Posts Tagged ‘Behren Law Firm’
Well this recent case gives me one more reason to dislike Virginia Tech aside from their last minute win over the Miami Hurricanes this past weekend.
As you know, we have blogged on many occasions about employee rights under the various state and Federal sexual harassment statutes which make it illegal for an employer to harass or discriminate against an employee based upon sexual harassment.
Well, a former Virginia Tech employee has settled a sexual harassment lawsuit in which she claimed her supervisor treated a five-day training session with her “as if the trip was an extended date.”
Getra Hanes, who worked as a fundraiser for the university, will receive $60,000 as part of a settlement reached last week in U.S. District Court in Roanoke.
In her sexual harassment lawsuit, Hanes accused Robert Bailey Jr., her direct supervisor, of repeatedly making sexually inappropriate comments during a five-day training trip to Maryland in 2007.
The lawsuit also said that Bailey held Hanes to different professional standards than he did his male employees, and that he fired her when she complained about the harassment.
On the way to the training session, the lawsuit said, Bailey told Hanes how uncomfortable he was travelling with a young attractive women, then proceeded to ask at length if she was married and whether she was dating.
He later tried to invite himself to her room to discuss the development office’s Moves Management program, emphasizing the first word “so as to focus on the double-entendre meaning of the title,” the suit said.
When Hanes refused, Bailey insisted that she come to his room, where he made her feel uncomfortable by wearing pajama pants, drinking a beer and leaning over her as she sat at a computer, the lawsuit said.
If you believe you have been the subject of sexual harassment in the workplace or by one of your supervisors, make sure and report the matter to Human Resources or to the EEOC. If you are fired or retaliated against based upon your complaints, speak to an employment law attorney on the issue. Scott Behren and the Behren Law Firm handle sexual harassment cases and are available for a free consultation.
We have blogged on many occasions on beating your non-compete agreement. The enforceability of them varies from state to state and can be dependent upon what state you worked in and what state your employer was located in.
Boston Beer Corp., the brewer of Sam Adams beer, recently sued a former sales executive and a rival California brewer, of Anchor Steam, he went to work with to try to keep him from divulging any of its trade secrets.
This case is interesting since in California, non-competes are generally not enforceable. However, Boston Beer sued Judd Hausner and Anchor Brewing of San Francisco in Boston a state that allows non-compete clauses in employee contracts.
In its lawsuit, Boston Beer seeks to enforce its non-compete against Mr. Hausner for one year. Boston Beer claims that Hausner hold confidential trade secrets.
This confidential information included Boston Beer’s secret plan for introducing new products in 2012, as well as sales and pricing numbers for the customers served by the entire Western Division of the Company (extending through the western states of the United States and into Canada). These secret plans and confidential data were disclosed to Hausner to enable him to compete more effectively against direct competitors such as Anchor.
Will keep you posted on how this beery interesting case turns out.
If you want to draft, review, negotiate or litigate over a non-compete, feel free to call Scott Behren and the Behren Law Firm for a free consultation.
Your average employee has to deal with non-competes, but based upon a pending Palm Beach County lawsuit so do members of the clergy. Ask Bruce Benson a former cantor of Temple Beth Am in Jupiter, Florida.
Cantor Benson’s former employer is seeking to keep him from holding High Holiday services at Jupiter High School. Temple officials will ask Circuit Judge Robin Rosenberg to stop Benson from holding Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services at Jupiter High School. Allowing him to draw people away from the temple will cause the synagogue “irreparable harm [which could cause it to be] completely destroyed,” it claims in a lawsuit.
“It’s the most important time of the year for a Reform Jewish organization,” said Brian LaBovick, a vice president of the synagogue whose law firm is representing the temple. Not only do fees charged to attend Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services generate a “significant amount of working capital,” but it is a way to turn nonmembers into members told the Sun-Sentinel newspaper.
The Temple claims that the Cantor’s plans to hold services in the local school violates his non-compete with his former employer, who terminated his contract with them. Benson claims he is not trying to compete but formed the Institute for Jewish Living to promote the jewish faith to persons who don’t belong to temples.
