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Many Americans endure the frustration of insurance claim denial, whether for health, life, car, or homeowners’ policies. It seems that insurance companies will fight tooth and nail not to pay out a cent on claims. This leads policyholders to wonder why they pay insurance premiums when they wind up having to bear costs themselves. Medical insurance claims denials have seen an alarming rise during Covid-19, leaving many people saddled with astronomical hospital bills for treatment. Why do American insurers deny so many claims? Claimants lack legal representation Few people go to insurance lawyers unless it is for a substantial claim or they have ...
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Police brutality and misconduct can be a problem in the U.S. and black males are often the victims. The images of unarmed people of color being mistreated by police officers have become inescapable in the past year. Witnessing and experiencing police violence tends to burden victims and their communities with experiences of grief, loss, and other mental and physical health concerns. Police practices that violate civil liberties Recent research suggests that black men in the U.S. suffer from poor mental health due to their exposure to police killings. Young black people, especially those living in economically disadvantaged communities, are stopped, ...
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When you start any business, you usually begin by doing all of the tasks involved because you either can’t afford to hire a lot of people or that’s just how things naturally evolve. However, it’s important to pay special attention to your role as an employer especially when it comes to employment law. Learn About the Differences Between Employees and Contractors A lot of startups prefer independent contractors because they’re more cost-effective than permanent employees. Hiring an independent contractor can significantly reduce your overheads and you don’t have to include them in your medical or worker’s compensation insurance. ...
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In response to the current COVID-19 pandemic, NELA has created a hub to share information, resources, and announcements related to COVID-19 and its implications for workers’ rights attorneys, as well as our community. The microsite, www.nela.org/covid-19, will be updated regularly with updates on NELA programs, legislative updates, and other ways you can stay connected with the NELA community. It is likely the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic will be far-reaching and long-lasting. To ensure the safety of our staff, the NELA and Institute teams (California and Washington, D.C. offices) are working remotely at least through Friday, April 3 . Please be ...
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This guest blog is written by NELA member Jason M. Zuckerman and his associate Matt Stock. Zuckerman and Stock represent whistleblowers in whistleblower rewards and whistleblower retaliation claims. Matthew Stock, CPA, CFE, is the Director of the Whistleblower Rewards Practice at Zuckerman Law and is an attorney, Certified Public Accountant, Certified Fraud Examiner, and former KPMG external auditor. Prior to this year, there was a split of authority as to whether the anti-retaliation provision of the Dodd-Frank Act, 5 U. S. C. §78u– 6(h), protects internal whistleblowing. In February 2018, the Supreme Court resolved the split when it held in Digital ...
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This article was originally published February 20, 2018 as part of Law360.com's Expert Analysis Opinion Long overdue, the #MeToo movement has emerged to challenge workplace cultures that foster pervasive sexual harassment. Importantly, this is a movement and not just a moment. As Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg recently said, #MeToo has staying power. “I don’t think there will be a serious backlash,” she told CNN’s Poppy Harlow, “It’s too widespread.” [i] The movement is widespread because the problem infects nearly all corners of the economy. In 2016, the EEOC concluded that at least one in four people are affected by workplace harassment ...
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Join NELA President Jim Kaster in Chicago for our 2017 Trial Boot Camp. Below, Jim shares a few words about his 3rd time as a Trial Boot Camp Faculty Member. Motions, conferences, delays, and a general reluctance by some courts to go to trial make it increasingly unlikely that our cases will be resolved by juries. Because of this, it is hard to attain and retain the skills we all need to be successful trial advocates. If your practice fits this description, I urge you to sign up for the 2017 NELA Trial Boot Camp, taking place October 12–14 in Chicago, IL. The deadline to register as a Trial Boot Camp Advocate has been extended through this Friday, September ...
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Written by Elizabeth Colman, Paul H. Tobias Attorney Fellow, The Employee Rights Advocacy Institute For Law & Policy This October, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a trio of cases challenging whether employers can legally force workers to accept class and collective action bans as a condition of employment. Proponents of the bans argue that because they are contained in the employers’ forced arbitration clause, the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) requires courts to enforce the bans. Workers argue that forcing them to resolve all employment disputes in individual arbitration violates their right to engage in “concerted activities... ...
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On March 15, 2017, Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) introduced the Mandatory Arbitration Transparency Act of 2017 (MATA, S. 647 ). Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Al Franken (D-MN), Edward Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Patty Murray (D-WA), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) are cosponsors. The introduction of MATA represents a new approach to limit the harmful effects suffered by workers who are forced to arbitrate workplace claims. The bill prohibits enforcement of any predispute forced arbitration provision that contains a “covered confidentiality clause,” defined as communications that would violate a state or federal whistleblower statute, those involving ...
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On April 4, 2017 in honor of Equal Pay Day, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and Representative Rosa L. DeLauro (D-CT) reintroduced the Paycheck Fairness Act in the Senate and the House of Representatives, respectively. On average, women still earn only about 80 percent of what men earn. Women’s income comprises an increasingly greater share of family income. Pay inequity harms not only women, but also the families that rely on their income, and the economy overall. The Paycheck Fairness Act would go a long way toward eradicating the pay gap by placing the burden on employers to demonstrate that pay disparities are not sex-based, prohibiting retaliation against ...
