Cooper Wrongful Termination Lawsuit: Set for September Trial

June 8, 2015 - Former Lafayette Parish School Superintendent Pat Cooper is scheduled to go to trial the week of September 21^st. Cooper was fired from his job by the Lafayette Parish School Board in November. About two weeks after the board made the decision to fire him, Cooper filed a wrongful termination lawsuit.

In his lawsuit, Pat Cooper claims wrongful termination on the basis that he was fired without cause. He claims he was ousted from his position for political reasons as well as plan old vindictiveness. The board already spent over $120,000 in legal fees prior to firing Cooper in November.

Wrongful Termination has become a very widely used term. Generally speaking, it can mean many things, but legally speaking, it refers to a very specific situation in which very specific consequences may follow for employers involved. Many individuals are terminated from work positions. A lot of these workers who have lost their jobs may feel that their job loss was “wrongful.” But the legal definition of wrongful termination is more limited that the general meaning the combined words may indicate upon first hearing the phrase. Legally speaking, wrongful termination refers to circumstances in which an employee is fired from their position for an illegal reason. This could include being fired for discriminatory reasons (race, religion, age, gender, etc.), being fired in violation of employment contracts in place, workplace retaliation, etc.

If you need additional information regarding what constitutes wrongful termination so you can determine if you were wrongfully terminated from your job, contact the southern California employment law experts at Blumenthal, Nordrehaug & Bhowmik.

Mexican Farm Workers Strike: Demanding Overtime Pay, Breaks, Water and Healthcare

April 28, 2015 - The Associated Press states that the average farm worker will make between $8-10 for a full 10-hour day of labor. Supporting yourself on such an income is difficult. Supporting your family on such an income is close to impossible. The Baja, California Mexican farm workers strike involves fifty thousand. Their strike is an aggressive method of protesting low wages, poor living/working conditions as well as general right abuses.

As the Mexican farm workers and the growers attempt to come together to resolve the issue, millions in crops have rotted in the field as the two play tug of war over the operations/property. It has been reported that workers have been witnessed throwing rocks and burning tires as they attempt to increase the attention given to the alleged mistreatment of the workers who farm millions of dollars worth of produce including strawberries and tomatoes in Baja. While the dispute was escalating, workers on strike blocked the main north-south highway and the Transpeninsular Highway. It’s also notable that additional strikes are breaking out in the surrounding area.

Workers are on strike demanding overtime pay, health care, water, breaks and time off. They also seek an end of arbitrary firings, and other abuses including sexual abuse. Workers (who are typically paid $8-10 per day) are requesting an increase to $20/day for long days in the sun or hothouse.

The farmers are being urged to return to work before the destruction of the crops leads to a destruction of jobs. Many could be affected by the ripple effect this would have on the region’s economy. During the course of the strike, over 200 protestors have been arrested for various activities including: riots, vandalism, rock-throwing, etc. To protect themselves and their livelihoods, businesses have boarded up their windows. More than 1,000 police officers have been dispersed throughout Baja, California area to control the situation.

If you are looking for information on hostile workplace conditions, contact the southern California employment law experts at Blumenthal, Nordrehaug & Bhowmik.

Lawsuit Claiming Bias in Firing: Former Athletic Director vs. St. Francis

April 27, 2015 -Sacramento native, Kolleen “Koko” McNamee was recently banished from the St. Francis Catholic High School campus. Prior to her banishment, she was the athletic director. The school was her alma mater (as well as that of her three sisters and her aunt). She spent 11 years as the schools athletic director. She even had plans for her own three daughters to attend her beloved alma mater. She was a very unlikely candidate for banishment. 

McNamee was fired from her position as athletic director in August of 2012. A guard watched as she packed her few belongings and then she was escorted off campus. Later that year McNamee sued the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sacramento (the school’s owner), two former administrators, and one administrator still actively involved at the school. In her suit, McNamee claims she was subjected to gender discrimination as well as defamation and workplace retaliation. She filed suit in order to obtain monetary damages of an unspecified amount.