The Temple claims that Benson is competing with them in that he is charging for High Holiday services one half what his former Temple is charging for these same services.
Frankly, I am surprised that the Court will even get involved in this issue since it seems to violate the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution. I can guarantee you that if the cantor tried to sue the Temple about his termination they would have claimed the court can’t get involved based upon the Establishment Clause. So why with the roles reversed, do they get now to involve the courts?
Will keep you posted on what happens. If you need advise on drafting, interpretation or litigating a non-compete agreement, feel free to call Scott Behren and the Behren Law Firm.
Federal and state protections against race discrimination apply to you when working for an employer, but are also relevant when you apply for a job with an employer. An employer may not discriminate against you in making a hiring decision based upon your race, gender, age, etc. Of course, proving the reason why they refused to hire you is another issue altogether. Although, its easier, as in the case of Bass Pro where they tell you why they are not hiring you.
The federal government has sued national outdoor retail chain Bass Pro Outdoor World alleging racial discrimination in its hiring practices dating back to 2005. The Equal Opportunity Commission, a federal agency charged with enforcing anti-discrimination laws in employment, filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Houston on Wednesday. The lawsuit alleges that qualified African-Americans and Hispanics were routinely denied positions at Bass Pro stores and managers of stores in Houston, Louisiana and other locations made derogatory racial comments acknowledging the practice. The commission also alleges that Bass Pro destroyed documents related to applications and internal discrimination complaints and retaliated against those who spoke up.
Bass Pro denies all of the allegations and complains that the EEOC suit is prompted in part by the perception that people who like NASCAR and the outdoors are more likely to engage in discrimination.
If you believe you have been refused a job or promotion, based upon your race, age, sex or gender, feel free to file a Charge with the EEOC or call Scott Behren and the Behren Law Firm for a free consultation.
As discussed before, a pregnant employee can face many different legal issues with her employer that impact many different laws including the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA), The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and possibly the Genetic Information Nondisclosure Act (GINA). Pregnant employees also need to know about their short term and long term disability insurance plans and how they interact with these laws. Most of these laws clearly cover natural pregnancy and adoption, but what about birth by surrogate?
That issues is now being addressed in a recently filed case. A US businesswoman is suing her employer after she was allegedly denied maternity leave following the birth of her twins through a surrogate mother.
Kara Krill, a clinical business manager at the Massachusetts-based company Cubist Pharmaceuticals, is claiming breach of contract, breach of good faith and fair dealing, discrimination on the basis of her disability and gender, and negligent misrepresentation by the company. She is seeking an injunction against Cubist, as well as compensatory and punitive damages.
Krill developed Asherman’s Syndrome – a condition which rendered her infertile – following the birth of her first child. When she and her husband decided to have a second child they used a surrogate. The resulting twins are biologically related to both Krill and her husband.
Following her first pregnancy, Krill was given 13 weeks of paid leave under the company’s maternity leave policy. However this time Krill says she was informed that she would only be entitled to five days of paid leave and up to $4,000 in expenses – as is offered to adoptive parents. Paternity leave under Cubist’s policy is also five paid days.
In her letter of complaint to Cubist, Krill stated: ‘But for my physical disability, I would be receiving the paid maternity leave offered by Cubist. Accommodating my disability would not require [Cubist] to provide me with any more benefit than other mothers’. Furthermore, she complained of discrimination and verbal abuse by her supervisor in the workplace due to her disability and surrogacy arrangement.
What do you think about Krill’s situation?
If you or someone you know is pregnant, and are not sure how to navigate the maze of legal issues that face you, feel free to call Scott Behren and the Behren Law Firm for a free consultation.
Under Federal law and most state laws, sexual harassment is not permitted in the workplace and should not be tolerated.
