Recent Employment Law News for Mar 10, 2010
Court of Appeal Affirms Police Officer's $3 Million Verdict Against City of Los Angeles
Tue, 9 Mar 2010 07:32:31 - Pacific Time
The California Court of Appeal affirmed a jury trial awarding $3,127,500 in favor of Robert HilI against the City of Los Angeles in an employment retaliation action. Hill, a police officer alleged that the City retaliated against him by engaging in harassment and creating a hostile work environment because he complained to Captain Sean Kane and other superiors in the Los Angeles Police Department that Sergeant Gilbert Curtis made racial statements against African-Americans and Hispanics, and that Curtis stole from the Explorer Program. Hill joined the Department in 1983 as a patrol officer. He was assigned to the Newton Division in 1989 and was promoted to senior lead officer in 1996. Senior lead officer is a coveted position of added responsibility. Promotion to senior lead officer is limited to a few select officers. Hill was hardworking, aggressive, and generally considered by his superiors to be a good officer. Curtis was in charge of all senior lead officers at Newton and was Hill's direct supervisor. Hill felt Curtis was an incompetent supervisor, a poor excuse for a human being, a thief, a liar, a racist, and a bigot. Curtis was responsible for a youth cadet program at Newton called the Explorer Program. At one point Hill and Curtis had a verbal confrontation over a missed roll call, following which charges were made against Hill of "menacing" behavior. Hill was placed on temporary assignment elsewhere, and removed from his supervisory roll, but retained his pay and job classification. Decisions about his duty limitations were made by captains, the Risk Management Executive Committee, and even Chief Bratton, For example, in February 2006, the fiancé of an officer who had been killed in the line of duty, selected Hill to accompany her to a ceremony in Washington, D.C., honoring the fallen officer. Her selection was vetoed by Chief Bratton, because Hill did not "represent the Department in a positive way." In the late winter or early spring of 2007, the Board of Rights found Hill not guilty of the allegation Hill threatened Curtis. However, the City did not return Hill to the Newton division, because that would have returned Hill to Curtis's supervision. Hill was administratively transferred to the Northeast Division on February 3, 2008. Hill was so demoralized by being loaned to Northeast that he decided he would not seek a promotion to sergeant and would retire earlier than he had planned. The Court of Appeal found substantial evidence to support the jury verdict. Government Code section 12940 provides in pertinent part: "It shall be an unlawful employment practice . . (h) For any employer . . . to discharge, expel, or otherwise discriminate against any person because the person has opposed any practices forbidden under this part or because the person has filed a complaint, testified, or assisted in any proceeding under this part." Labor Code section 1102.5, subdivision (b) provides: "An employer may not retaliate against an employee for disclosing information to a government or law enforcement agency, where the employee has reasonable cause to believe that the information discloses a violation of state or federal statute, or a violation or noncompliance with a state or federal rule or regulation." Read More...
President Signs Extension of COBRA Subsidy
Tue, 9 Mar 2010 07:14:29 - Pacific Time
President Barack Obama signed into law on Wednesday the Temporary Extension Act of 2010 (HR 4691), hours after the Senate passed it by a 78-19 vote. The main purpose of the bill is to extend unemployment benefits and health care subsidies for the unemployed, but it also extends through March 31, 2010, a federal tax credit that allows the federal government to subsidize 65% of the cost of COBRA premiums. The law also clarified the treatment of COBRA continuation that results from reductions in hours followed by termination of employment. The COBRA subsidy was first enacted as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, PL 111-5. Under the provision, as long as an eligible individual pays 35% of the premium for COBRA continuation coverage, the group health plan must treat the individual as having paid the full premium. Eligible individuals can receive this subsidy for up to 15 months. Employers are reimbursed for the 65% subsidy by taking a credit on their payroll tax returns. To be eligible, individuals must have been involuntarily terminated from their employment after Aug. 31, 2008, and before April 1, 2010. The Temporary Extension Act extended the end of the eligible period from Feb. 28, 2010, to March 31, 2010. The act also added special rules for individuals who lost their health coverage because of a reduction in working hours. Under the act, if an individual did not make a COBRA continuation coverage election when his or her hours were reduced (or made an election but then discontinued COBRA coverage), if the individual is then involuntarily terminated from employment, that will be treated as a qualifying event for COBRA continuation coverage purposes. Read More...
