September 17, 2010

Constitution Day

What an honor it is to live in the United States. I am so proud and privileged to have the right to live here. Today is Constitution Day. A day when we honor the living document which is the final arbiter of the law of the land here in our United States of America. When I think of the Constitution my first thought is really not to the underlying document. I do not think so much about our tripartite government system of checks and balances. As important as those institutions and controls are to our very freedom, the first thing I think about when mentioning the Constitution is the Bill of Rights.

I think about Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Religion. It is probably just my own juvenile understanding of the depth of the many parts of this fantastic document that makes me focus on the most obvious of Rights, but hey, that's where I focus. So be it. And to be honest, those freedoms are being attacked as we speak and I can't help but feel like I am a part of the attack. I do not want the Cordoba House Mosque built near ground zero in New York. I had a knee jerk reaction against it and I have intellectualized my emotions and tried hard to be on the "side" of our Constitution and give these allegedly "peaceful" Muslims the right to worship and congregate lawfully in whatever commercial spots are properly zoned for that activity. I want to be a "Principled" American. Our President seems to stand firmly on this academic ground. I am not so cerebral as to be able to separate my emotional reaction to what I feel is right and wrong from my intellectual processing of rights and duties. There is a disconnect that I could not get over.

Continue reading "Constitution Day" »

September 14, 2010

Palm Beach Jury awards $8.1 million to fired cancer victim

As an employment law attorney, daily I fight for the rights of employees and against companies that violate Federal Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Laws. It is unfortunate that most employees do not understand their rights.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) enforces federal laws that prohibit job discrimination. A few federal laws that Prohibit Job Discrimination includes the following:
• Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin;
• The Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA), which protects men and women who perform substantially equal work in the same establishment from sex-based wage discrimination;
• The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA), which protects individuals who are 40 years of age or older;
• Title I and Title V of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended (ADA), which prohibit employment discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities in the private sector, and in state and local governments

In a recent Palm Beach County trial on employee disability discrimination, a jury awarded $8.1 million to a Delray Beach cancer victim who was fired by national retailer, Michaels Arts & Crafts. Can you believe that a national retailer with over 1000 stores nationwide could do something so outrageous?

According to the Palm Beach Post, the 47-year-old cancer Survivor had a double mastectomy in August 2008. Her boss at the Michaels Arts & Crafts store in Boca Raton repeatedly harassed her. Fearing that she would lose her job, she came back to work sooner than later. Her boss badgered her because of medical requests for time off. Despite complaining to HR and Corporate about her intolerable and insensitive boss, she was fired in October 2008, three months after her surgery.

The Jury cited with the employee that Michael’s Arts & Crafts acted with "malice and reckless indifference," and awarded $8.1 million for pain and suffering. It is great to know that there is hope for employees.

I applaud the Justice system and the efforts the attorneys that handled the case. I am thankful that justice prevailed and Michael’s Corporation was held responsible for their overreaching regional managers and supervisors.

A supervisor, boss, or employer may be in violation of Federal laws for one or more of the following:
• Demanding that an employee returns to work after a serious illness or surgical
procedure
• Threatening to terminate or demote an employee if the employee fails to return to work
• Terminating or demoting an employee that returns to work after recovering from an
illness

If your employer tries to harass or intimidate you prior to or after a major life threatening illness, seek legal counsel of an Employment Law Attorney for a determination of your legal rights.

Click on the following link to read more from the Palm Beach Post on the $8.1 million verdict for the fired cancer victim in Palm Beach County.