Recent Updates

  • Supreme Court Rules Against Steelworkers' Claim

    Supreme Court Rules Against Steelworkers' Claim

    Labor & Employment 01/30/2014

    The Supreme Court says steelworkers do not have to be paid for time they spend putting on and taking off protective gear they wear on the job. The court was unanimous Monday in ruling in favor of United States Steel Corp. over workers' claims that th...

  • Court overturns $1M award against U of M, Smith

    Court overturns $1M award against U of M, Smith

    Labor & Employment 08/08/2012

    The Minnesota Supreme Court has overturned a $1 million award against the University of Minnesota and men's basketball coach Tubby Smith over the hiring of an assistant coach. Jimmy Williams quit his job as an assistant coach at Oklahoma State in 200...

  • Calif. jury awards $167M in sexual harassment suit

    Calif. jury awards $167M in sexual harassment suit

    Labor & Employment 03/03/2012

    A Northern California jury has awarded $167 million to a former hospital employee who claimed in a lawsuit that she was sexually harassed at work and fired after she repeatedly complained. The federal court jury found Sacramento's Mercy General Hospi...

  • Calif high court hears debate over worker breaks

    Calif high court hears debate over worker breaks

    Labor & Employment 11/09/2011

    The California Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday in a high-interest case contending restaurant managers must order meal and rest breaks for tens of thousands of workers rather than leave compliance to their discretion. The case was initially...

  • EEOC sues, argues man on treatment should be hired

    EEOC sues, argues man on treatment should be hired

    Labor & Employment 08/18/2011

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has sued a national insurance company, contending the firm violated federal law by refusing to hire a North Carolina man after he disclosed he was participating in a methadone treatment program for a d...

  • Fight over Wis. union law heads to court

    Fight over Wis. union law heads to court

    Labor & Employment 03/29/2011

    A Wisconsin court hearing could offer some kind of clarity on whether a new law eliminating most of state workers' collective bargaining rights has gone into effect.Republican Gov. Scott Walker's administration insists it has, while other state and m...

  • Unions protest NM governor's firing of labor board

    Unions protest NM governor's firing of labor board

    Labor & Employment 03/17/2011

    Members of labor unions in New Mexico turned to the state Supreme Court on Wednesday in a dispute with the governor over the Public Employee Labor Relations Board.Gov. Susana Martinez fired the board's executive director, Pam Gentry, on Feb. 5, then ...

  • GM hourly workers get $4,000 bonuses

    GM hourly workers get $4,000 bonuses

    Labor & Employment 02/14/2011

    General Motors Co. will pay more than $189 million in profit-sharing to 48,000 U.S. hourly workers and millions more in performance bonuses to salaried employees, according to a person briefed on the matter.The company, less than two years out of ban...

  • Dick's settles with former Neb. worker over pay

    Dick's settles with former Neb. worker over pay

    Labor & Employment 02/03/2011

    Dick's Sporting Goods Inc. has reached a settlement with a former employee over just payment for her work.Court records show U.S. District Judge Joseph Bataillon dismissed the lawsuit filed by Dannette Stackhouse, citing the settlement. Details were ...

  • Oscar Mayer employees seek pay for equipment time

    Oscar Mayer employees seek pay for equipment time

    Labor & Employment 12/14/2010

    Employees at the Oscar Mayer meat processing plant in Davenport, Iowa have filed a class action lawsuit seeking compensation for time they spend putting on and taking off their safety equipment.The lawsuit claims employees are not paid while they don...

  • Jobless rate rises to 9.8 pct. as job growth slows

    Jobless rate rises to 9.8 pct. as job growth slows

    Labor & Employment 12/03/2010

    The nation's unemployment rate climbed to 9.8 percent in November, a seven-month high, as hiring slowed.Employers added only 39,000 jobs last month, a sharp decline from the 172,000 created in October, the Labor Department reported Friday. The weakne...

  • Class of Undocumented Workers Sues Wal-Mart

    Class of Undocumented Workers Sues Wal-Mart

    Labor & Employment 10/18/2010

    In a federal class action, 42 named plaintiffs say Wal-Mart hired them knowing they were undocumented, stiffed them for overtime and for regular wages, paid them in cash or by personal checks from labor contractors, put them to forced labor through c...