I am an Iraq veteran. I served in Iraq from 2005 to 2006. Some 140,000 other brothers and sisters served in Iraq with me. I am told there were some 1.5 million total who served in Iraq. Wherever I go, I find a bond with fellow Iraq and Afghanistan vets. We share the bond of
employment lawyers
Federal Court Jury Awards $70 Million
Million dollar verdicts in employment cases are rare. But, they do occur. In one lawsuit against Glow Networks, Inc., nine African-American employees sued the company for racial discrimination. The jury not only agreed, they awarded $70 million to the nine workers. Glow Networks, Inc. is a telecommunications firm.
Among the evidence was the experience of…
Law Prof Researches Workplace Bullying
David Yamada, law professor at Suffolk University Law School, has written extensively on workplace bullying. He writes the blog on workplace bullying at Minding the Workplace. He published a seminal paper on workplace bullying in the Georgetown Law Journal in 2008. See that paper here. Mr. Yamada has drafted a model bill entitled,…
Fifth Circuit Reverses Summary Judgment
In Johnson v PRIDE Industries, Inc., 7 F.4th 392 (5th Cir. 2021), a co-worker referred to Michael Johnson, a black worker as “mijo” (son) and “manos” (hands) several times. The same co-worker, Juan Palomares, also referred to Mr. Johnson as “es mayate” (this n—–) on some occasions. Mr. Palomares also used the term “pinches…
Choice of Two Reasonable Accommodations Lies with the Employer
In Austgen v. Allied Barton Security Services, LLC, No. 19-20613, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 20085 (5th Cir. 6/26/2020), a security officer, working for the Port of Houston, encountered back pain in inspecting vehicles. The pain was chronic and had been aggravated by climbing around vehicles. His employer told him to stay home on unpaid…
PRO Protects Union Workers
Glenn Hamer claims the pending bill known as “Protecting the Right to Organize” will stop gig workers from working in the gig economy. In a recent opinion piece with the San Antonio Express News, Mr. Hamer claims the PRO, which is pending in the U.S. Senate, will make all gig workers traditional employees and…
How Speaker Pelosi Becomes President
With a nod to the research of Steve Vladeck, a University of Texas School of Law professor, the coming vote on Jan. 6, 2021 is over-stated in one key respect. Under Sec. 1 of the 20th Amendment, the current Presidential term ends on Jan. 20, no matter what. If no President then is qualified to…
Pro Se Plaintiff Loses Summary Judgment
Pro se cases (i.e., for self) typically result in dismissal. These are lawsuits filed by a layperson on his/her own behalf – without a lawyer. I previously posted about a pro se lawsuit here. In another such case, Wynne v. Jubilee Academy, No. 19-CV-00739 (W.D. Tex.), the plaintiff filed the suit herself. Although…
Linkedin Contact List Not Secret
If you work for a company for a few years and maintain your LinkedIn account, you will build up a set of contacts based on your employment. What happens if those contacts are customers? Do they belong to you or to your employer? That was the issue in Cellular Accessories for Less, Inc. v. Trinitas…
Whistleblowers Sue AG Paxton
As expected, Ken Paxton has provided generous lawsuits to his former deputies. Four of his recently fired senior assistants have filed suit based on whistle blowing. They allege they were fired because they reported violations of law by AG Paxton. see my prior post about their whistle blower complaints here. The lawsuit rightly notes…