January 30th, 2009 by Leeds Morelli & Brown
President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently took office leaving their former positions in the Senate empty. Different states have different procedures for naming replacements to fill out senate terms. In Illinois and New York it falls to the State’s governor to appoint a temporary senator. Due to the recent controversy involving Illinois Governor Blagojevich however, Senator Russ Feingold (D Wisconsin) is calling for a Constitutional amendment that would require that a special election be held to fill the seat. http://thepage.time.com/feingold-statement-on-amendment-proposal/ . Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Employment Law |
January 28th, 2009 by Leeds Morelli & Brown
Leeds Morelli & Brown, P.C.::Legal Blog
CNN reports that the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act has passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 250-277. If signed into law, this Bill will overturn a 2007 Supreme Court decision that made it difficult for individuals to bring pay discrimination claims by removing a 180-day deadline by which pay discrimination complaints must be filed. Thus, if signed into law, the Fair Pay Act will make it easier for women to sue employers for pay inequity regardless of when the discrimination took place. According to Fox News, the approved legislation declares that each paycheck a worker receives can represent a new violation, thereby renewing the statute of limitations with each pay period. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Discrimination, Employment Law |
January 16th, 2009 by Leeds Morelli & Brown
People magazine reports that Naomi Campbell has settled a legal dispute with her former housekeeper, Gaby Gibson. The supermodel’s employee claimed she was struck by Campbell and verbally abused when the employee could not find a pair of jeans. The settlement is sealed, but People magazine reports that both Campbell and her former housekeeper are satisfied with the agreement. Campbell has a history of violent behavior, having been found guilty of assaulting two police officers in London’s Heathrow airport last April. For full article: http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20252750,00.html?cnn=yes Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Employment Law |
January 11th, 2009 by Leeds Morelli & Brown
Leeds Morelli & Brown:: Law Firm Blog
The Chicago Tribune reports that new Congressional legislation, which the House scheduled to vote, January 9, http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/la-na-discriminate9-2009jan09,0,1545474.story , seeks to undo a Supreme Court decision which dismissed a workplace discrimination lawsuit brought by Lilly Ledbetter against Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company. Ledbetter is a woman who was paid less than her male co-workers for nearly 20 years.
Ledbetter, who alleged she was paid much less than comparable male employees for nearly two decades, won at the trial level, but the Supreme Court ruled in 2007 that Ledbetter had not brought a timely action. The Court held that Ledbetter should have filed suit within six months of Goodyear’s discriminatory pay decision based on her gender; however, Ledbetter discovered the pay discrimination late in her career. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Civil Rights |
January 7th, 2009 by Leeds Morelli & Brown
Leeds Morelli & Brown,LLP::Divorce Legal Post
CNN reports that Bruce Jeffrey Pardo, the man who dressed up as Santa Claus and went on a shooting rampage in the Los Angeles suburb of Covina on Christmas Eve targeting his ex-wife and her family may have also had plans to kill his own mother and his ex-wife’s divorce attorney, according to the Covina Police Department. Pardo committed suicide just hours after he embarked on a shooting escapade at the home of his ex-wife, Sylvia Ortega Pardo, killing nine people on Christmas Eve and setting a raging fire to his ex-wife’s home. Pardo had also left a rental car with a gasoline canister outside the home of Scott Nord, his ex-wife’s divorce attorney.
A divorce between Pardo and Sylvia Ortega Pardo had been finalized in court on December 18, a mere six days before the murders. Covina Police Chief Kim Raney described the divorce as a “somewhat contentious proceeding,” according to CNN.com.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/12/30/santa.shooting/index.html
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Divorce |
January 5th, 2009 by Leeds Morelli & Brown
New Hampshire’s Superior Court system has announced it will be halting jury trials for the month of January, in an effort to save money. New Hampshire is suffering from a state budget crisis, facing a $250 million revenue shortfall this year. Approximately $73,000 will be saved by suspending jury trials, which is the monthly amount spent on stipends for jurors. Although this measure will avoid lay-offs in the judicial system, it will have a negative effect on plaintiffs and defendants awaiting trial. In New Hampshire’s largest counties, Hillsborough and Rockingham, it has been reported some 179 criminal and civil trials planned for February and March have been rescheduled. The New York Times has reported that at least 20 state court systems are facing a deficit, and that those in Arizona, California, Florida, Michigan and Minnesota were suffering the most. For full article: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/09/us/09court.html?scp=2&sq=New%20Hampshire&st=cse Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Employment Law |