| | Ohio University will a pay a former student $225,000 to settle claims that a former professor sexually harassed her. In the lawsuit, Christy L. Speakman alleged that the school failed to intervene when she complained that the professor, Yoshitomo Saito, made unwanted advances toward her. Saito resigned in 2005 after an investigation found that he had engaged in questionable conduct with more than one student. Randy Ludlow, Columbus Dispatch 12/28/2007 | |
| | A company that has admitted to polluting the groundwater near Elkhart, IN will pay to run outside water to the affected neighborhood as part of an agreement with environmental officials. Geocel Corp. reached the accord with the Indiana Department of Environmental Management following assurance that the state would not pursue legal action. Residents of the Meadow Farms neighborhood have been urged to limit their exposure to groundwater because of the contamination. AP, Indianapolis Star 12/28/2007 | |
| | The South Carolina Supreme Court has ruled that workers should be entitled to labor protections regardless of citizenship or immigration status. The case stemmed from a workers’ compensation claim filed by an illegal immigrant who was injured while working on a demolition job in the state. In the opinion, the court found that to deny workers’ compensation benefits to illegal workers would promote illegal behavior among unscrupulous employers. Robert Morris, The Sun News (Myrtle Beach) 12/28/2007 | |
| | A lawsuit filed by a North Carolina teacher who claims to have been demoted after becoming pregnant out of wedlock can move forward, a judge ruled last week. The Gaston County school board had filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit earlier this year. According to the federal complaint, the former Assistant Superintendent for Gaston County accused Heather Zampogna of immorality after becoming pregnant and moved her to a tutoring position at another elementary school. AP, Winston-Salem Journal 12/30/2007 | |
| | A group of retired Embarq Corp. employees have filed a class action lawsuit against the telephone company and Sprint Nextel Corp. alleging that the companies’ decision to cut retirement benefits violated federal protections. In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs claim that the move to eliminate medical coverage and reduce life insurance benefits for retirees violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. Attorneys estimate that the class could cover up 13,000 employees of Embarq and its former wireless parent company Sprint. David Twiddy, Winston-Salem Journal 01/01/2008 | |
| | A former Lockheed Martin employee will receive $2.5 million as part of a settlement with the military contractor, the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission announced Wednesday. According to the employee, the company ignored his complaints that co-workers and a supervisor had called him racially derogatory names and threatened him over a three year period. The settlement is believed to be the largest ever in an EEOC racial discrimination. Reuters, Reuters 01/02/2008 | |
| | More than a dozen states joined California Wednesday in a lawsuit that challenges a recent decision that blocks California rules that would have allowed the state to regulate pollutants that contribute to global warming. The lawsuit stems from an Environmental Protection Agency’s denial of a waiver for a 2002 state law that aimed to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent. States joining the lawsuit are Massachusetts, Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington. Margot Roosevelt, LA Times 01/03/2008 | |
| | The Nevada Supreme Court is scheduled to decide the extent of liability stadium owners should face for injuries suffered by fans that are hit by baseballs or are injured in other game-related accidents. A number of other states already have so-called “baseball rules” that limit liability for stadium owners. The case reached the state’s highest court after a lower court judge dismissed a lawsuit by a woman who was hit in the face with foul ball while at a minor league baseball game. Ken Ritter, San Diego Union Tribune 01/02/2008 | |
| | A federal civil rights lawsuit has accused the city of Pittsburgh of passing over a city police applicant because of his race. In the lawsuit, the former Pittsburgh Housing Authority police officer said that he was not selected as a city police recruit despite an agreement between the city and the housing authority that ranked applicants by seniority. Staff, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review 01/03/2008 | |
| | Health officials are looking for 44 passengers who may have been exposed to drug-resistant tuberculosis on a flight from India to the United States. According to officials, the passengers were seated in the rows surrounding aNorthern California woman who is infected with multi-drug-resistant TB. Authorities are concerned because the length of the 16-hour flight may have heightened the risk of exposure. Jia-Rui Chong, LA Times 01/03/2008 | |
| | A growing number of people are turning to prepaid funerals as a way to shield relatives from expenses during their time of grieving. In fact, prepaid funeral services represent a multibillion dollar industry that is touted by funeral home operators and the Federal Trade Commission. However, consumer and retiree groups caution that the practice has its pitfalls and abuses. David Ellison,Houston Chronicle 01/02/2008 | |
| | The results of a new study have shown that in nearly a third of cases hospital staffs take too long to respond to sudden cardiac arrests. The study, to be published in the New England Journal of Medicine estimates that the delays contribute to increased rates of brain damages and death each year. Data for the study were gathered from records at 369 hospitals where patients’ hearts stopped because of conditions that could be reversed using a defibrillator. Denise Grady, The New York Times 01/03/2008 | |
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