University of Texas Longhorns football coach Mack Brown’s longtime associate athletics director for football operations was dismissed from the university last March because a university investigation determined he made repeated unwanted sexual advances toward a female administrative assistant over a two-year period
Cleve Bryant, who oversaw numerous daily activities for the Longhorns, including game-day-operations, team travel and recruiting weekends, was fired after a university investigator determined “that Mr. Bryant did sexually harass” the staffer and that “the harassment was likely both verbal and physical.”
The sexual harassment complaint was filed by Rachel Arena, a then 24-year-old football department employee who had graduated from Texas in 2008.
The investigation show that Arena told investigators:
• That during a July 2010 meeting in Bryant’s office about whether she would receive a raise, Bryant pulled down the top of her dress and bra and fondled her breast.
• That Bryant repeatedly either told her in person or texted her that “I want to kiss you.”
• That Bryant retaliated after she told him to stop texting by creating a false allegation that she had acted inappropriately at a minor league baseball game she attended with some former Texas football players.
• That one day while in the break room, getting a bottle of water, Bryant came in, stood in front of the door as she started to leave and said, “Kiss me.” Arena said she turned away and Bryant kissed her on the neck before she could leave.
• That two other female office workers alleged that Bryant had inappropriately kissed them in the past.
• That another woman in the athletic department referred to Bryant as “old-freak-nasty” and that he once told Arena “he wanted to touch me, that he wanted to pleasure me, that he could, that he could make me happy, referring to sexually, things like that.”
Bryant, who is married, denied all of the allegations.
If you have suffered sexual harassment in the workplace, feel free to call Scott Behren and the Behren Law Firm for a free consultation.
Under Federal law, a woman can not be discriminated against or terminated based upon her being pregnant. Typically, there are also state laws, such as in Florida the Florida Civil Rights Act, that mirror the Federal laws. However, agricultural giant Olam International has not been following the law which has resulted in them being sued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
A woman named Jennifer Heintz claims she was offered a job as an executive assistant to two presidents with Olam. She took the job, but three days later, she was told the company was holding off on filling the position. Four days after that, Olam hired another person to fill the position. Heitz contends that the job offer to her was withdrawn based upon her being pregnant. Apparently, the EEOC agreed since the EEOC, in most cases, does not bring suit on behalf of an empoyee.
A lawyer for the EEOC stated, about pregnancy discrimination:
“It remains a serious problem — women not getting jobs, women being forced out of jobs, essentially being fired, and in this case, hired and fired immediately after they learned of the pregnancy.”
And the problem seems to be getting worse. In the five years from 1997 to 2001, the EEOC received 20809 pregnancy discrimination complaints. In the last five years, they received 29088, a 40% increase.
The EEOC further stated, “There is an added stigma because you become pregnant, therefore in the future and after even you have your child, that you will not be a productive worker,” she said. “That’s simply not true.”
If you believe you have suffered termination or discrimination due to your pregnancy, or have been denied Family Medical Leave, feel free to contact Scott Behren and the Behren Law Firm for a free consultation.
We have blogged in the past about the Family Medical Leave Act which allows you to take up to twelve weeks off, of unpaid leave, to address a family pregnancy, adoption, illness or death. Upon returning to work, your employer is required to make sure your job or one substantially the same is still available. One problem, though, is that the Federal law only covers employers with at least 50 employees. This can be problematic for many employees of smaller companies with no comparable state law protections, case in point, Claudia Rendon of Philadelphia.
Claudia Rendon, 41, of Philadelphia, said her employer, Aviation Institute of Maintenance, fired her after she took time off to donate a kidney to her son.
Rendon, who worked for a year and a half in the school’s admissions office, said she notified the school that she planned to take leave on July 19 to undergo kidney transplant surgery on July 21 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania on behalf of her 22-year-old son, Alex, whose kidney failed last January. After extensive testing in early July, Rendon was found to be a match.
Kidney transplant surgery normally requires at least six to eight weeks of recovery time, and Rendon said the Aviation Institute agreed to give Rendon unpaid leave until Sept. 1. Rendon told ABCNews.com that on her last day of work before the surgery, her manager promised Rendon she would have her job upon her return, but one hour later, asked her to sign a letter acknowledging that her job was not secured.