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In documents submitted to the United States Senate Judiciary Committee, two former law students of Judge Neil Gorsuch recount his expression of alarming views on women in the workplace during a class on ethics and professionalism at the University of Colorado Law School in April 2016. On April 20, 2016, Jennifer Sisk, a student in the class, summarized the views expressed by Judge Gorsuch in a Facebook post. She also expressed her concerns regarding the substance of what Judge Gorsuch had said during class to her Dean of Students. After Judge Gorsuch’s nomination to serve on the United States Supreme Court, Barry Roseman (Denver, CO), a member of NELA’s Judicial ...
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As described in the February edition of On The Hill, a narrative has emanated from Republicans in Congress for several years in which lawsuits and lawyers are villains robbing defenseless corporations of time and profits through frivolous litigation. Absent from this messaging is any mention of the responsibilities and accountability corporations and employers have to ordinary Americans when they violate civil rights and other laws. In keeping with this theme, Republican members of Congress named the week of March 6 “Lawsuit Abuse Week,” and moved forward on five bills in the House of Representatives designed to attack access to justice. Three of the five bills ...
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The NELAHQ Blog is pleased to present the following post from Elizabeth Colman, the Paul H. Tobias Attorney Fellow at The Employee Rights Advocacy Institute For Law & Policy (The Institute).This post has been updated to reflect that the U.S. Supreme Court has granted certiorari in Lewis, Morris, and Murphy Oil, and consolidated them for argument. This post may also be viewed on The Institute's website . Horton Comes to a Head: U.S. Supreme Court Poised to Resolve Conflict Regarding Workers’ Rights To Act Collectively The United States Supreme Court granted three petitions for certiorari during their Friday, January 13 conference that touch ...
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On October 25, 2016 NELA joined a group of civil rights organizations, led by Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom (BALIF) and the Impact Fund, in signing onto an amicus brief in Carcaño v. McCrory , currently pending in U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. This case involves a challenge to a portion of North Carolina’s notorious “H.B. 2” law that would prevent transgender persons from using public restrooms in line with their gender identity, if that identity does not match the gender on their birth certificate. The plaintiffs in this case sought a preliminary injunction against enforcement of the provision as applied to all transgender persons ...
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On August 3, 2016, NELA, joined by the Truckers Justice Center, Teamsters for a Democratic Union, and General Drivers, Warehousemen & Helpers Local No. 89, filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Administrative Review Board (ARB) in support of whistleblower complainant Kenneth Palmer in Palmer v. Canadian National Railway/Illinois Central Railroad Company . A unique burden-shifting framework applies to a number of statutes enacted to protect workplace whistleblowers. In cases arising under these laws, a complainant has the burden to demonstrate by a preponderance of the evidence that his actual or perceived protected activity was ...
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On behalf of the 1,200-member strong California Employment Lawyers Association (CELA), we welcome you to the City of Angels for #NE LA 16 ! When the Roll Call Of The States begins, you can be sure that CELA’s shout-out will resonate throughout the room. While we know that many are drawn to the Golden State because of our California sun, CELA has been working for thirty years to ensure that the climate for California workers is equally hospitable. We look forward to welcoming you. CELA is a statewide organization of more than 1,200 attorneys who represent workers in discrimination, harassment, retaliation, whistleblower, wage and hour, and other employment ...
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The 2016 NELA Convention is coming to California, in Downtown Los Angeles, June 22–25 . The NELA Convention brings together the best and brightest employment law minds from across the United States. The NELA Convention provides a broad view of the employment law perspective, allowing practitioners from across the country to share the innovative techniques they apply to achieve success, despite often being in plaintiff unfriendly venues. Their innovations are our opportunities. Moreover, a number of the best attorneys from the California Employment Lawyers Association (CELA) will be speaking or giving trial presentations as part of the California track—speakers ...
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Dear NELA Members: The Civil Jury Project at the New York University School of Law currently is studying the causes and consequences of the pronounced decline in civil jury trials in both state and federal courts. As part of that effort, they have developed a survey that they would like NELA members to complete, and we have agreed to forward their request to the NELA membership. Please note the time-sensitive nature of the request, as the survey will remain open only through the end of May. A brief description of what The Civil Jury Project hopes to accomplish, and a link to the survey, is reproduced below in italics. Please feel free to respond to this posting, ...
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On April 6, 2016, NELA and the National Employment Law Project filed an amicus brief in support of the Respondents in Encino Motors, LLC v. Navarro (Case No. 15-415), currently pending in the U.S. Supreme Court. The five plaintiffs in this case were, or are, service advisors at a Mercedes-Benz dealership in California. Their responsibilities included greeting customers, recording their complaints, drafting service estimates, and suggesting work to be performed. While they regularly worked more than forty hours per week, they did not receive overtime pay and, in 2012, filed suit in federal district court alleging violations of the Flair Labor Standards ...
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On April 5, 2016, NELA was joined by our colleagues from the National Disability Rights Network (NDRN) in filing an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, in support of the Plaintiff-Appellant Kristin Punt in Punt v. Kelly Services & GE Controls Solutions . Kristin Punt was fired from her job almost immediately after she was diagnosed with breast cancer. As is true for most people during the first days or weeks after receiving a cancer diagnosis, the extent of her cancer and what her treatment would entail were uncertain. When Ms. Punt made an accommodation request to her employer by e-mail on December 5, 2011, she knew that: ...
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