Entries in the 'Civil Rights Settlements' Category ↓

In the United States, every citizen and non-citizen is afforded a set of unalienable rights and freedoms that are called civil rights. Civil rights include the right to be treated fairly no matter your race, religion or occupation, the right to a fair trial, the right to free speech, the right to freedom of movement, and the right to participate in society, including the right to vote.

When an individual’s civil rights are violated, the violation can often end up in legal ac-tion in a court of law. There is an entire branch of the law devoted to defending an individual’s civil rights. Our court systems are full of civil rights cases that are tried and settled every year.

The Civil Rights Act was passed in 1875 with two collaborative goals: both to define the civil rights of U.S. citizens and to provide a legal process for ensuring the protection of them for all citizens.

Since that time, there have been numerous landmark cases that have involved civil rights. Perhaps the most famous and most controversial Civil Rights case in recent decades was the 1973 case Roe vs Wade, which is the landmark case that legalized abortion by giving women the civil right to choose whether or when to have a baby.

New laws protecting civil rights are enacted regularly, and civil rights law remains as important today as it was in 1875 when the Civil Rights Act was passed.

Sallie Mae Sued for TCPA Violations – Class Action Attorneys in Alabama

On February 2, 2010, Bloomberg reported that the largest student-loan company, SLM Corp (better known as Sallie Mae), is being sued by a borrower who claims to have been receiving harassing prerecorded phone calls on his cellular phone.  The complaint alleges that these harassing, unsolicited and never-consented-to phone calls are in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.  The proposed class-action suit seeks to represent tens of thousands of borrowers who claim to be receiving similar harassing phone calls. The lawsuit claims damages of at least $1,500 for each violation of the consumer-protection law.

The case is Arthur v. SLM Corp., U.S. District Court, Western District of Washington.

Alabama Class Action Law Firm - Toxic Tort, Consumer Product Safety, Litigation Lawyers in Birmingham, Alabama - Hill Turner

Workplace Discrimination and Harassment

Federal law makes it illegal to discriminate in the workplace based on race, age, religion, genetics, gender, disability, military service, among other reasons.   If you have been discriminated or harassed in NY, you should contact a workplace discrimination law firm.

Federal law also protects people from sexual harassment in the workplace, and makes certain types of affirmative action procedures mandatory.  Individual states have enacted civil rights and employment laws that expand federal law and cover areas not specified, such as sexual preference.  An attorney practicing sexual harassment can advise you about the civil rights and employment laws you can expect your employer to follow.

Discrimination in the workplace can take place in hiring and firing decisions, promotion and promotion tools (such as discriminatory testing), pay, job duties and assignments, teasing, and improper language and expression (such as being exposed to pornography).  Violation of federal law can also occur when someone retaliates because a worker complained about abuse of their federal rights. 

Legal issues can also arise when someone has taken leave from employment under the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act or the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Act.  These acts specify appropriate leave and reinstatement policies for employers and employees, and if not followed by the employer are actionable.

It is important that someone who believes their workplace rights are being abused take action by calling a discrimination attorney in NYC.  Time limits apply when seeking to redress violations of federal or state employment law.  For that reason, it is important to seek legal representation if you feel your rights in the workplace have been infringed upon. 

Recourse for Workplace Discrimination

There are a number of remedies available to an employee whose employer has violated the law.  These include back and front pay with interest, reinstatement of the employee, special training for employees and award of attorney’s fees and court costs.  In some cases compensatory, punitive, and liquidated damages can be awarded by the court. 

Compensatory damages are monies designed to put the employee back to the position she or he was in before the violation. Compensatory damages can include back pay, back raises, an award of earned time if someone was not hired for a discriminatory reason, and out of pocket expenses associated with the discrimination.  Punitive damages are monies awarded to punish an employer who acted in flagrant disregard of the law.  Liquidated damages double compensatory damages and are awarded in cases of flagrant disregard for the law and under some Titles only. 

This article was provided by the New York sexual harassment attorneys of the Watanabe Law Firm, www.watanabe-law.com, 212.486.7005.

Jason Bynum, a South Carolina prison inmate, was afflicted with an untreated mouth infection in 2002. His condition went untreated so long that it turned into Ludwig’s Angina – a severe mouth abscess which can cause death by suffocation. Bynum’s condition, however, was not unknown by prison physicians. Nurses who treated him knew of the severity of the painful condition, but his condition was mostly ignored by prison officials and doctors for four years.

In 2006, the Bell Legal Group worked hard to get justice for Jason Bynum. The firm’s excellent civil rights litigation won Bynum’s case against the Turbeville Correctional Center in Turbeville, South Carolina. The court forced the correctional facility to pay punitive damages of $825,000.

www.police-misconduct-lawyer.com/