A federal jury in Houston has returned a verdict against a former County Judge of $3.2 million. James Blackstock, a former Brazoria County Court-at-Law Judge and former head of the Juvenile Probation Board was sued for sexual harassment by three female employees of the Juvenile Probation department. The jury found the judge had created a
Woman Claims She was Fired Because She Refused to Dye her Gray Hair
A woman claims she was fired from her job at a Houston, Texas title company because she refused to dye her gray hair and wear "younger, fancier" clothes and lots of jewelry. See ABA Bar Journal report. The CEO of the title company dismisses her claim, saying he has gray hair. Bill Shaddock says
Fixed Leave Policies on Way Out
Russ Cawyer posts about the coming demise of the so-called "no fault" leave policy, better described as fixed leave policies. He notes that the EEOC has been aggressively pursuing companies who implement such policies. Under these policies, once an employee has been out on leave for a certain length of time, the employee is terminated
Dukes v. Wal-Mart Lives…..
Employment class actions have been dealt a blow by the recent decision in Dukes v. Wal-Mart. You can look at the decision here. The decision, as I understand it, finds a lack of "commonality" among the female plaintiffs because there is no one company policy that caused their discrimination. The "policy" the plaintiffs were
Guard and Reserve Suffer Quietly in the Two Wars
“Joe” serves in the US Army Reserve and works as a paramedic in is civilian life. Due to his Army service, his paramedic training has suffered. He now faces termination or resignation. He is no different than thousands of the Reservists and Guardsmen who try to juggle a civilian job with his Army service.
Continue Reading Guard and Reserve Suffer Quietly in the Two Wars
$95 Million Verdict in Sex Harassment Case
A federal district court jury in St. Louis found in favor of a woman claiming sexual harassment. They then awarded her $95 million, an unheard of amount in a single plaintiff case. The unlucky defendant was aaron’s Inc. formerly known as Aaron’s Rent-to-Own. See St. Louis Today report. 
The amount includes $15 million
Administrator Who Sent Bawdy Emails Quits
The female administrator who sent some bawdy emals has resigned. Donna Laird, the former radiography director for St. Phillip’s College quit after an investigation into her sexist, racist and raunchy emails. See San Antonio Express News report. I previously discussed her emails and the EEOC complaint by Warren Parker here. Mr. Parker was
Less than 15 (or 20) Employees Can = Freedom to Discriminate
Title VII of the Civil Rights act of 1964 prohibits discrimination based on sex, color, religion, and national (ethnic) origin. Other statutes prohibit discrimination based on age and disability. For Title VII to apply to your company, you must have 15 or more employees. For the Age Discrimination in Employment Act to apply
Recent Ruling on ADA Amendments Act
An Eastern District of Texas recently addressed the effect of the ADA amendments Act. In Norton v. Assisted Living Concepts, Inc., an employee suffered from cancer. He returned to work and was fired within a month of his return. The cancer was in remission. Under the old Americans with Disabilities Act, he would have to
St. Phillips College Administrator Investigated for Racy Emails
You would think people would know better, by now. St. Phillip’s College, a junior college, part of the Alamo Community College District system, is investigating an administrator at St. Phillip’s for sending hundreds of bawdy emails. See San Antonio Express News report. Warren Parker, an instructor at St. Phillip’s, filed a complaint with the EEOC