One of the more significant decisions of 2006 was handed down by the California Supreme Court regarding the recordation of phone calls. In Kearney v. Solomon Smith Barney, the court held that all phone calls with California residents must comport with California’s Privacy Act, which prohibits any person from monitoring or recording a telephone [...]
A federal jury returned a guilty verdict in a rare Occupational Safety and Health Act (“OSHA”)criminal prosecution, finding an electrical contractor liable for the 1999 electrocution death of a novice lineman. Federal prosecutors accused the company, L.E. Myers, of willfully violating five OSHA provisions. The contractor faces a maximum penalty of five years probation [...]
A state appeals court recently overturned a New York City law requiring city contractors and vendors to extend employee benefits to domestic partners ( Council of the City of New York v. Bloomberg, N.Y. App. Div. No. 5995 3/15/05). The New York City Council passed the law (Local Law 27) in July 2004 citing states [...]
In Stonehill College v. Massachusetts Comm’n Against Discrimination, a 6-1 decision handed down May 6, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court reversed a six-year policy allowing employers the constitutional right to a jury trial in state discrimination cases. The decision overruled the Court’s prior decision in Lavelle v. MCAD, a 1997 case where the Court [...]
In March 2004, a federal judge held Calhoon MEBA Engineering School, a Maryland school for marine officers, was entitled to summary judgment on an African American maintenance employee’s racial harassment claims, even though the school’s equal employment opportunity policies had “stark deficiencies.” The school’s policy required all employees to report incidents of harassment to [...]