The VLW Blog

A Friday opinion from the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals revives the gender discrimination claim of a former Chesterfield County human resources director.
Karla Gerner sued the county for $1.1 million contending her severance package was meager compared to “sweetheart deals” offered to similarly situated male counterparts. Richmond federal Judge Henry Hudson dismissed the case [...]

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Can a change-up on a job description help an employer prove a job was no longer open after it fired the person who had the job and she filed a Title VII case?
A court may take on that question now that a public affairs officer at a federal agency gets a chance to try her [...]

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An employer did not forfeit coverage for an employment discrimination suit when it waited until a legal complaint hit the court to notify the carrier.
The insurance company, Philadelphia Indemnity, refused to defend the eventual suit. It said the employer had an obligation to report the employee’s accusations after the employer had been contacted by [...]

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The plaintiff in a suit filed in Alexandria federal court claims Best Buy’s theft-prevention program in Virginia and Washington targets racial and ethnic minorities.
Todd Abed, a former Best Buy manager, says the company torpedoed his 13-year career with the electronics retailer because he objected to the company’s “Be On the Lookout” policy for suspected shoplifters.
According [...]

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A judge has overturned a jury’s awards totaling $101,000 based on gender discrimination claims against Virginia Tech.
Roanoke U.S. District Judge James Turk ordered a new trial holding the trial evidence showed Virginia Tech paid fund-raising employees based on experience rather than gender.
The two women plaintiffs both worked at Tech’s Office of University Development from [...]

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A hearing-impaired employee who sued Walmart for disability discrimination forfeited both her lawyer and her claim for damages when she lied about receiving mental health treatment.
Stephanie Holmes worked four years as a stocker for a Walmart in Alexandria. She sued under the Americans with Disabilities Act, alleging Walmart failed to provide her with an interpreter [...]

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A Roanoke federal jury has determined Virginia Tech discriminated in salaries for two women employees of its fund raising office.
The jury returned damages awards totaling $101,000 on Thursday. The amounts could be doubled under the federal Equal Pay Act. The two plaintiffs also are asking for an award of attorneys’ fees, reports The Roanoke Times.
The [...]

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Karl Larson may not be the first employee to think his job would be fine if his supervisor would just leave him alone.
Larson sued to make that happen. He said he suffered post-traumatic stress after a “verbal altercation” with his supervisor and he filed a disability discrimination suit asking the court to order the supervisor [...]

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As March Madness peaks, consider the fall football season.
On any given Sunday, most fans at an NFL stadium may take for granted the rockin’ atmosphere. For some fans, something was missing from the multi-sensory assault of a live game. Which stadium anthem is booming over the loudspeaker? We are the champions? Who let the [...]

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An age-discrimination case based on a demand for “21st Century skills” is set for trial in Richmond federal court this month.
The case turns on what a school superintendent meant when he justified replacing the school system’s 60-year-old chief public information officer with her younger male assistant. The superintendent said he wanted “21st Century communication skills” [...]

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