In many discrimination, harassment, and retaliation claims, a plaintiff can only receive punitive damages if the offending behavior involved a “managing agent.” Punitive damages means additional money is awarded to the plaintiff above and beyond tangible damages, in order to try to deter future offensive conduct and reform the defendants. Punitive damages can be substantial… Read More
Posts Categorized In: Employment Agreements and Termination
Oregon Senator Defends Nuclear Whistleblower
The Hanford Nuclear Reservation has long been a health and environmental concern for Oregonians. Hanford is the most contaminated site in the nation, and many of the underground tanks holding nuclear waste are leaking. If the waste is not properly treated, the Columbia River and surrounding communities could be compromised. In 2010, a URS Corp…. Read More
Wal-Mart Fires Assistant Manager for Facebook Post
A recent story from New York raises many employment issues that hit home in Washington. A Hamburg, New York Wal-Mart assistant manager posted an anti-Muslim comment and picture on his Facebook page that got him fired. The man claims that it started off as a joke and then it went wrong. He posted a picture… Read More
Shutdowns, Layoffs, and Unemployment Benefits
While the federal government has moved beyond its most recent shutdown and Hanford employees avoided getting their furlough notices, Huffington Post has reported that some 70,000 government workers filed for unemployment during the first week of the shutdown. Those who do receive the unemployment benefits will have to pay it back in full, but the… Read More
Undercover Cop Investigates Employer Abuse and Wage Theft
Imagine working 50, 60, 70 hours a week helping to construct a multimillion dollar, state-of-the-art public building one sheet of drywall at a time. Now imagine that you only receive six dollars an hour, are threatened by your employer, denied workers compensation for on the job injuries, and could be fired at any moment if… Read More
Wrongful Discharge Claims: Do Other Available Remedies Matter?
State public policies regarding wrongful discharge claims are—literally and figuratively—all over the map. For instance, in some states, an employee can sue for wrongful discharge under contract law if he or she can show an implied contract for permanent employment and improper or arbitrary termination. Other states disallow this type of claim. A recent hot… Read More
Wells Fargo Faces Same-Sex Sexual Harassment Suit
The EEOC recently announced that it is filing a sexual harassment lawsuit against Wells Fargo. The lawsuit is being brought on behalf of four former bank tellers from a Reno, Nevada branch. The former bank tellers claim that their branch manager and another employee created a hostile workplace. According to the EEOC’s report, their manager… Read More
Seattle Man Unable to Find Employment After Wrongful Conviction Sues State
A 53-year-old Seattle man has become one of the first to sue the state for compensation for his wrongful conviction, time served in prison, and his inability to secure long-term employment. The Seattle P-I reports that James Simmons, a former IT professional who was charged, convicted and served a year in jail for dealing cocaine,… Read More
Whistleblowers Both Lose and Win Big in Recent Cases
Government whistleblowers shunned In this day and age, government employees are (and should be) increasingly hesitant to report abuses on the part of their government agency employers and superiors. In light of the growing number of highly publicized government whistleblower prosecutions, no one can blame them for their reluctance. A new documentary, “War on Whistleblowers:… Read More
Local Nuclear Whistleblower Loses Job
A Hanford Nuclear Reservation whistleblower has lost his job. Walter Tamosaitis worked for URS Corporation for over 40 years before he was laid off a few weeks ago. In 2010, Tamosaitis raised safety concerns and was subsequently demoted from the project he was managing. Despite the demotion and even though he filed a lawsuit over… Read More