Ex-Foley & Lardner Associate May Proceed with Discrimination Suit

This story gets filed under: “How Not to Deal with Associate Layoffs and Subsequent Discrimination Allegations” (via the WSJ Law Blog):

Zafar Hasan, a Muslim of Indian descent, claims that, post-9/11, he was fired from Foley & Lardner because of his religion, race, national origin and color. The district court granted the firm’s motion for summary judgment. [Yesterday], a three-judge panel of the Seventh Circuit reversed.

The Seventh Circuit opinion in Hasan v. Foley & Lardner, 07-3025 (7th Cir. Dec. 15, 2008) notes:

Foley initially claimed that it fired Mr. Hasan for poor performance. . . . However, after Foley located Mr. Hasan’s work evaluations, which were mostly positive, the firm changed its tune, maintaining that it actually fired Mr. Hasan not because his work was unacceptable but because it only had enough work to keep the best associates in the department occupied.

Continue ReadingEx-Foley & Lardner Associate May Proceed with Discrimination Suit

New Sick Pay Ordinance May Lead to Rejuvenation of Milwaukee Equal Rights Commission

Books The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel has the scoop:

Milwaukee’s dormant Equal Rights Commission could be back in business early next year – just in time to enforce the city’s controversial new sick pay ordinance.

On Tuesday, the Common Council will consider legislation to reconstitute the body with a focus not only on the sick pay measure, but also on the city’s own equal rights performance and on forms of discrimination that aren’t covered by state or federal laws. If that measure is approved, Mayor Tom Barrett will nominate a slate of seven panel members for confirmation in January, mayoral aide Leslie Silletti told the council’s Judiciary & Legislation Committee last week.

The Equal Rights Commission was founded in 1991 to investigate complaints of discrimination in housing and employment.

But the commission disbanded in 2003, amid complaints that former Mayor John O. Norquist’s administration never gave the seven-member panel the resources it needed to do its job. Since then, a single staffer in the city Department of Employee Relations has been carrying out the body’s mission, investigating some complaints himself and referring others to state and federal agencies . . . .

Continue ReadingNew Sick Pay Ordinance May Lead to Rejuvenation of Milwaukee Equal Rights Commission

Wal-Mart Settles Another Massive Wage & Hour Claim

Walmart_1 We don’t do much wage and hour stuff on this blog because these cases tend to come down to whether nurses on standard-size ambulances are exempt from overtime pay.  But Wal-Mart sure got another lesson on why it should not ignore the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (we previously wrote about this case here).

According to the BNA Daily Labor Report:

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. . . . announced that it has agreed to pay up to $54.25 million to settle a class action lawsuit that had alleged that it had violated Minnesota’s labor laws by requiring employees to work off the clock during training (Braun v. Wal-Mart Inc., Minn. Dist. Ct., No. 19-CO-01-9790, settlement announced 12/9/08).

In addition to a multimillion dollar payout to workers, the settlement . . .  includes terms providing that the retailer will pay the state a civil penalty, an amount that is expected to be the largest wage and hour civil penalty in state history . . . .

I’m sure this settlement does not sit well with the cheap-skates over at Wal-Mart, but they got more where this one comes from, with an estimate of 80 such suits pending in 2007.

Mmm, maybe they could be even more profitable by not ripping off their employees on wages and benefits and avoiding all of this endless labor and employment litigation.

Just a thought.

Continue ReadingWal-Mart Settles Another Massive Wage & Hour Claim