Dallas Fort Worth Injury Lawyer Blog

A member of the science team for NASA's 2008 Phoenix Mars Lander mission has sued one of the mission's co-investigators, Samuel Kounaves, alleging sexual harassment.

Research assistant Suzanne Young was part of a Tufts University group that helped build the experiments to analyze and characterize the chemical composition of the Martian soil during the NASA mission, led by the University of Arizona and housed in Tucson.

Continue reading "Harassment Lawsuit Filed Against Scientist on Mars Lander Project" »

A former associate plans to file a $50 million lawsuit against Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson, accusing the firm of denying her a promotion to partner because she is a lesbian and of doing nothing to stop higher-ups from harassing her, according to the complaint.

The former associate, Julie Kamps, plans to file the lawsuit in federal court in Manhattan. Kamps, who previously filed a less detailed complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, claims that a female partner at Fried Frank sexually harassed her. She also alleges that the firm instructs lawyers to write exaggerated negative performance reviews about associates the firm wants out.

Continue reading "Employee Alleges Harassment, Phony Reviews, in $50 Million Suit Against Firm" »

Atherton has agreed to payt $230,000 to settle a sexual harassment and discrimination lawsuit a former police officer filed against the town and one of its employees.

In the April documents filed in San Mateo County Superior Court, former Atherton police Officer Pilar Ortiz-Buckley accused Public Works Supervisor Troy Henderson of making salacious remarks and grabbing her in the police break room.

City Attorney Wynne Furth said that the town decided to settle early in the process to avoid costly legal fees. The three involved parties signed a settlement agreement in mid-November.

Ortiz-Buckley, 48, suffered back injuries during the alleged June 2008 attack, which prevented her from wearing her police duty belt and made it impossible for her to do her job, according to the lawsuit.

Continue reading "Atherton Settles Sexual Harassment, Discrimination Lawsuit" »

A Miami-Dade jury, sworn to exercise its civic duty, awarded security guard Jackalyn Strachan $150,000 in damages -- for exercising her same civic duty.

The six-person jury found that Miami security firm Hall Investigation Service wrongfully denied wages and fired Strachan for serving as a juror in a murder trial in April 2007.

Continue reading "Miami Woman who Sued Employer Over Jury Duty is Awarded $150,K" »

A radiation oncologist who formerly worked for the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute won a $3 million verdict in federal court on charges that her employer retaliated against her for raising concerns about discrimination.

The jury recommended that Dr. Kristina Gerszten be awarded $1.5 million in back pay from the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, which works with the UPMC Cancer Centers, as well as $827,292 in front pay. But according to Dr. Gerszten's attorney, those amounts are only advisory.

It will be up to U.S. District Judge Arthur J. Schwab to determine what amount the defendant will have to pay.

Continue reading "Doctor Wins Employment Discrimination Lawsuit Against Cancer Institute" »

The Kentucky Court of Appeals upheld the $6.1 million jury award to strip-search victim Louise Ogborn, saying McDonald’s legal department was “fully aware” of hoax calls to its restaurants, yet its management made “a conscious decision not to train or warn employees or managers about the calls.”

In a unanimous decision, the court also said that the $5 million awarded to Ogborn in punitive damages for McDonald’s “reprehensible” behavior was justified because the evidence showed the company repeatedly “placed a higher value on corporate reputation than on the safety of its own employees” over the 10 years it knew about the hoax calls.

A three-judge panel also upheld the judgment for former assistant manager Summers, who claimed she was duped into executing the search because of the company’s failure to warn her about the hoaxes. But the court cut her $1 million punitive damage award to $400,000, saying the jury’s verdict was excessive. Summers was also awarded $100,000 in compensatory damages.

Continue reading "Appeals Court Upholds $6 M Strip-Search Verdict Against McDonald's" »

A nearly $3 million arbitration award was won by a former KBR employee who said she was raped in Iraq.

Tracy K. Barker, wife of a U.S. Army sergeant and the mother of five, was awarded $2.93 million in private arbitration proceedings in Houston.