“They said, ‘If you don’t sign this letter, you are abandoning your job and quitting,’” Rendon told ABCNews.com. “I said, ‘I am not abandoning my job. I am saving my son’s life.’”
The fact that the FMLA does not cover Ms. Rendon does not necessarily mean she is out of luck, there is also a possibility that she can bring claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act or relevant disability insurance policies.
If you find yourself wrongfully terminated, speak to an employment lawyer to learn your legal rights. Feel free to call Scott M. Behren and the Behren Law Firm for a free consultation.
In the interim, everyone should send hate mail to the wonderful people at Aviation Institute of Maintenance in Philadelphia.
In the past I have blogged about recent attempts by employers to misclassify employees as independent contractors in violation of Federal Law. Many employers will misclassify employees to avoid: (1) having to pay workers compensation; (2) having to pay unemployment taxes; (3) having to pay payroll taxes; (4) having to pay overtime and (5) having to comply with many other federal and state laws that prohibit discrimination. IN MOST CASES EVEN IF YOUR EMPLOYER SAYS YOU ARE AN INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR—-YOU LEGALLY ARE NOT ONE!!! Speak to an attorney or the Department of Labor to discuss this issue.
The U.S. Department of Labor has been cracking down on those employers who improperly misclassify employees to avoid overtime pay. A Tulsa-based firm that specializes in drilling petroleum wells has been drilled by the U.S. Department of Labor. For instance the DOL just fined Latshaw Drillling Company.
An investigation by the Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division found that Latshaw Drilling Company denied overtime for several dozen workers who had been misclassified as independent contractors.
Cynthia Watson a regional administrator for the Labor Department’s Wage and Hour division said: “Latshaw Drilling took advantage of vulnerable workers by misclassifying them as independent contractors rather than regular employees. As a result, they were denied rightful wages and legal protections that are guaranteed under federal law. This practice is illegal and unacceptable.”
The workers were paid straight time instead of time and a-half for hours worked over 40 in a week, as required in the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Some employees worked up to 72 hours in a week. 34 painters and sand blasters recovered more than $70,000 in back wages.
Latshaw Drilling has agreed to maintain future compliance by ensuring that all employees are properly classified.
If you believe you have been improperly classified as an independent contractor by your employer, go to the U.S. Department of Labor or an attorney that specializes in wage and hour laws. Feel free to contact Scott Behren and the Behren Law Firm for a consultation.
This blog frequently blogs about sexual harassment in the workplace and the remedies available to employee where they experience sexual harassment.
Well, the television show, “The Price Is Right” has now been accused of sexual harassment in the workplace. A former model on “The Price Is Right” game show filed a lawsuit Wednesday alleging wrongful termination and sexual harassment by producers who continually humiliated and berated her, according to court papers.
Lanisha Cole names the producers of the popular game show, Michael G. Richards and Adam Sandler as well as their production company, Fremantle Media North America.
Cole began working on “The Price Is Right” in 2003 but beginning in December 2009, the situation began to deteriorate when Richards suddenly and inexplicably stopped speaking to Cole and began showing favoritism to another model with whom he was having a relationship, the suit alleges.
According to the court papers, Richards used policies “which never before existed” to limit her modeling work on the show and engaged in abusive behavior.
While called into a meeting about alleged sexual harassment involving another model, Cole complained about her own treatment.
Months later, Cole informed management she had to miss a day of work because of a family commitment and was told she would not be able to work for that week, the lawsuit says.
When she returned, she was told she was “holding the show hostage” because of her complaint.
We will continue to keep you posted on any developments in this new lawsuit. In the meantime, if you have problems with sexual harassment in the workplace, go to Human Resources or the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) to make a Complaint. If that does not work or the problems become worse, speak to an employment lawyer that handles sexual harassment matters. Feel free to call Scott Behren and the Behren Law Firm for a free consultation.