Here’s a short list of the latest news on court decisions and trends in employment from around the web:
1. National Shoe Store Finish Line, Inc. May Be Held Accountable for Videotaping by Store Manager of Employee Restroom and Customer Change Room
In another victory for employees and privacy rights, a ruling issued this week against Finish Line, Inc. will further establish employer liability in cases involving illegal videotaping of employees by a store manager. In Antonelli v. Finish Line, Inc., ADRS Case No. 12-5331-JCI, a binding arbitration ruling denied Finish Line, Inc.’s Motion for Summary Judgment on most claims brought by Plaintiff employees, including specific statutory violations, as well as invasion of privacy and infliction of emotional distress… Read More
2. Worker with Panic Attacks Wins $21M Discrimination Verdict
A worker who was fired for her panic attacks won a $21.7 million jury verdict against her employer, including $16.5 million in punitive damages for the employer’s malice.
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April Rodriguez was a customer service rep for waste disposal company Valley Vista Services. The 34-year-old mother of four asked for time off and work accommodations to deal with her panic attacks. Instead, she was fired.
She sued her employer and its parent company, Zerep Management Corp., claiming her firing was illegal and discriminated against her mental illness.
Rodriguez testified that her supervisor was skeptical of her condition and suggested that she was faking her panic attacks in order to get more time off. She said losing her job was a severe financial hardship that forced her to send two of her children to live with her brother. Read More
3. Same-Sex Marriage: New Developments & Impact on Employee Benefits
With over 1,100 federal statutory provisions in which marital status is a factor in determining access to statutory benefits, rights, or privileges, the outcome of the challenge to the constitutionality of laws adversely impacting same-sex marriages could have a significant effect on employee benefits.
Under the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), for purposes of federal law, the word “marriage” means only a legal union between a man and a woman, and the word “spouse” refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife. This means that under current law, Federal benefits available to opposite-sex spouses are not available to same-sex spouses even when they are legally married under state law. Read More
4. EEOC and Grand Central Partnership to Pay $135k to Settle EEOC Lawsuit For Retaliation
Developer Fired Rastafarian Who Complained About Threat of Violence, Federal Agency Charged
NEW YORK – Grand Central Partnership, Inc. will pay $135,000 and furnish other relief to settle an employment discrimination lawsuit filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency said today. The EEOC had charged that the not-for-profit developer of real estate, offices, and facilities around Grand Central Terminal in New York City unlawfully fired a black Rastafarian security officer for his 2010 complaints of threats of violence and racism and his participation in an EEOC lawsuit resolved in 2009. Read More
5. Keep Abreast of Legal Change, Advises Employment Expert
Employers have been urged to read and understand a consultation paper released last week to stop them falling foul of new rules governing disciplinary and grievance procedures. Read More
6. New Form I-9 Effective May 7, 2013
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the revised Form I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification “(Rev. 03/08/13) N” will be available on USCIS’s website (www.uscis.gov) on March 8, 2013. At the time of this advisory, the new Form I-9 is not yet posted. USCIS requires employers to use the new Form I-9 on May 7, 2013, but it may be used as soon as available. USCIS will accept prior versions of Form I-9, “(Rev. 08/07/09) Y” and “(Rev. 02/02/09) N”, until May 7, 2013. Read More
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Dianne Shaddock
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