Continue reading "Nearly $3 M Awarded in KBR Rape Claim" »

A federal jury awarded more than $6.2 million in an age discrimination suit brought by two scientists who said they were fired from their jobs at a Chester County, Pa., chemical manufacturing firm when the company targeted only older workers in layoffs in 2005.

The jury concluded that PQ Corp.'s age discrimination was "willful" -- a finding that leads to an automatic doubling of each plaintiff's back pay award. The jury also awarded compensatory damages -- $2 million to plaintiff Roman Wypart and $1.5 million to plaintiff Bonnie Marcus -- for the emotional damage they suffered as a result of the discrimination.

Lead plaintiffs' attorney Scott B. Goldshaw said he was "gratified that the jury recognized that age discrimination is real and hurts real people."

The weeklong trial in Marcus v. PQ Corp. was the second trial in the case. The first trial, in July, resulted in a hung jury on the claims for three plaintiffs and a rejection of the fourth plaintiff's claims. Prior to the second trial, court records show, PQ settled for an undisclosed sum with plaintiff Ernest Senderov.

Continue reading "2 Scientists Get $6.2 M Award in Age Discrimination Suit" »

A Marin County supermarket clerk who urinated on herself at the checkout counter after her supervisor refused to let her take a bathroom break is entitled to a $200,000 damage award, a state appeals court has ruled.

The woman, identified only as A.M., had returned to work at an Albertson's Inc. store in Fairfax in 2004 after undergoing cancer treatment that left her mouth dry and required her to drink water constantly. The store told her to let the managers know when she needed a bathroom break and they would cover for her.

Continue reading "Appeals Court Upholds Ruling Granting $200 K to Employee Denied Bathroom Break." »

The city of South Gate has paid out $18 million to settle lawsuits filed by a group of officers who said they faced racially-motivated discrimination, harassment and retaliation in the aftermath of the ouster of a Latino police official in 2002, according to the officers' attorney.

Sixteen police officers filed suits against South Gate, a working-class, predominantly Latino city with an annual budget of about $100 million, alleging that they were subjected to racial slurs and false internal affairs investigations, unfairly disciplined, and passed up for promotions. Many said they were discriminated because of their association with Rick Lopez, a former acting police chief.

Continue reading "City Settles Police Employment Discrimination Suits for $18 M" »

The MA state Supreme Judicial Court restored $1 million in punitive damages awarded to a former pharmacist at a Wal-Mart in Pittsfield, who said she was fired after complaining about being paid less than her male colleagues.

The verdict - which also upheld a jury award for more than $700,000 in future wages lost - ends a long battle between Wal-Mart and its onetime employee, Cynthia Haddad, who first sued the retail giant for gender discrimination four years ago.

Continue reading "MA Supreme Court Reinstates Wal-Mart damages" »

The proposed settlement of a pair of lawsuits charging that Eastman Kodak Co. discriminated against African-American employees is now in a judge's hands.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs this week filed a motion asking that U.S. Magistrate Judge Jonathan W. Feldman approve the settlement worked out between the company and the plaintiffs. The filing also requests a hearing on Oct. 23 for final arguments regarding fairness of the settlement.

The lawsuits — one filed in 2004 and the other in 2007 — alleged that Kodak discriminated in regards to pay, promotions, job assignments and layoffs.

Continue reading "$21.4 M Settlement of Kodak Race Discrimination Lawsuits " »

A teacher has settled a discrimination lawsuit against a private school in Anne Arundel County that federal authorities said had fired him because he has the virus that causes AIDS.

In the consent decree approved by U.S. District Judge William D. Quarles Jr. in Baltimore, Chauncey Stevenson is to receive $79,750, but the Chesapeake Academy in Arnold did not admit wrongdoing. Among the actions it must take are steps to teach its supervisors about the Americans with Disabilities Act. The law requires employers to accommodate workers' disabilities.

