NLRB reports on overbroad, unlawful social media policies

By: Judy Greenwald

Published June 01, 2012 - 1:39pm CST

The National Labor Relations Board has issued another report on social media policies in which it cites six cases where it contends employers' policies and rules were overbroad and unlawful.

JPMorgan not triggering major regulatory rethink

Published June 01, 2012 - 12:00pm CST

NEW YORK (Reuters)—U.S. bank regulators are holding daily, high-level calls to try to understand how a seemingly low-risk unit at JPMorgan Chase & Co. was able to amass a $2 billion trading loss, but there are no immediate plans to revamp how the nation's largest banks are supervised, according to a source familiar with the matter.

Oracle suffers major setback in Google case

Published June 01, 2012 - 11:00am CST

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters)—A U.S. judge dismissed Oracle Corp.'s copyright claims against Google Inc. for parts of the Java programming language, knocking out Oracle's prime vehicle for damages in a high stakes legal battle over smartphones.

California construction firm agrees to fine, cleanup of damaged wetlands

By: Mike Tsikoudakis

Published June 01, 2012 - 11:29am CST

SAN FRANCISCO—A California construction company has agreed to a civil penalty of $170,000 for illegally dumping fill material into wetlands.

OFF BEAT: Jilted wife sues Nieman Marcus over guilt-gift refunds

Published June 01, 2012 - 11:12am CST

Beware of husbands bearing overly lavish gifts.

Defense of Marriage Act struck down by U.S. appeals court

By: Matt Dunning

Published May 31, 2012 - 4:07pm CST

BOSTON—The controversial federal law that effectively denies married same-sex couples the same federal benefits afforded to heterosexual couples violates constitutional guarantee of equal protection, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday.

Abacus Federal Savings Bank indicted for mortgage fraud

Published May 31, 2012 - 2:30pm CST

NEW YORK (Reuters)—Abacus Federal Savings Bank, which caters to Chinese immigrants in New York and other communities, has been charged with selling hundreds of millions of dollars worth of fraudulent mortgages to Fannie Mae.

Occidental must defend environmental lawsuit in U.S.

Published May 31, 2012 - 2:15pm CST

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters)—A U.S. appeals court denied Occidental Petroleum Corp.'s request to revisit a prior ruling that an environmental lawsuit against the company must be litigated in the United States.

Ecuador plaintiffs file lawsuit in Canada against Chevron

Published May 31, 2012 - 11:30am CST

ONTARIO (Reuters)—Ecuadorean plaintiffs filed a lawsuit in Canada as a first move outside their country to try and enforce an $18 billion court judgment against oil company Chevron Corp. for polluting the Amazon, their lawyers said on Wednesday.

EEOC wins summary judgment in retaliation case against BASF unit

By: Judy Greenwald

Published May 31, 2012 - 11:23am CST

URBANA, Ill.—A federal judge has ruled that a BASF Corp. unit unlawfully retaliated against an employee for refusing to waive his rights to file a discrimination charge, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said.

New York City Transit Authority settles religious headwear dispute with DOJ

By: Judy Greenwald

Published May 31, 2012 - 10:36am CST

NEW YORK—The U.S. Department of Justice has reached a $184,500 settlement with the New York City Transit Authority over charges it engaged in religious discrimination with respect to workers' headwear.

Rep. Frank offers bill to bar insurance on clawbacks

Published May 30, 2012 - 12:00pm CST

WASHINGTON (Reuters)—Executives at financial firms would no longer be able to buy insurance to protect themselves against compensation clawbacks or civil penalties, under legislation introduced by U.S. Representative Barney Frank.

Wells Fargo spending $432M to end lending suit

Published May 30, 2012 - 10:30am CST

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (Reuters)—Wells Fargo & Co. has promised $432.5 million in lending and other payments to end a lawsuit accusing the bank of discriminatory lending practices in Memphis, Tenn.

United Airlines pilots file race descrimination suit

Published May 30, 2012 - 10:15am CST

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters)—Two dozen black pilots alleged in a lawsuit on Tuesday that United Continental Holdings Inc., the parent of United Airlines, passed them over for management promotions because of race.

Top insurer pulls cover for exports to Greece

Published May 30, 2012 - 9:47am CST

FRANKFURT/LONDON (Reuters)—The world's biggest trade credit insurer, Euler Hermes, has stopped covering exporters shipping to Greece because of the mounting risk of them not getting paid in the event the debt-laden nation is forced out of the euro.

Most mal med cases thrown out

Published May 30, 2012 - 9:19am CST

A study shows that while most medical malpractice claims lead to litigation, most of these are thrown out, and only a small fraction are resolved in the plaintiff's favor.

South Shore Hospital to pay $750,000 in data breach settlement

By: Matt Dunning

Published May 29, 2012 - 1:18pm CST

WEYMOUTH, Mass.—A June 2010 data breach will cost Weymouth, Mass.-based South Shore Hospital $750,000 in fines and remediation costs, according to a civil settlement with the state Attorney General's Office announced last week.

OFF BEAT: Million Miler flier says he was stripped of privileges by United Airlines

Published May 29, 2012 - 12:31pm CST

A well-traveled Chicago man alleges that United Airlines Inc. “stripped away” his exclusive benefits under its Million Miler frequent flier program after it was modified in a merger with Continental Airlines.

Small companies may face greater scrutiny when buying D&O coverage under JOBS Act: Report

By: Bill Kenealy

Published May 29, 2012 - 12:13pm CST

Small companies utilizing provisions of the recently passed JOBS Act may face greater scrutiny when purchasing directors and officers liability insurance, according to a new report from Marsh Inc., an unit of New York-based Marsh & McLennan Cos.

Whistle-blower Woodford wins Olympus settlement

Published May 29, 2012 - 11:00am CST

LONDON (Reuters)—Michael Woodford, ousted as head of Japanese camera-to-endoscope maker Olympus after blowing the whistle on one of Japan's biggest corporate frauds, on Tuesday won a likely multimillion dollar settlement of his claim for unfair dismissal.

French court backs Google in TV piracy case

Published May 29, 2012 - 11:00am CST

PARIS (Reuters)—A French court ruled that Google is not responsible for filtering content on YouTube, dealing a blow to French broadcaster TF1 which sought damages for copyrighted sports and movies which ended up on the video-sharing website.

Most med mal claims lead to litigation, but few trials

By: Judy Greenwald

Published May 27, 2012 - 6:00am CST

Most medical malpractice claims lead to litigation, but most cases are dismissed and more than three-quarters of the relatively few suits that do result in a trial verdict are resolved in the physician's favor, researchers say.

EEOC settles age discrimination case with Arizona school district

By: Judy Greenwald

Published May 27, 2012 - 6:00am CST

PHOENIX—An Arizona school district that was charged by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission with having age discriminatory retirement plans has agreed to a $148,092 settlement.

EEOC, Arizona school district settle discriminatory retirement plan charges

By: Judy Greenwald

Published May 25, 2012 - 12:47pm CST

PHOENIX—An Arizona school district that was charged by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission with having age discriminatory retirement plans has agreed to a $148,092 settlement.