Labor Officials Confident Union Lawyer Will Take NLRB Seat
Fri, 5 Mar 2010 06:39:55 - Pacific Time
Labor officials said they are confident that union-lawyer Craig Becker will take a seat on the National Labor Relations Board within the next few months, signaling that President Barack Obama could make a recess appointment as early as April. That confidence appeared to be backed up by both Vice President Joe Biden and Labor Secretary Hilda Solis when they met with AFL-CIO leaders at the federation’s winter meeting this week in Orlando, Fla. "I feel very confident," Solis said Wednesday when asked by reporters about Becker’s chances of making it onto the board. She then referred to the recent Senate vote where Republicans blocked his nomination. "The vote was already taken. How do you change the - numbers that came down when they took the vote? I’m just saying that I think people will be very pleased." A day earlier while addressing a room full of AFL-CIO officials, Biden referred to Becker’s nomination and said, "We’ll get it done." Several union officials appeared to indicate that an April recess appointment is in the works. "Just as Easter is about resurrection, we will resurrect a labor board that fights for workers. That will lead to renewal of workers rights," said Larry Cohen, president of the Communications Workers of America. He called the current labor board "a total failure" and "a sham." Union officials complain that the labor board has been ineffective in part because three of five board seats have been vacant for more than a year. The Supreme Court will rule this year on whether several hundred decisions made by the two current members are valid. Union leaders also want a board with a Democratic majority to reverse board decisions made during the Bush administration. Cohen and others argue that those decisions have excluded hundreds of thousands of workers from being eligible to join a union. Read More...
Obama Administration Plans to Close International Labor Comparisons Office
Fri, 5 Mar 2010 06:35:54 - Pacific Time
Like a scorekeeper for the world, a tiny unit within the Bureau of Labor Statistics tracks globalization's winners and losers, and the results are not always pretty for the United States. Manufacturing jobs here, for example, have fallen faster since 1979 than in Canada, Germany or Japan. Compensation for those jobs dropped here in 2008 but jumped in South Korea and Australia. Soon, however, Americans may be spared the demoralization in these numbers: The White House wants to shutter the unit that produces them. President Obama's budget would eliminate the International Labor Comparisons office and transfer its 16 economists to expand the bureau's work tracking inflation and occupational trends. The White House says the cut, estimated to save $2 million, is one of many difficult decisions the president was forced to make to control spending. "This budget had to make some tough choices and prioritize the nation's most pressing needs during a challenging economic and fiscal climate," said Office of Management and Budget spokesman Tom Gavin. But the proposed cut has triggered an outcry from an eclectic group of academics, business leaders and union officials -- a reminder that, in the sprawl of the federal government, some seemingly obscure offices have built a loyal following around their discrete missions. The defenders argue that, given the need to succeed in a global economy, it makes little sense to shut down the office that measures how the country stacks up. There are other sources of foreign data, such as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the International Labor Organization, but none does as much as the BLS unit to vet and adjust numbers for apple-to-apple comparisons on productivity, unemployment and wage levels, supporters say. "If you were going to cut this five years after they implemented it 50 years ago, that would be one thing -- who cared then about what's going on in Asia?" said Georgetown University economist Robert Bednarzik, who spent 10 years at the BLS and has started a petition drive to save the unit. "But they've picked the worst possible time to try and get rid of it -- when we're all in this together." The International Labor Comparisons office dates to the 1960s, when President John F. Kennedy demanded to know whether Western European countries, which were reporting remarkably low unemployment rates, were using a different standard of accounting. The office later expanded to include Asia's emerging economies. Read More...
Seasonal Affective Disorder Increasingly a Workplace Issue
Thu, 4 Mar 2010 02:20:58 - Pacific Time
Pointing to a federal law that prohibits employers from discriminating against the disabled, some Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) sufferers say they are entitled to schedule changes, access to windows and other modifications. Recent legal rulings are prompting human resources experts to warn about the need to take the depression seriously. "Some people brush you off, saying you're just in a bad mood this time of year," said Simonsis, 36, of Mount Prospect, Ill. "But it's a real disability, and employers need to realize that." Most people experience gloominess in winter, but for some the psychological and biological symptoms are much more serious. The U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago ruled in October that a teacher could pursue a lawsuit against her former employer alleging that the school district had failed to accommodate her SAD, causing her mental health to deteriorate. "I think seasonal affective disorder is rare, but it's protected under disability law," said Chicago lawyer Gerald Maatman Jr., who represents employers in workplace disputes. "The law protects a wide range of conditions, not just physical disabilities like heart attacks and carpel tunnel." When Employment Law Today, a publication put out by the New York-based Alexander Hamilton Institute, ran an article about the recent appeals court ruling, describing symptoms of seasonal affective disorder and explaining that accommodations may be necessary, editor Gloria Ju said she was dismayed to receive an e-mail from a manager brushing it off. "She scoffed about seasonal affective disorder, saying that everyone feels down in the winter," Ju said. "But . . . seasonal affective disorder and other forms of depression are not made up and need to be taken seriously." The depression is often triggered around October and lifts in March. Fatigue, declining sexual interest and weight gain are other common symptoms. Treatment includes antidepressants, therapy and exposure to intense lamps that simulate natural light. Read More...