Continue reading "Teacher with HIV Settles Bias Suit Against Private School" »

The case of a Texas woman who alleges she was gang-raped by co-workers while working for a military contractor in Iraq will go to court instead of arbitration, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday.

A divided three-judge panel from the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans ruled Jamie Leigh Jones' federal lawsuit against Halliburton Co., former subsidiary KBR and several affiliates can be tried in open court.

The companies contended Jones signed an agreement that required claims against the companies to be resolved privately through arbitration.

Continue reading "Appeals Court Sends KBR Contractor's Case to Court " »

The world's delivery giant, United Parcel Service, has been receiving some unwanted packages these days from the federal government: lawsuits.

Last weekl, in what the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is calling a "major class lawsuit," UPS was sued in federal court in Chicago for allegedly denying sufficient medical leave to disabled employees. The Thursday suit claims UPS sets arbitrary deadlines for returning to work after medical treatment -- in one case firing an employee who would have exceeded its 12-month leave policy by mere weeks -- in violation of federal law.

Just two months ago, UPS settled a religious discrimination lawsuit with the EEOC in Tennessee, in which the company was accused of requiring a 19-year driver to work past sundown on his Sabbath, which violated his beliefs as a member of the United Church of God. UPS denied that it engaged in discrimination, but agreed to pay $23,500 in damages to the employee.

Continue reading "EEOC Delivers Lawsuit Over UPS Medical Leave Policy" »

When she was thrown out of nursing school just 13 weeks before graduating, Sara Castle was humiliated.

Still, she knew she and her classmates weren’t getting the clinical training they needed because an instructor repeatedly dismissed students early — a practice Castle exposed, and the teacher was fired.

But Castle, too, was a casualty as Appalachian Technical College expelled her for, she asserts, blowing the whistle.

This week a jury awarded Castle $450,000 for the ordeal. The 55-year-old never finished her degree.

Continue reading "Jury Awards Whistle-Blower Student $450,000" »

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced a major settlement of a discrimination lawsuit under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act against Lowe’s Home Improvement Warehouse, Inc. for $1.72 million and significant remedial relief on behalf of three employees in their twenties who were subjected to a pervasive sexually hostile work environment and retaliated against for complaining about it.

The former employees, two young men and one woman, were subjected to widespread and repeated sexual harassment by male and female managers and coworkers at a Lowe’s store in Longview, Wash. The sexually hostile workplace, which endured for more than six months, included physical and verbal abuse which culminated in one instance of sexual assault.

Continue reading "Rampant Sex Harassment Costs Lowe’s $1.7 M in Settlement of EEOC Lawsuit" »

A federal court jury sided with a Suffolk Park Police officer who claimed she was discriminated against when her employer denied her request for a "light-duty" assignment when she became pregnant in 2007.

Tara Germain, who was given the choice to either work during her pregnancy or take unpaid leave, prevailed on several claims she made against Suffolk County, as jurors found that her civil rights were violated.

"We are really happy," said Janice Goodman, an attorney who argued the case before U.S. District Court Judge Arthur Spatt with Gillian Thomas, an attorney for Legal Momentum, a women's rights group formerly known as the NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund.

"We believe the rights of women have been affirmed a second time on the issue of not forcing a woman to have to choose between her job and having a family," Goodman added, referring to an earlier case against Suffolk County involving pregnant officers.

Continue reading "Jury Finds Pregnant Officer was Discriminated Against" »

A federal agency has been ordered to rehire an ex-worker until an appeals board can hold a hearing on his whistleblower claim that he was fired in retaliation for telling his boss two co-workers illegally shot mountain lions from a government airplane in Nevada.

An administrative law judge granted Gary Strader's motion for reinstatement because Strader presented enough evidence to suggest there is a "substantial likelihood" he will prevail in his case against the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services, where he worked as a professional hunter in northeast Nevada until his firing in April.

Continue reading "Nevada Whistleblower Gets Job Back" »

An East Texas company must pay black workers more than $3 million in back pay as damages in a class action lawsuit charging racial discrimination, a federal judge has ruled.