The diocese requested the lawsuit be thrown out. Federal Judge Morrison C. England, Jr rejected the request. As is the case in many such cases, there are multiple characters and numerous stories and details that can make determining what actually happened difficult. McNamee claims that she saw “ugly” behavior from the varsity basketball coach at the games. When she reported the behavior as inappropriate, is escalated into her being fired and banned from campus. The varsity basketball coach, Vic Pitton, still works at the school.

Pitton denies claims that he has been seen as exhibiting negative behavior, but his story conflicts with not only McNamee, but also the school’s principal who said that he was “removed” from his position because his behavior was contrary to how she wanted the school to be perceived. She described his behavior as volatile and mentioned that he would go into rages during the games, yell at the referees, etc. Other documentation supports this information from another leader at the school: Vice Principal Urhammer.

For more information on bias in firing, retaliation and other discrimination in the workplace, contact your southern California employment law experts at Blumenthal, Nordrehaug & Bhowmik.

Class Action: Weitz and Luxenberg vs. Lumber Liquidators, Inc.

April 15, 2015 -Weitz & Luxenberg, P.C. filed a class action lawsuit seeking to make Lumber Liquidators home improvements retailer pay restitution. Consumers who purchased certain brands of laminate flooring discovered later that it was found to emit high levels of formaldehyde – high enough to be potentially dangerous to their health. The class action contains allegations that the Toano, Virginia based home improvements retailer was aware of the problem (that the levels of formaldehyde being emitted were unhealthy and cancer causing) and purposefully concealed the information from consumers in order to continue selling their tainted product.

California air quality standards are the most stringent in the nation. Weitz & Luxenberg claim that Lumber Liquidators went so far as to advise their customers that the laminate flooring’s formaldehyde emissions met those extremely high air quality standards when they did not.

Six plaintiffs were named in the class action filed in Manhattan in federal court. The plaintiffs named were from 3 different states: Texas, New York and New Jersey. The suit seeks financial reimbursement from Lumber Liquidators to provide members of the class who bought the dangerous flooring with a full refund for their purchase price, and associated costs (installation, delivery, removal, etc.) It has also been requested that Lumber Liquidators pay damages (as permitted by the various states) in regards to false advertising and additional violations of a variety of other consumer protection statutes.

The class action lawsuit is a civil litigation device. When compared to criminal law, it’s important to note that civil law deals with private disputes. A private dispute is one in which one party accuses a second party of some type of injury and sues for damages that occurred as a result of that injury. Injury can come in many forms: physical, psychological, emotional, or financial. Class actions are most useful in cases where you alone would be David to the other party’s Goliath. If you alone attempted to sue a major “Goliath” sized company, it would be a painful process with slim chances for success. The class action lawsuit allows all the “Davids” to get together in one suit, which allows them to obtain a “Goliath” size lawyer to fight for their case; drastically increasing the chances for the “everyday Joe’s” chance of success against major corporations and massive organizations.  

If you need additional information on forming a class action lawsuit, contact the southern California employment law experts at Blumenthal, Nordrehaug & Bhowmik. 

Wrongful Termination: Former Torrington Teacher Continues Fighting Termination

March 18, 2015 -Giulio Romano, a former Torrington High School teacher of Latin and Italian, sued the Torrington School District for wrongful termination in 2013. The case has come to a halt, but may not be over as Romano vows to keep fighting the “wrongful termination.”

Romano is an Italian native, but was living in Houston, Texas prior to accepting the position offered by the Torrington Board of Education. When he accepted the position, he moved across the country. He began teaching at the beginning of the 2012-13 school year and was fired in February 2013 after only 6 months on the job. Documentation of the case indicates that the school district fired Romano because he used inappropriate language during the course of his teaching and offended several students. 20 of the 60 students signed up for his class dropped the course. When Torrington High School Principal, Joanne Creedon, requested a letter explaining his conduct, Romano failed to comply. The school district also indicated in case documentation that the plaintiff failed to obtain his Connecticut State Teacher Certification.

Romano claims that the school should have expected delays in obtaining his teacher certification as he was educated outside of the country. He also claims that the school district broke an implied contract when he was terminated from the teaching position because they had agreed to assist him in obtaining the necessary certification.

