$3 million verdict - wrongful discharge
August 15, 2008 by Ross Runkel at LawMemo
A former deputy prosecutor has won a $3,000,000 verdict on her claim that she was wrongfully discharged in January 2004.
The Seattle Times reports [here] that former senior deputy prosecutor Barbara Corey claimed that Pierce County, Washington, Prosecutor Gerry Horne targeted her after he heard she might run against him for prosecutor.
The jury awarded $1.5 million for the damage to Corey's reputation, $750,000 for noneconomic damages, $700,000 for defamation and $125,000 for lost wages.
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Profanity was good cause for discharge.
August 14, 2008 by Ross Runkel at LawMemo
Montana's Wrongful Discharge from Employment Act (WDEA) defines “good cause” for discharge as
“reasonable job-related grounds for dismissal based on a failure to satisfactorily perform job duties, disruption of the employer’s operation, or other legitimate business reason.”
When Thomas Becker told his department manager to "kiss my ass," and called his immediate supervisor a "prick," he got fired.
The Montana Supreme Court thought there was "good cause" within the meaning of the Montana statute. Becker v. Rosebud Operating Services (Montana 08/12/2008).
Becker's lawyer thought he should win, and cited Arnold v. Yellowstone Mountain Club, LLC, 100 P.3d 137 (Montana 2004), where summary judgment in favor of the employer was reversed - in spite of the fact that Arnold stated "f--- this" and walked out of her supervisor's office.
The Montana court distinguished the two cases. Arnold had been demoted even though she had been told her job prospects were excellent. And her bit of profanity was uttered in frustration. But the court couldn't think of much good to say about Becker's conduct.
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Jotting about Michael Fox
August 12, 2008 by Ross Runkel at LawMemo
Happy
6th birthday to Michael Fox's Jottings
By An Employer's Lawyer!
Mike is a trailblazer in the field of employment law blogs. He started out in July 2002 when the rest of us were still trying to figure out what "blog" meant. Many have followed his lead by starting blogs of their own, yet his remains the best in the show.
What makes Jottings By An Employer's Lawyer the best? Content, content, content. Mike knew from the beginning that content was king.
While others are dressing up their blogs in fancy clothes, Mike continues to use his way-out-of date blogging platform. He has not seen the need to change. He knows people want to read what he says rather than gaze at cute graphics and color schemes.
(On the techno side of things, I appreciate the fact that Mike sends out RSS in full. That way I can read everything in my news aggregator rather than go through another mouse-click. Some bloggers send out an RSS teaser in hopes that readers will click onto their page, which is something I rarely do.)
As for content, Michael Fox is always current, reports with great accuracy, lets his wit show through, and never whines.
His favorite topic is MDVs - million dollar verdicts. Of course these are rare, and Mike's comments about them can be priceless.
Congratulations Michael.
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