U.S. District Judge Ron Clark said Lufkin Industries Inc. must pay the workers $3.1 million as well as 5 percent interest to compensate them for acts of discrimination dating to 1994.

A bench trial in 2005 found that the company unlawfully made initial assignment and promotion decisions that discriminated against black workers.

"Lufkin Industries has been profiting for years from its policy of unlawful discrimination," wrote Clark, who succeeded Cobb on the bench in the Eastern District of Texas. "At the same time, as Judge Cobb found, Lufkin's CEO was indulged with a corporate jet and pilot and in 2002 a paycheck three times that of the president of the United States."

Continue reading "Texas Company to Pay $3M to Black Workers " »

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has sued Kmart Corp., alleging that the discount retailer fired an employee at a store after discovering he uses a cane to help him walk and stand.

Alonzo McGlone worked as a greeter at the Kmart store in Norfolk in September 2004, according to the commission, which filed its lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Norfolk. It charged that Kmart discriminated against McGlone and violated the federal Americans with Disabilities Act by refusing to let him use a cane and denying him work because of his disability, a debilitating back impairment known as spinal stenosis.

Continue reading "EEOC Suit Claims Kmart Fired Man for Using a Cane" »

Starbucks agreed to pay a former lead network engineer in Seattle $120,000 plus a mediator's fee to settle a lawsuit that alleges racial discrimination and retaliation "so severe that it required him to take a medical leave of absence."

Victor Washington, who is African-American and worked for Starbucks from September 2006 until May 2008, alleges in the July 2008 lawsuit that a white co-worker made racist comments to him such as repeatedly telling him to "fetch" the co-worker's umbrella and tie his shoes for him. In the lawsuit, Washington says he complained to his supervisor and to Starbucks' human resources department, and that they took no action, although the supervisor increased his workload and gave him undesirable assignments.

Continue reading "Starbucks Pays $120,000 to Settle Racial Discrimination Lawsuit" »

A federal court jury in Denver awarded $3 million to a former United Airlines employee after finding the company retaliated against her for complaining about discrimination.

The jury deliberated about seven hours before reaching a verdict.

Jennifer McInerney, 37, of Centennial lost her job as a United ramp-services supervisor in March 2006 after 12 years with the company. She has a disabled 3-year-old son.

McInerney asked for alternative jobs in May 2005 because she anticipated complications with her pregnancy. She said the request was denied and her son was born 11 weeks premature.

Continue reading "Jury Awards $3 M to United Airlines Employee who Complained of Discrimination" »

Attorneys for 14 female Hayward police officers who said they had faced systematic harassment based on their gender or sexual orientation announced today the case has been settled for nearly $5 million.

The officers had been seeking unspecified damages for discrimination that they said went back to 1982 and continued up through early 2008, said attorney Stan Casper.

Hayward officials said attorneys will determine how the money will be divvied up among the officers.

The lawsuit was settled through the city's insurance companies, which are responsible for paying it.

Continue reading "Hayward CA Police Harassment Lawsuit Settled For $5 M" »

An Arizona woman has filed suit against GoDaddy.com Inc., alleging the Scottsdale company failed to stop a co-worker from sexually harassing her and that it fired her when she complained.

Rachel R. Pearson filed the suit in U.S. District Court for Arizona. She seeks an unspecified amount for back pay, compensation for emotional pain and other losses, and punitive damages.

Go Daddy general counsel Christine Jones denied that Pearson was subjected to sexual harassment or retaliation and said the company intends to vigorously defend itself.

"Go Daddy takes all complaints of employee misconduct seriously. We thoroughly investigated Ms. Pearson's allegations and could not substantiate them," Jones said.

Continue reading "Woman Sues Go Daddy, Claims Harassment And Wrongful Termination" »

A Texas tubing company agreed to pay $175,000 to a former employee it fired less than a month after he complained of racially offensive comments.

