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| Across the country, the
federal effort to flush out illegal immigrants is having major effects on workers and employers
alike. Some companies have reluctantly raised wages to attract new workers following raids at their
plants. |
| (Source: The New York Times (free reg. req'd),
2007-10-12) |
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| Its years as the nation's
largest employer a distant memory, General Motors Corp. may still be setting the trend for
corporate-worker relations in shedding its obligation for the health care of 340,000 retirees. GM
says its historic deal with the United Auto Workers as part of a new four-year labor contract will
transfer $46.7 billion in retiree health care liability to a trust fund that will be administered
by the union. |
| (Source: BusinessWeek, 2007-10-15) |
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| In another step toward
reversing labor law rulings by judicial bodies, the House is on its way to passing a bill that
would limit the number of employees who could be classified as supervisors. The one-page measure,
which passed the House Education and Labor Committee on a party-line vote last month, would strike
the words "assign" and "responsibility to direct" from the definition of supervisor in the National
Labor Relations Act. |
| (Source: Workforce Management,
2007-10-10) |
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| Changes in attitudes toward
sexual harassment in the workplace in the last 15 years might easily boil down to a tale of two
Thomases: Clarence and Isiah. While the outcomes of the two cases couldn't be more different, that
early accusation helped lead to a sea change that paved the way for the recent eye-popping $11.6
million verdict for the Knicks' accuser, according to Columbia University law professor Suzanne
Goldberg. |
| (Source: Asbury Park Press,
2007-10-15) |
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| As the Bush administration and
Congress sit gridlocked on an immigration overhaul, states are jumping into the debate as never
before. In the process, they are creating a national patchwork of incongruous immigration laws that
some observers fear will make it far more difficult to enact any comprehensive, federally mandated
bill down the line. |
| (Source: The Washington Post (free reg. req'd),
2007-10-15) |
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| A Hilton pit boss and his wife
are suing the United Auto Workers for $100 million, claiming the union libeled, slandered and
intentionally caused them emotional distress during an organizing drive at the casino last spring.
The alleged harassment was prompted by Atlantic City Hilton Casino Resort management's recruitment
of longtime employee Wayne Chiw, who is Chinese-American, in January to help discourage Chinese and
other Asian and Asian-American dealers from joining the UAW, according to the lawsuit that was filed
in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia. |
| (Source: pressofatlanticcity.com,
2007-10-14) |
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| That some people believe they
can openly date co-workers without endangering their job reflects what those who study the
workplace and several surveys suggest: the conventional wisdom about dating the heart-stirrer in
the next cubicle is going the way of Wite-Out. Despite years of stern warnings about the pitfalls
of seeking love in the shadow of the water cooler -- touched off by the heightened consciousness of
sexual harassment in the 1990s -- more workers think dating a colleague is not only acceptable, but
logical. |
| (Source: The New York Times (free reg. req'd),
2007-10-11) |
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| Today's workplace is all about
Generation Y when it comes to recruiting. At least that's how employers see it, and they're
beginning to shower this group with perks unheard of by older workers who battled to get their
collective feet in the career door. |
| (Source: MSNBC, 2007-10-14) |
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| An upscale New York strip club
was sued by a former bartender who says the wait staff and dancers were cheated out of tips. Siri
Diaz filed suit in U.S. District Court in Manhattan against Scores, charging that it paid her and
others a subminimum wage while also taking a share of their tips. |
| (Source: Reuters, 2007-10-10) |
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| A federal judge approved a $46
million settlement of a class-action lawsuit filed by a group of women alleging gender
discrimination by their employer, investment bank Morgan Stanley. Six women sued the securities
firm last year, alleging that female financial advisers and trainees were discriminated against in
compensation, promotion, work assignments and other areas. |
| (Source: CNNMoney.com, 2007-10-11) |
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Ryan Metzing
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An employee voluntarily transferred out of one work group of coworkers, whom she had complained
created a hostile work environment, into an entirely new group of coworkers. She worked with the
new group for two years before she filed any charge of discrimination with the EEOC. Can she now
cite the conduct of both groups of coworkers in support of one hostile work environment claim,
despite the fact that some of the conduct occurred more than 300 days before she filed her
charge?
Read the entire article about hostile
work environment claims.
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As employers continue to await
Congress' response to the growing illegal immigration situation in this country, Immigration and
Customs Enforcement (ICE) continues to promote its new focus on worksite enforcement and employer
sanctions, including the addition of more worksite enforcement agents and increased budget for this
new enforcement priority. You have likely already read about a number of high‑publicity raids
and federal indictments against employers, business owners, and even supervisors. Considering this
significant shift in the agency's priorities, all employers must take note.
Read the entire bulletin for more information about immigration
enforcement.
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Scott James Preston
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Sir Winston the Cat
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Scott James Preston never considered
himself an animal person. In fact, he's allergic to cats. Scott, who spent seven years with a global
law firm in Los Angeles before joining Ice Miller, was used to traveling extensively and working
long hours. He had neither the time nor the inclination for pets. When Sir Winston the Cat
(pictured above) appeared at Scott and his wife's California doorstep with an injured tail, his
wife wanted to take the stray to the vet. Although Scott is a strong advocate, he conceded at his
wife's insistence. "What I didn't realize," Scott says, " was that the cat would be living in our
house. Forever." A year after moving to Indianapolis in 2004, Scott and his wife found two more
kittens living in their home-remodeling construction dumpster. Winston now has two companions to
keep him young, and Scott takes three different asthma medications just to combat his allergies. "I
know I am just one cat away from being that crazy cat guy down the street." For now, though, three
cats are plenty - and Sir Winston still rules the roost.
Scott is of counsel in the Firm's Labor and Employment Practice Group focusing on employment
litigation.
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