Florence-Myrtle Beach Personal Injury Lawyer - Workplace Discrimination

Whistlblowers awarded $540,000 in punitive damages

Will Parker — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 17:03:00 GMT

Recently, $540,000 was awarded to three former Texas Southern students who spoke out upon uncovering a financial scandal. The individuals all kicked out of school and temporarily charged with committing a crime where awarded $350,000 in punitive damages in addition to the $190,000 previously awarded to aid with their loss.

“The awarded amount was intended to send a message to the University letting them know that retaliation against whistle-blowers won't be tolerated and we wanted to send a message that this should not happen again — the violation of First Amendment rights and the false arrest,"

As quoted, "The battle is not over yet because of the appellate process," said Brown. "But I'm glad the jury sent a message to the community that if you oppress someone's rights, society will not stand for it."

Even though compensation has been awarded, an appeal is evident states Peter Plotts, the assistant attorney general who represented TSU. He stated that some of the jurors admitted to discussing the case outside the court and because of one juror admitted to the fact, they were excused before the punitive damages were decided and thus could be points on appeal.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Will Parker

Workers refused earned Compensation by local New York Grocery Store Chain

Will Parker — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 17:02:00 GMT

A federal judge has ruled that Gristede’s, a New York based grocery shopping store violated federal and state laws by failing to pay overtime to hundreds of lower-level managers at its supermarkets.

After reviewing the case, it was determined the supermarkets’ department heads and so-called co-managers were hourly employees who were entitled to overtime pay. The 400 current and former managers are predicting a settlement of at least 25 million.

Gristede’s argued the employees were salaried executive workers and under federal and state law, are generally exempt from receiving time-and-a-half pay for overtime. However the judge assigned the case found they were not salaried because the company often deducted money from their paychecks when they missed part of a day.

The attorney for Gristede’s, said the company planned to appeal. He also stated Gristede’s policies are consistent with industry standards.” “These managers have been treated historically as salaried employees, not just by Gristede’s, but by the supermarket industry.”

As negotiations continue, it will be interesting to see the outcome of this case and whether or not the “employees” are deemed salaried or not.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Will Parker

Olive Garden Parent Company Settles Possible Class-Action Wage Lawsuit

Will Parker — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:10:39 GMT

The Orlando Sentinel reports Olive Garden and Red Lobster restaurant chains' parent company, Darden Restaurants, agreed to pay $700,000 to settle a possible class-action lawsuit over its wage practices. In the lawsuit, Olive Garden allegedly failed to pay servers minimum shift payments as well as the legal minimum wage. Darden Restaurants previously paid $4 million to settle the same type of claims by employees at California Red Lobster and Olive Garden locations. - Staff, Orlando Sentinel.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Will Parker