A week ago today, the Connecticut Supreme Court issued a ground-breaking decision in Patino v. Birken, establishing that employers can be held liable for failing to protect employees from harassment based on sexual orientation.  The decision is among the first state high court rulings of its kind and represents a significant milestone in the fight [...]

The National Association of Women Lawyers’ (NAWL) recent report on the retention and promotion of women in law firms forecasts a disappointing, if not bleak, future for women in leadership roles at major firms.  Since 2006, NAWL has gauged the advancement of women in the legal profession through its annual survey of the 200 largest [...]

Lanisha Cole, a former “The Price is Right” model, filed a sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit early this month against the show’s producers Michael Richards and Adam Sandler, and the show’s production company Fremantle Media North America.  According to the complaint, Richards stopped talking to Cole some time in 2006, choosing instead to communicate with [...]

On July 5, the EEOC named Hurricane Grill and Wings restaurant of Royal Palm Beach, FL in a sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit on  grounds that management failed to stop a customer from harassing female service staff.  The complaint indicates that as early as April 2009, the establishment’s owner and a vice president were aware [...]

Archie Comic Publications, best known for introducing us to Betty, Veronica, and the loveable Archie, has lodged a suit against co-CEO Nancy Silberkleit after employees complained that she sexually harassed, threatened and subjected them to inappropriate language and behavior.  In 2009, Silberkleit assumed the co-CEO role after her husband, chairman and second-generation owner Michael Silberkleit, [...]

Last week, a former Hustler employee filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against the company and Vice President Theresa Flynt, the daughter of Hustler magnate Larry Flynt.  Per the complaint, then-President of Retail Theresa Flynt constantly subjected District Manager Steven Prescott to unwanted touching and caressing for the two years he worked for the company.  Flynt [...]

Two women have filed a lawsuit against Chicago Cubs owner Joe Ricketts, accusing him of retaliation after they complained that a supervisor was sexual harassing them.  Patricia Davis and Patricia Duncan were employees of Ricketts’ non-profit, Opportunity Education Foundation in Nebraska, when Michael Morsches joined as the agency’s chief operating officer and began supervising them.  [...]

Today concludes the second week of trial on a former KBR employee’s allegations that co-workers drugged and raped her while they worked in Iraq in 2005.  According to court documents, Jamie Leigh Jones sued KBR, a former Halliburton subsidiary, in federal court for sexual assault and for creating a “sexually hostile working environment” by failing [...]

Two former employees of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco, Victoria McCarthy and Katherine Schmitt, recently prevailed in their lawsuit against the company when a federal jury awarded $800,000 in damages for sexual harassment and retaliation. In 2007, McCarthy and Schmitt reported their supervisor for discriminating against a male employee because of his sexual orientation.  Other employees voiced [...]

Last week, an Illinois jury awarded Ashley Alford $95 million in a sexual harassment case against her former employer, Aaron’s Rents.  According to the amended complaint, manager Richard Moore began harassing Alford by pinching and groping her breasts and behind.  Along with the unwanted physical touching, the supervisor also began referring to Alford by inappropriate [...]