By Steve Kardell | Published June 3, 2021 | Posted in Covid-19, New Legislation, Uncategorized |
West Virginia recently became the latest state to pass COVID liability protection legislation. Republican Governor Jim Justice signed the bill that will afford greater protections to businesses, healthcare providers, universities and individuals from potential lawsuits relating to the virus. The bill is called the COVID-19 Jobs Protection Act, and is meant to reassure businesses that Read More
Read MoreNew York Attorney General Letitia James recently sued Amazon on behalf of the State of New York, alleging the company failed to protect its workers from the pandemic and wrongfully terminated employees who blew the whistle about COVID protocol violations. Case background According to the lawsuit, Amazon “repeatedly and persistently failed to comply with its Read More
Read MoreIn an interview on Law.com, Whistleblower As a result of being on the other side of many disputes with Littler, I was aware of their multi-functional knowledge base, for both client counseling and litigation. Covid-19 has obviously upended all facets of employment law. I sat down with Harry Jones, a Littler partner who is helping Read More
Read MoreThe Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently announced some changes to its whistleblower system that will result in employers having greater liability in whistleblower cases. OSHA has had a massive increase in the number of whistleblower complaints filed in recent years, and it is expected this number will only continue to grow. The number Read More
Read MoreFlorida Attorney General Ashley Moody announced subpoenas issued to 43 third-party vendors in the state that are alleged to have gouged prices of essential items on Amazon.com to take advantage of greater demand during the COVID-19 pandemic. The state announced it would coordinate with Amazon itself to ensure proper price enforcement. The vendors were accused Read More
Read MoreChris Smalls, an assistant warehouse manager for Amazon, was recently fired after organizing a walking protest over working conditions at the company’s facility on Staten Island. The incident quickly made national news and has drawn harsh criticism for the massive online retailer, including from Mayor Bill de Blasio, and the New York attorney general. Case Read More
Read MoreA nurse in Chicago is claiming wrongful termination after she warned colleagues the masks they were given by Northwestern Memorial Hospital were insufficient protection against the COVID-19 virus. The nurse, Lauri Mazurkiewicz, says she emailed colleagues and supervisors the day before she was terminated, saying N95 face masks are safer than the masks that the Read More
Read MoreOver the last decade, a variety of programs have started up in federal agencies that incentivize whistleblowers to come forward with tips about wrongdoing within their companies or organizations, and potentially share in the money recovered through sanctions. The most well-known of these programs is the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) whistleblower program, but several Read More
Read MoreThe Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently announced a $1.6 million award to a whistleblower who provided information that helped form the basis for charges that led to a successful enforcement action. According to the information provided by the SEC, the information submitted by the whistleblower prompted investigators in the Department of Enforcement to look Read More
Read MoreColoplast, a Minneapolis-based medical device provider, agreed to pay more than $760,000 to Amy Lestage, who claimed the company retaliated against her after she blew the whistle on company wrongdoing. Lestage, along with two other former employees of Coloplast, filed a False Claims Act case in December 2011. Defendants included Byram Healthcare and other large Read More
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