Two Ex-Vice Presidents Sue AIG for Discrimination
Wed, 3 Mar 2010 04:56:32 - Pacific Time
Two former vice presidents at American International Group Inc. are suing the company for terminations they claim were based on their age and gender. The discrimination lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court of Connecticut by the two women, who formerly worked at AIG Financial Products Corp. Former executives Susan Potter and Deonna Taylor claim that during their time with the company, they received salaries and bonuses that were less than similarly placed male colleagues. The company "fostered a 'boys club' atmosphere and a culture of gender and age discrimination against older women," the suit said. Both claim that their salaries were held at $100,000 for years, though male colleagues at the company regularly earned more. Mark Herr, a spokesman for AIG, said in a statement that AIG "denies it discriminated or retaliated against these plaintiffs. AIG prohibits discrimination on the basis of age, sex or any other protected category and is committed to providing employees with a workplace free from unlawful discrimination and retaliation." Potter, a long-time facilities manager at the company, was promoted to vice president in 2007. She said she objected annually between 2002 to 2008 about her unchanging $100,000 base salary, which she was allegedly informed was capped at its highest possible level. She also claimed she was repeatedly blocked from promotions that went to younger males. When she obtained a promotion in 2007 after 10 years as an assistant vice president, she said her salary was not increased. In October of 2008, Potter and Taylor filed discrimination charges with the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Two weeks later, Taylor was terminated in a round of layoffs as the company sought to dismantle itself following AIG's near collapse in the U.S. financial crisis. Three months later, Potter said the company classified her as a part-time employee. In July of 2009, Potter's position was then eliminated in a second round of layoffs. She was 56 years old when terminated, and Taylor was 60. Taylor said she was paid the $100,000 base salary from 2001 until she was laid off, though during that period she received promotions to assistant vice president and, in 2006, to vice president and director of research. Taylor also claims to have made repeated complaints to her superiors about what she considered unfair pay and subsequently "found that her position was marginalized." Read More...
Apple Admits To Child Labor Practices In At Least Three Factories
Wed, 3 Mar 2010 04:43:31 - Pacific Time
Apple has admitted that at least eleven 15 year old children were employed in three different factories that supply Apple with their computers, iPods and iPhone devices. Apple would not disclose which factories were at fault, however given that the devices are largely built in China, there’s a good chance at least some of the Children were employed in that area. It’s not the first time Apple has come under fire for their employment practices. In fact last week it was discovered that 62 workers at a factory that manufacturers Apple and Nokia devices were poisoned by n-hexane, a chemical that causes muscular degeneration and eyesight blur. Last year Sun Danyong was accused by the devices manufacturing company of stealing a prototype for the iPhone and was beaten by security staff before jumping to his death from the 12th floor of his apartment building. Foxconn who manufactures much of Apple’s products has also been accused of treating their employees extremely harshly and have been accused of having “inhumane and militant” management that goes against international basic human rights. According to Apple’s recent report, at least 55 of 102 factories were ignoring the companies rules that staff can’t work over 60 hours per week. That 60 hour number however violates China’s own 49 hour work week laws. In its report, Apple revealed sweatshop conditions inside many of the factories it uses. Apple admitted that at least 55 of the 102 factories that produce its goods were ignoring Apple’s rule that staff cannot work more than 60 hours a week. In all fairness for Apple however, that law is constantly ignored by companies throughout China. Apple has also found that only 65 percent of factories were paying employees the wages they were suppose to earn, some even paying under China’s minimum wage amounts. In other cases factories falsified records in order to hire child labor. Factory safety guidelines are also violated by 39 percent of factories, guidelines put into place to avoid workplace injuries. Read More...
Walmart To Pay More Than $11.7 Million To Settle Sex Discrimination Suit
Tue, 2 Mar 2010 07:16:11 - Pacific Time
Walmart Stores will pay $11.7 million in back wages and compensatory damages, its share of employer taxes, and up to $250,000 in administration fees and will furnish other relief, including jobs, to settle a sex discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today. According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, Walmart’s London, Ky., Distribution Center denied jobs to female applicants from 1998 through February 2005. During that time period, the EEOC contends, Walmart regularly hired male entry-level applicants for warehouse positions, but excluded female applicants who were equally or better qualified. The EEOC alleged that Walmart regularly used gender stereotypes in filling entry-level order filler positions. Hiring officials told applicants that order filling positions were not suitable for women, and that they hired mainly 18- to 25-year-old males for order filling positions, the EEOC said. The consent decree settling the suit, entered by the court on March 1, 2010, requires Walmart to provide order filler jobs, as they become available, to eligible and interested female class members, as determined by a claims administrator. Walmart will fill the first 50 available order filler positions with female class members. For the next 50 positions, female class members will be offered every other job. Thereafter, every third position will be offered to female class members. A settlement administrator will distribute the proceeds to eligible class members. Walmart has agreed to pay the first $250,000 of the administration costs. Read More...