The Older Workers’ Benefit Protection Act (OWBPA) was passed in 1990 as an amendment to the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. The OWBPA provides that for an older worker to sign a binding waiver of claims, the employer must include a provision that the worker has 21 days in which to sign the waiver and 7
Nurses Settle Claims After Reporting Doctor’s Improper Treatment
Two northwest Texas nurses were fired after they reported improper medical treatment by a doctor at the hospital where the two worked. They reported the improprieties to the Texas Medical Board, 
which agency oversees doctors. The two nurses were later charged with felonies by the local prosecutor, reflecting local support for the doctor. One nurse
Hewlitt Packard CEO Resigns Amidst Sex Harassment Probe
The Hewlitt Packard CEO, Mark Hurd, resigns in the middle of a sex harassment investigation. The investigation found other violations of other company policies. See report. It turns out that his expense reports were not accurate. Mr. Hurd admitted to integrity issues. Yet, the sex harassment probe supposedly found no infraction by Mr. Hurd.
Temp Agency Uses Codewords for Minorities
According to the ABA Bar Journal, the EEOC settled a case against a temp agency in Ohio. The agency used code words to describe the racial background of potential employees. "Chocolate cupcake" referred to young female African Americans. "Hockey players" described young white males.
The case settled for $650,000. The case was pretty egregious
Shifting Reasons Still Help Show Pretext
Many times, an employee comes to see me and asks me how strong his/her case is. Often, i do not know. It is hard to gauge the strength of a case until we know the reasons used by an employer for a questionable adverse personnel action. Indeed, sometimes those reasons change over time. 
In
Ex-USDA Official Will File Suit over Blog Post
Shirley Sherrod, the former Department of Agriculture official, will sue the blogger who posted her comments out of context. See report. Good for her. The report does not explain what the suit will be based on. But, I would expect she could sue him for defamation or "false light" defemation. The blogger, Andrew Breitbart, is
Novartis Pharmaceuticals Settles Class Action Lawsuit
Novartis Pharmaceuticals settled the class action case against them for $175 million. See report. The case was based on gender discrimination. I discussed this case earlier. See post here and here. You will recall this was the case where a jury came back with a verdict for $250 million in punitive damages for
How an Employer Can Mess Up an Employment Case
Minnesota Labor & Employment Law Blog discusses how an employer can mess up an employment case. In Hamm v. Minnesota, the state eventually agreed to pay Hamm $250,000 to settle her claims. The law firm at Minnseota Labor & Employment Law discusses the things the employer did wrong: accusing Hamm of transgressions that by their
USDA Employee Fired After Discussing Racism
Racism is often just below the surface in our society. A black woman admits that she felt some antipathy toward a white farmer. She learned from her own racism and grew from it. Yet, her story is used to fan the flames of white fear. See story. Shirley Sherrod discussed her first case working
Dallas Jury Awards $17 Million in Age Case
A Dallas jury returned a verdict in favor of the plaintiff in US district court. In an age discrimination case, the jury awarded the plaintiff employee lost pay and benefits of $500,000, liquidated damages of $500,000, mental anguish damages of $1,000,000, punitive damages of $15,00,000, front pay and attorney’s fees to be determined later by