The recent agreement settles a lawsuit that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed against Maverick Tube Corp. in 2007 for retaliation, according to the consent decree.

Maverick Tube, which is a supplier of tubes to the energy industry, denies the allegations but entered into the settlement to avoid protracted litigation, according to the agreement.

Karen Gillen Allen, said the allegations were made by a former employee who was dismissed.

Continue reading "Conroe Texas Company Pays $175,000 to Former Employee" »

The late Harris County Constable Glen Cheek regularly referred to women in derogatory and obscene terms, made female employees do his personal shopping, did not properly promote them and fired a female deputy constable for something he would have forgiven a man.

But jurors in the federal sexual harassment and discrimination lawsuit filed by Kimberly Owen also heard Harris County attorney Lina Garcia say Owen was fired solely because she was charged with drunken driving. Garcia said Owen raised the gender allegations later because she won’t take responsibility for her own actions.

Opening statements were made in the case before U.S. District Judge Vanessa Gilmore Monday afternoon. Scott Newar, Owen’s lawyer, said this lawsuit against Harris County is about the way woman are treated in law enforcement throughout the county.

Continue reading "Ex-deputy Fights Harris County, Texas in Discrimination Case" »

A federal jury in Montgomery returned a $5.79 million verdict against Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama and a mid-level manager for sexual harassment, negligence and retaliation.

"The jury awarded double what we were asking for," said Birmingham attorney Alicia Haynes, represented former Hyundai employee Tammy Edwards. "They were upset at the negligence."

The jury, which returned its verdict, awarded $795,000 in compensatory and $5 million in punitive damages against Hyundai. The jury also returned a $10,000 punitive verdict against manager Mike Swindle after a nearly two-week trial before the U.S. District Court.

Continue reading "Jury Rules Against Hyundai for Sexual Harrassment" »

A Middlesex Superior Court judge has rebuked the city manager of Cambridge, saying his "reprehensible" behavior amounted to a systematic campaign to oust a city employee who had filed a discrimination complaint.

Continue reading "Cambridge MA Assessed $4.5 M in Bias Suit" »

Latino workers in California and Texas allegedly punished for speaking Spanish in their workplaces will be granted up to $450,000, free English classes and other relief under a consent decree approved this week in a class-action lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in Los Angeles.

The lawsuit alleged that Skilled Healthcare Group Inc. and affiliated firms, based in Orange County with facilities in six Western and Southern states, enforced an English-only rule against Latinos but not other ethnic groups speaking Tagalog and other languages.

Continue reading "Healthcare Firm Accused of Punishing Spanish-Speakers Settles Suit" »

The Minneapolis City Council voted overwhelmingly to settle a discrimination lawsuit brought by five black police officers against the city, the police department and Chief Tim Dolan.

The council voted 12-1 to pay the officers a total of $740,000 to settle the suit. The city admitted no guilt and will take no further action.

Lt. Don Harris will receive $187,668 from the settlement; Lt. Medaria Arradondo and Sgt. Charlie Adams each will get $187,666; Lt. Lee Edwards will receive $137,000; and Sgt. Dennis Hamilton will get $40,000.

The suit was filed in December 2007, claiming Dolan and other high-ranking police officials passed over the officers for promotions they deserved, discriminated against them because they were black, created a hostile work environment and retaliated against them.

The five officers claimed the department had long discriminated against blacks in virtually every aspect of the organization — hiring, training, promotion, disciplinary practices and overtime opportunities. They said discrimination worsened after Dolan became chief.

A federal jury awarded $2.3 M to a Los Angeles police officer who said she was sexually harassed and gave birth to a stillborn child because of the stress.

Officer Melissa Borck, 45, said she suffered discrimination and abuse while she was at the Los Angeles Police Department's Valley Traffic Division in 1996, and was retaliated against for reporting the harassment to Internal Affairs. The unanimous jury verdict comes a decade after Borck first filed the lawsuit in April, 1999. A mistrial was declared after her first trial in 2007 because of juror misconduct.

