Recent Updates
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Court to rule on pension credit for old maternity leaves
Recent Cases 06/22/2008The Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether decades-old maternity leaves should count in determining pensions.The issue has split federal appeals courts and could become increasingly important as women who took maternity leaves in the 1960's and 7...
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Social Security Mismatch Wasn't Grounds To Fire
Recent Cases 06/18/2008Thirty-three janitors at the Los Angeles Lakers' arena were wrongfully fired for not responding quickly enough to a request to provide a correct Social Security number, the 9th Circuit ruled. Aramark Facilities Services received a "no-match" letter f...
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Court Overturns $101M Tax Refund To Texaco
Recent Cases 06/17/2008The 9th Circuit rejected Texaco's bid for a $101 million tax refund on the $1.25 billion settlement it paid the government for selling oil and gas above the price ceilings set by federal regulations. The judges reversed judgment for Texaco, now a sub...
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Court OK's Discrimination Suit Against Restaurant
Recent Cases 06/12/2008A California appeals court reinstated the discrimination claims of a disabled customer who was ridiculed and denied service at a restaurant. Ron Wilson followed his occasional visits to Murillo's Mexican Food with letters to owner Frances Murillo, su...
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Shareholders Sue Baker Hughes For Bribery
Recent Cases 06/09/2008Directors of Baker Hughes, worldwide oil services, failed to stop bribing foreign officials despite a court order to do so, shareholders claim in Federal Court. Shareholders say the "Code of Conduct" the company instituted in 2002, after the SEC sued...
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Yoko Ono, Sean Lennon Can't Block Movie
Recent Cases 06/03/2008A federal judge has denied Yoko Ono's and Sean Lennon's request that producers of the movie, "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed" be prohibited from distributing it because it contains 15 seconds of the John Lennon tune, "Imagine." U.S. District Judge...
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Fire Paramedics In Philly Win Overtime Pay Appeal
Recent Cases 06/02/2008More than 300 paramedics for the Philadelphia Fire Department won the right to receive overtime pay in a 3rd Circuit ruling. The court voted 2-1 to reject the city's argument that fire service paramedics fall under an exemption from Fair Labor Standa...
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Lawyer Says Cook County Clerk Defamed Him
Recent Cases 05/28/2008An attorney claims the Cook County Clerk defamed him to TV news to retaliate for his informing another news station that the clerk had allegedly "confessed to using court funds to acquire three luxury SUVs to chauffeur her to the office and home agai...
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Shareholder Class Action
Recent Cases 05/23/2008Shareholders sued Calpine Corp. and its directors, claiming they are selling Calpine too cheaply to NRG Energy, for $23 a share, or $9.6 billion, a 6.7% premium over market price, in Harris County Court, Houston. Shareholders clai...
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Court Says Cop's Criticism Isn't Protected Speech
Recent Cases 05/22/2008An Illinois State Police officer was not wrongfully transferred for accusing his superiors of sabotaging his investigation of a cold-case murder, the 7th Circuit ruled. Plaintiff Michale Callahan filed a First Amendment retaliation claim against his ...
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Ex-Lottery Commissioner Loses Conviction Appeal
Recent Cases 05/20/2008The 4th Circuit upheld the conviction and sentencing of ex-North Carolina lottery commissioner Kevin Geddings, who concealed the fact that he had a conflict of interest with a lottery vendor. A federal jury convicted Geddings of five counts of mail f...
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Skycaps File National Class Action
Recent Cases 05/16/2008Employers are cheating airport skycaps nationwide by paying them less than minimum wage and discouraging tipping by charging a $2 per bag "baggage fee," which customers falsely believe will be given to the skycaps, the skycaps say in a federal class ...