Public Justice

April 8, 2013 In Blog

A win for workers! Employer can’t mislead and coerce employees with unpaid overtime claims

By Claire Prestel, Staff Attorney It’s hard enough for low-wage workers to stand up for their rights and take on a powerful employer who fails to pay overtime. But some employers make it even harder by adopting a troubling tactic — coercing workers to sign…

April 4, 2013 In Blog

Good for this day only? The odd circumstances and potential consequences of the Supreme Court’s decision in Comcast

by Leah Nicholls, Kazan-Budd Attorney Last week, amid the hustle and bustle of oral argument in the gay marriage cases, the Supreme Court issued its latest class action decision: Comcast Corp. v. Behrend. The Court, 5-4, reversed class certification in the antitrust case brought on…

April 2, 2013 In Blog

After 40th anniversary of Title IX, the fight still continues

by Amy Radon, Staff Attorney I felt lost as an incoming freshman at Arizona State University, which at the time was the second largest university in the United States with an enrollment of over 50,000 students. Coming from a high school where my graduating class…

March 27, 2013 In Blog Anti-Bullying

The Student Nondiscrimination Act: panacea, band-aid…or something in between?

This piece was first published on March 20, 2013 as an op-ed for the Washington Blade. By Adrian Alvarez, Goldberg-Robb Attorney As our society has become more aware that bullying is a major social problem, policymakers and lawyers have begun to grapple with the question…

March 22, 2013 In Blog

Preventing further stream pollution from coal

By Jim Hecker, Environmental Enforcement Project Director As you drive into Charleston, West Virginia, on Interstate 64, there used to be a billboard that read, “YES, COAL” and below that, “Clean, Carbon-Neutral Coal.” It was paid for by a company that supplies equipment to coal…

March 21, 2013 In Blog

It’s a good thing: U.S. Supreme Court limits states’ ability to seize Medicaid recipients’ tort recoveries

By Leslie Brueckner, Senior Attorney It’s not every day that the U.S. Supreme Court issues a ruling that’s good news for personal injury victims. But yesterday was one of those days. And it’s a ruling that could even bode well for our ERISA case soon…

March 20, 2013 In Blog

Unanswered questions remain after CAFA decision in Supreme Court

By Victoria Ni, Senior Attorney The U.S. Supreme Court has issued its first-ever decision interpreting the 2005 Class Action Fairness Act. Yesterday’s 9-0 ruling held that courts should disregard written promises by plaintiffs who are trying to represent a class in state court that the…

March 19, 2013 In Blog

Corporations to humans: Arbitration is good enough for you, but not for us

By Paul Bland, Senior Attorney A big part of my job is listening to advocates for huge corporations explain how great arbitration is. Corporate lawyers are always insisting that arbitration is cheaper, fairer and faster than court. Some of them make it sound like arbitration…

March 18, 2013 In Blog

Making a difference one gob pile at a time

By Richard Webster, Power-Cotchett Attorney When visiting the La Belle coal ash dump in Pennsylvania for the first time last fall, I thought I had misheard. Why were people talking about a “huge pile of gob”? In the British vernacular, “gob” is slang for spit…

March 15, 2013 In Blog

When generic drugs harm patients, can’t count on FDA; lawsuits play role

By Claire Prestel, Staff Attorney On Tuesday the U.S. Supreme Court will hear argument in a case called Mutual Pharmaceutical Co. v. Bartlett, which will decide whether generic drug makers can be held responsible for the harm their products cause. Public Justice joined an amicus…