that later was folded into what is now YRC Inc. The case — filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on behalf of Glasper and […]

Widening sex scandal rocks Texas Air Force base

Male instructors allegedly had sex with female trainees; airman faces court-martial for rape SAN ANTONIO — From a chapel pulpit on Lackland Air Force Base, where every American airman reports for basic training, Col. Glenn Palmer delivered his first order to nearly 600 recruits seated in the pews: If you’re sexually harassed or assaulted, tell […]

AAJ: Protect Consumers From Secretive Forced Arbitration

Posted by: Katie Gommel AAJ filed two sets of comments on a forthcoming study encouraging the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to fully examine the devastating impact forced arbitration has on the rights of American consumers. AAJ President Gary M. Paul stated in the comments: “Corporations’ broad utilization of pre-dispute mandatory arbitration clauses greatly reduces […]

United Road Towing Failed to Provide Reasonable Accommodations to Class of Employees With Disabilities

By the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, United Road Towing, Inc., a Mokena, Ill.-based towing company, will pay $380,000 to 13 claimants and provide other relief resolving a disability discrimination lawsuit, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced. A federal district court judge in Chicago entered a consent decree ending the litigation on Wednesday, […]

Supreme Court to Review Rules for Supervisor in Job-Bias Suits

By Bob Drummond on June 25, 2012 The U.S. Supreme Court will settle a dispute about who can be considered a workplace supervisor for purposes of a federal job-discrimination lawsuit. The justices today agreed to consider an appeal by a black Ball State University catering worker, whose discrimination claim against the school was thrown out […]

Former Rams employee sues for age discrimination, sexual harassment

Posted by Mike Florio on June 21, 2012, 11:36 PM EDT As Chris Berman would say, once is an accident and twice is a trend. Or something. Last month, former Rams equipment manager Todd Hewitt sued the team for age discrimination. Now, former executive assistant Lory Fabian has sued the Rams and executive V.P. of […]

Repetitive walking

Illinois workers’ compensation needs more reform June 23, 2012 To anyone who thought Illinois had solved its workers’ compensation problem when lawmakers approved a half-baked reform measure last year, we have two words for you: “repetitive walking.” Yes, the same state notorious among employers for its out-of-control workers’ comp system recently identified a novel workplace […]

Illinois partners with feds to enforce protections against housing discrimination

by Gary Barlow Chicago, IL — While Congress has dragged its feet on passing laws prohibiting discrimination in employment based on sexual orientation and gender identity, the Obama administration has implemented new federal rules that prohibit discrimination in housing, at least when federal funds are involved. That, in turn, has made it easier to enforce […]

City Hall janitor sues for sexual harassment

CHICAGO (WLS) – A woman filed a federal lawsuit Thursday against a City of Chicago employee who allegedly took semi-nude photographs of her as she changed in his City Hall office. The woman claims she was working for Triad Consulting Services, a janitorial company assigned to clean City Hall, when the man offered her his […]

Milwaukee Pit Bull Jumps Off Balcony, Attacks Dog Walker and Dog

A Milwaukee, Wisconsin, dog walker and his wife were walking their own dog on Saturday, June 16, about 5:00 p.m. when a Pit Bull jumped from a second-floor balcony to attack their pet. The incident occurred in the 4200 block of W. Capitol Drive on Milwaukee’s north side. The 55-year-old man is still in St. […]

Wait. A Business Can Be Sued for NOT Hiring Criminals?

Many small businesses did not know it was illegal to impose a ban on hiring anybody with a criminal record. “I was not aware of that one,” said Brian Hamilton, who owns four car dealerships in Nebraska. By ROBB MANDELBAUM Published: June 20, 2012 In April, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission signaled that it would […]

Substance Use and Medical Malpractice

For a doctor, nurse, or other hospital staff member to properly diagnose and treat medical disorders, they must have their wits about them. PHILADELPHIA, PA, June 15, 2012 /24-7PressRelease/ — For a doctor, nurse, or other hospital staff member to properly diagnose and treat medical disorders, they must have their wits about them. Keeping a […]