Survey: Departing partners usually short-timers
A national survey of lateral legal transition released Monday found that 53 percent of partners who left law firms had been there fewer than six years.
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Court rules against Menard on roofing company’s lawsuit for payment
The Indiana Court of Appeals ordered summary judgment entered in favor of a roofing services company on claims of breach of contract against Menard Inc., finding Menard was unable to establish a dispute of material fact as to its right to withhold payment.
Social media and Section 7 rights: employers under fire
Bose McKinney & Evans attorneys David Swider and Philip Zimmerly write about rights of employers in the age of social media.
Jury rulings stand in U.S. Steel carbon monoxide poisoning case
A jury’s determinations in a case brought by a contractor who suffered severe carbon monoxide poisoning working at the U.S. Steel plant in Gary were affirmed Wednesday by the Indiana Court of Appeals.
Are law offices gender neutral?
Equal work deserves equal pay. That was the mantra of those lobbying for the Equal Pay Act in 1963. President John F. Kennedy signed the bill into law, giving everyone, regardless of race or sex, the right to be paid equally for the same job.
Workers’ comp not sole remedy against AT&T entity for fall causing injury
A worker injured in a fall when she tripped on snow-covered legs of a construction sign placed near the AT&T building where she worked may proceed with a claim against one of the company’s corporate entities.
Worker’s Compensation Act is only remedy for injured employee
A construction worker injured on a job site will have to find remedy through the Indiana Worker’s Compensation Act after the Indiana Court of Appeals denied his attempt to sue a subcontractor.
Changes may prompt review of background check policies
For more than 20 years, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has taken the position that an employer’s use of applicants’ criminal history in making employment decisions may constitute discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended. The underlying premise has always been that because minorities are historically and statistically arrested and incarcerated at higher rates than their representation in the general population, the use of criminal records by employers in making hiring and retention decisions may be discriminatory.
Weighing all the risks in a workers’ compensation case
In A Plus Home Health Care Inc. v. Miecznikowski, the Indiana Court of Appeals confirmed that while the “positional risk doctrine” described by our Supreme Court in Milledge v. Oaks, 784 N.E.2d 926 (Ind. 2003), was defunct, the analysis of compensability of injuries under the neutral risk doctrine still applied. 983 N.E.2d 140, 143-144 (Ind. Ct. App. 2012) trans. denied, 985 N.E.2d 338 (Ind. 2013). When handling a workers’ compensation matter, practitioners need to be sure they conduct an appropriate analysis of all risk doctrines applicable to the claim.
Mandatory use of E-Verify could bring new headaches for US companies
The red hot economy of the 1990s demanded a steady supply of unskilled and semi-skilled labor, a demand that was often filled with undocumented workers. Cities across the Midwest openly welcomed these individuals. Companies, trying to feed an insatiable appetite for workers, were placing help-wanted ads in newspapers in other states.
Nigerian immigrant’s religious discrimination suit carries cautions for employers
Sikiru Adeyeye had a mission when his father died in Nigeria three years ago. Letters to his employer asking to take one week of paid vacation and several weeks off without pay expressed the urgency of his obligation.
Indiana law firms named among best for women
Three law firms based in Indiana or with offices in the state are among the 50 Best Law Firms for Women in the annual list compiled by Working Mother and consulting firm Flex-Time Lawyers LLC.
7th Circuit revives workplace religious discrimination suit
A Nigerian employee who asked his employer for time off work to attend his father’s burial rights and was fired when he returned is entitled to a day in court, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals held Wednesday.
7th Circuit: New indemnity provision does not release employer from liability
An employer will have to pay $4.23 million after the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals was unconvinced by the employer’s argument that language in a later contract superseded that of an earlier contract.
7th Circuit reverses sanctions against Plews Shadley, other firms in False Claims Act case
After finding that a federal court in Indianapolis erred in dismissing a former ITT Educational Services Inc. employee’s False Claims Act lawsuit, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the nearly $350,000 in sanctions imposed against three law firms representing the woman.
SCOTUS ruling limits worker harassment claims
The case of Vance v. Ball State University hinged on the definition of 'supervisor.'
More 2012 law grads find jobs, but overall employment rate dips
The overall employment rate for 2012 law school graduates is at the lowest its been in nearly 20 years, according to data released by NALP Thursday.
Prior knowledge of criminal history allows FSSA to disqualify employment
The Indiana Court of Appeals Friday concluded that a woman employed by a license-exempt child care ministry in Indianapolis can’t circumvent a prohibition from being employed at any child care ministry by relying on the Indiana Restricted Access Act.
7th Circuit rejects claim that FMLA should be extended to non-eligible employees
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed summary judgment for a transportation company on a fired worker’s claims that her termination violated the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Family and Medical Leave Act. The judges didn’t agree with the woman that FMLA protection should extend to non-eligible employees who request leave for future periods.
Court erred in barring expert witness in decade-old software suit
A trial court erred when it excluded the expert testimony of a witness who sought to address damages for a software company whose former employees allegedly violated non-compete clauses.