Continue reading "ury Awards $2.3 M in LAPD Harassment Case" »

A New Jersey jury has awarded an UPS employee $1 million after finding that his bosses at United Parcel Service retaliated against him after he complained that managers were violating company policies.

In his lawsuit, 51-year-old Michael Battaglia said he was demoted and assigned to the night shift after lodging his complaints in October 2005.

Following a month long trial in state Superior Court in New Brunswick, a jury found that UPS violated New Jersey's anti-discrimination and whistleblower protection laws.

It awarded Battaglia $500,000 for economic losses and $500,000 for emotional distress.

On Aug. 29, 2008 a jury awarded $3.3 million to an emergency medical technician who said her employer transferred her after she complained that she had been sexually assaulted and harassed by a co-worker.

In 2004, Kathy Nieves told management at East Texas Medical Center EMS that she had been harassed at work and assaulted in her home by Jeremy Cox, also an EMT.

Cox denied the allegations and subsequently accused Nieves of harassment. Nieves claimed that in retaliation for her complaints, East Texas reprimanded her, transferred her and precluded her from working in Coffman County.

The defense argued that Nieves and Cox had a consensual sexual relationship and that Nieves was transferred for legitimate business reasons.

The jury sided with Nieves and awarded her $1.8 million for emotional distress and lost wages and $1.5 million for punitive damages.

Nieves v. East Texas Medical Center EMS, No. 69987

Court: 40th District Court, Ellis County

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., will pay $17.5 million to settle a lawsuit claiming the company discriminated against African-Americans in recruiting and hiring truck drivers.

The lawsuit was filed in 2004 by Daryal Nelson, who claimed he was rejected for a truck-driver position because of his race. Nelson filed the suit in federal court in Helena, Arkansas, on behalf of all black applicants who believe they were rejected or deterred from applying for the positions because of race. The lawsuit was given class-action, or group, status in May 2007.

Wal-Mart’s motions to dismiss the case or decertify the class were denied last month.

Continue reading "Wal-Mart to Pay $17.5 M Racial Bias Settlement " »

More workers are being let go as corporate layoffs have accelerated in recent weeks. And more often, people are looking around and complaining that they have been unfairly or improperly dismissed.

Former employees of Lehman Brothers, say they were not given the required 60 days’ pay before their jobs vanished, while Dell is being sued over allegations of age and sex discrimination against workers.

Continue reading "Layoffs Lead To Employee Lawsuits" »

A Travis County jury has awarded a woman $900,000 after finding that she was fired from her job at a state civil rights agency for complaining about discrimination against minorities at the agency.

The jury arrived at the verdict after a six-day trial in a lawsuit that Marilou Morrison filed against the Texas Commission on Human Rights and the Texas Workforce Commission.

The agency that is supposed to enforce civil rights is being hit with basically a million dollar judgment for violating the very statutes they are required to enforce.

Continue reading "Texas Workforce Commission Loses Suit For Wrongful Termination" »

Workers who cooperate with their employers' internal investigations of discrimination may not be fired in retaliation for implicating colleagues or superiors, according to a unanimous Supreme Court ruling.

The court voted to reverse the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' ruling that the anti-retaliation provision of Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act does not apply to employees who merely cooperate with an internal probe rather than complain on their own or take part in a formal investigation.

Continue reading "Supreme Court Rules For Worker Over Retaliation" »

Thirty-four veteran San Francisco police officers alleged in their lawsuit that the SFPD was passing them over for promotion to inspector because of their ages.

The officers, who have been on a waiting list since they passed an inspector's exam in 1998, were stymied by "unchecked age bias that pervades the culture of the department," according to the complaint filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco.

Instead of promoting longtime officers to a position that offers more responsibilities and higher pay, the Police Department began to assign some of its sergeants last year to inspectors' jobs at its investigations bureau. The sergeants are younger and less qualified and have never taken an inspector's exam, the suit said.

Continue reading "34 S.F. Police Officers Sue For Age Discrimination" »