A state-by-state review of court cases pertaining to workplace rights.
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South Carolina
Temporary Staffing Firm and Client Company To Pay $42,500 to Settle EEOC National Origin Lawsuit
Source: Press Release, EEOC
Date: June 6, 2011
A group of South Carolina temporary staffing firms and one of its clients, a subcontractor, have agreed to pay $42,500 and provide other relief to settle a national origin discrimination lawsuit brought by U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today.
Union Sues Over Haley's Remarks About Boeing Plant
Source: Jim Davenport, Bloomberg
Date: January 25, 2011
South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is facing her first big lawsuit after saying the state would try to keep unions out of the Boeing Inc. plant in North Charleston.
Appeals court reinstates lawsuit over Confederate flag
Source: Larry O'Dell, Associated Press, Daily Press [Virginia]
Date: May 25, 2004
A federal appeals court Tuesday reinstated a lawsuit filed by a South Carolina mechanic who was fired for displaying Confederate flag stickers on his toolbox, ruling the case never should have been removed from state court. In a unanimous decision, the 13-member court said Matthew Dixon's lawsuit against Coburg Dairy Inc. in Charleston, S.C., did not raise a substantial question of federal law. The case hinges on a state law that makes it illegal to fire a person based on political opinions or the exercise of political rights guaranteed by the state or U.S. constitutions, the court said.
Workers' Suits Claim Bias at USC
Source: John P. McDermott, Charleston Post and
Courier
Date: March 5, 2004
A group of University of South Carolina maintenance workers whose job discrimination lawsuit was dismissed last year brought individual complaints against the institution this week. The suits were filed on the day their rights to do so were set to lapse. Dennis Bolt, the attorney for the plaintiffs, all of whom are black, filed 26 nearly identical lawsuits Monday in U.S. District Court in Columbia. Bolt filed a single complaint on behalf of all the workers in August 2001, alleging violations of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The original lawsuit and those brought this week alleged USC had a pattern of passing over black maintenance employees for pay raises and promotions and that it singled them out disproportionately for disciplinary actions. Also, black employees were paid less than white employees for comparable work, according to the complaint. The plaintiffs also alleged that university officials were aware of their treatment for years but "steadfastly refused" to take action.
SC Court Affirms Tax on Federal Pensions
Source: Rick Brundrett, The State
Date: December 9, 2003
South Carolina does not illegally tax federal retirees? pensions, the S.C. Supreme Court said Monday in a ruling that could have cost the state millions in income tax refunds. The justices unanimously said South Carolina has complied with a 1989 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in a Michigan case that said states could no longer tax state and federal retirees? pensions differently. S.C. officials had warned that the state could be forced to pay more than $200 million in income tax refunds going back to 1995, and would lose another $22.5 million a year in future income taxes if the state Supreme Court sided with federal retiree Doris Stieglitz Ward, who sued the state.
Court Hears Confederate Decal Case
Source: Larry O'Dell (AP), The Post and Courier
Date: December 3, 2003
An attorney for a South Carolina mechanic who was fired for displaying Confederate flag stickers on his toolbox urged a federal appeals court Tuesday to reinstate the man's lawsuit against his employer. Coburg Dairy Inc. in Charleston fired Matthew Dixon for refusing to use a different toolbox after a black co-worker complained. Coburg said Dixon violated its workplace harassment policy. Dixon claimed the company violated state employment laws and his free-speech rights. A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a judge's dismissal of the lawsuit, ruling in May that Dixon's constitutional right to display the flag does not extend to a privately owned workplace. The full appeals court reheard the case Tuesday.
Suits Have Schools Checking Labor Rules
Source: John C. Drake, Columbia State
Date: October 26, 2003
A string of lawsuits filed by school employees who say they have been denied overtime pay has several S.C. school administrators reviewing their own records and policies. This summer, 19 S.C. school districts, including Richland 1 and Lexington-Richland 5, were sued by the Mississippi-based School Litigation Group. The law firm has represented employees in eight Southern states, accusing school districts of violating the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. As a result of the suits, Mississippi school districts have paid tens of millions of dollars in back pay and damages to employees, attorneys estimate. ?I think it?s raised the awareness and will probably cause school districts to look at keeping really close records,? said Frank Vail, superintendent of Lexington 4 in Gaston and Swansea.
Court to Hear Suit on Taxing Pensions
Source: Rick Brundrett, The Columbia State (SC)
Date: September 26, 2003
The state?s top court today will consider whether South Carolina illegally taxes federal retirees? pensions ? a case state officials say could cost more than $200 million in income tax refunds. Federal retiree Doris Stieglitz Ward claims in a class-action lawsuit that a 1989 state law taxing federal and state retirees? pensions is unconstitutional. There are an estimated 65,000 federal retirees and more than 94,000 state retirees in South Carolina.
Wendy's Ex-Workers Sue
Source: Kelly Marshall, Myrtle Beach Sun
News
Date: August 8, 2003
Eight teenagers claimed sexual harassment at a Georgetown Wendy's restaurant in a federal lawsuit filed Thursday by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The female employees, who worked at the Wendy's on North Fraser Street during various times from April 1999 to May 2002, say a 49-year-old manager made humiliating sexual comments, brushed against them and touched them in an inappropriate manner, said Bobby Simpson, regional attorney for the EEOC.
Supreme Court Throws Case Against Conseco
Source: Mark Anderson (Dow Jones Newswire), Springfield News Sun
Date: June 24, 2003
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday threw out decisions against a Conseco Inc. finance unit that had ordered the company to pay $27 million to two classes of individuals. Conseco Finance, then known as Green Tree Financial Corp., was sued for violating a South Carolina law governing the handling of home-improvement and mobile-home financing transactions. The judgments included damages, attorney's fees and costs for both classes. In both instances, Conseco was found to have violated state laws requiring disclosure of insurance and attorney preference options for the financing transactions.