Lawyers Work to Help Workers’ Comp Claimants Hit with $2.2M RICO Judgment
Last month, a federal court hit 84 unrepresented former factory workers who had filed workers’ comp claims with a $2.2 million racketeering default judgment. Now, two attorneys working pro bono have asked the court to vacate the judgment. The workers’ former employer, Bath Unlimited, obtained the judgment based on claims that the employees had conspired to file bogus claims. Bath had also sued the firm handling the workers’ comp claims, but that firm settled last year and left the employees on their own.
How Unhappy Ex-Employees Can Help a Company Evolve
For general counsel, employment litigation is about money. The legal
department pays it to the company’s outside lawyers to defend or settle
suits or to satisfy a judgment. The cycle grinds on: Money goes out but
doesn’t come in, and a company is no better off after a suit than
before. But attorney Michael P. Maslanka says employment law is about
more than a fistful of dollars. It can also be a source of
enlightenment.
States Take Aim at ‘Bully Bosses’
Abusive bosses who bully employees could breed a new crop of employment litigation, warn employment attorneys, who say there’s a growing movement to make workplace bullying illegal. Currently, 11 states are considering legislation that would give victims of abuse like taunting and yelling the right to sue for damages. One plaintiffs attorney says the anti-bullying movement is long overdue, but other attorneys question whether courts or juries should be allowed to regulate workplace behavior.
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