After the case was dismissed in Litchfield Superior Court, Romano filed an appeal. On March 5^th, 2015, the court upheld the dismissal. After the 2^nd decision for dismissal, Romano still intends to pursue the suit against the Torrington School District, vowing that the case will be heard in a court of law. He insists that the case was dismissed due to a technicality regarding the proper informing of necessary parties of the intention to file a lawsuit. When Romano originally filed suit, he notified the Torrington Superintendant, Cheryl Kloczko, but he did not notify the city clerk (which is required if the party being sued includes a board).

In an attempt to remedy the situation, Romano is considering re-filing the lawsuit and notifying the necessary parties as required.

For additional information on wrongful termination or to determine if employment law applies to your recent termination, contact the southern California employment law experts at Blumenthal, Nordrehaug & Bhowmik.

Wrongful Termination Settlement: Ravens pay Ray Rice $1.588 Million

March 11, 2015 -While the details of the January 2015 settlement reached between the Ravens and their former star running back, Ray Rice, were undisclosed, sources indicate that the sides ended up settling for $1.588 million. The star running back was suing for back pay from his $3.529 million base salary for the 2014 season. The football player received a total of $26.588 million on the contract that was signed into being in July of 2012. (This included his $15 million bonus for signing).

Ray Rice’s $35 million contract was abruptly cancelled in September 2014 after graphic video coverage of a domestic violence incident surfaced online. Rice filed a grievance in October 2014.

After reaching a settlement with Rice, the Ravens released a statement regarding the situation indicating that the resolution was intended to put an end to the grievance with the former star running back and that they wanted to put it all behind them and move forward. They also made sure to “wish Janay and Ray Rice the best.” 

Rice was a three-time Pro Bowl selection. Since the incident, Rice has been reinstated from his indefinite league suspension (that began in November of 2014). He hasn’t worked out for or even visited an NFL team since the problems began, but he hopes for a second chance at the game and works out regularly on his own in preparation for that opportunity.

For more information about southern California employment laws and how to fight wrongful termination, contact the southern California employment law experts at Blumenthal, Nordrehaug & Bhowmik.

Low-Wage Workers Going Unprotected by Current Minimum Wage Laws

Many low-wage workers hope President Obama’s push to increase the federal minimum wage will offer results. The hope it to increase it to $10.10 per hour (in addition to the recent state-level increases) which would be welcome and exciting news for many in low paying positions. It’s a glimmer of hope that they may not have to struggle so hard to get by on such a small paycheck.

Due to a strange compilation of rules and exemptions on both a federal and state level, there are a number of different “classes” of workers are not protected by minimum wage law. In some cases, workers aren’t just not paid minimum wage, but they are paid well below minimum wage. The complexity of the rules is increased by the fact that state and federal rules and regulations are not always in line with each other. Some of the classes of workers who are often paid below (or well below) minimum wage on the job include:

• Disabled Workers: federal law allows employers to apply for a special certificate allowing them to decide how much the work of any disabled (physical or mental) worker is worth. The law allowing this was put in place in 1938 and has seen very little change since its inception.
• Workers at Very Small Businesses: If company gross sales are under $500,000 and no work is done across state lines, federal minimum wage regulations do not apply.
• Teenage Trainees: There are multiple situations in which federal law allows for exemptions in minimum wage requirements in relation to employment of teenagers/students.
• Tipped Workers (as mentioned above): According to federal law, minimum wage for tipped workers is $2.13 as long as “tips” bring the overall pay for the worker up to the $7.25 minimum, but this is obviously difficult to regulate and enforce.

These examples make it clear there’s a problem and this is only a small representation of the full list of classes that often include workers “exempt” from federal minimum wage laws. On top of that, there’s the additional confusion of laws and regulations that are in place at state and local levels.

If you have questions regarding minimum wage and hour laws and how they apply to your workplace, your industry and your job duties, please contact the Southern California employment law experts at Blumenthal, Nordrehaug & Bhowmik.