Overlawyered » OSHA

It was the dirty carpeting

Walter Olson — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 16:05:01 +0000

A fired Florida TV anchorman claims whistleblowing retaliation [Fort Myers News-Press]

Tags: broadcasters, Florida, OSHA, whistleblowers

It was the dirty carpeting is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

February 17 roundup

Walter Olson — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 14:38:53 +0000

Mortgage robo-signing settlement not actually as punitive toward the banks as you might think, succeeds in sticking costs onto various parties not at table [FT, more (US taxpayers could wind up covering much of write-down costs through HAMP program); Felix Salmon (write-downs of underwater mortgages should not be assessed at face value); Mark Calabria, Cato and more, Bloomberg (banks managing to offload much of the cramdown onto investors such as pension funds); Daniel Fisher/Forbes one, two, three (banks get covert benefits, politicos get social engineering and fees -- shades of the collusive tobacco settlement!); Above the Law (Schneiderman steers money to legal services programs); Linette Lopez, BI (banks still exposed on many issues). More: Hans Bader, John Steele Gordon.
"Burned at mediation by my own Facebook post" [Stuart Mauney, Abnormal Use]
As anti-discrimination law advances, religious liberty retreats [Roger Pilon, Cato] Two views on the birth control mandate [Cathy Young, David Henderson] More: Adler, Frum.
Caswell Motel case from Tewksbury, Mass. heads to court, could test forfeiture law [Balko] More: Washington Post editorial.
Which is more unreasonable, OSHA regulation or FAA’s? Open to dispute [John Cochrane, Grumpy Economist]
Indiana becomes a right to work state. On to Michigan next? [Shikha Dalmia, Reason]
Warning! Tale of trial psychologists in wizard garb comes from a sinister source, namely me ["In the News," forensic psychologist Karen Franklin, handsome illustration swiped from Cato site]

Tags: aviation, banks, discrimination law, Facebook, forfeiture, Indiana, labor unions, Michigan, mortgages, OSHA

February 17 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Employment law roundup

Walter Olson — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 10:12:54 +0000

Fueled by liberal foundation grants and federal money, “Restaurant Opportunities Center” launches litigation campaign against chain-eatery leader Darden [Orlando Sentinel] Still to be explained: why the Detroit Chamber of Commerce would be so happy to announce a business-backed non-profit’s funding for ROC.
Major employment plaintiff’s firm Outten & Golden promotes Hearst magazine intern class action [Romenesko, Reason]
“Retaliation Charges Pose Growing Threat to Free Speech” [Hans Bader, CEI]
Debate: “Should state outlaw requirements that job applicants be employed?” [Pia Lopez/Ben Boychuk, Sacramento Bee]
“Is it time to do away with McDonnell Douglas?” [burden-shifting test in job bias cases; Jon Hyman]
Supposed exemption from OSHA for under-10-employee businesses is mostly myth [Eric Conn, EBG]
WSJ is kind enough to pick up my item on Italian labor law professors as a “Notable and Quotable” today;
New York Times fires 23 employees after searching their emails and finding that they had forwarded blonde and ethnic jokes and other common forms of workplace humor [eleven years ago on Overlawyered]

Tags: discrimination law, Ford Foundation, hostile environment, New York Times, OSHA, restaurants, wage and hour suits, workplace

Employment law roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

“Safety First, Or Just In The Top Three?”

Walter Olson — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 15:44:52 +0000

Subversive thoughts from Mike Rowe of the Discovery Channel hit “Dirty Jobs“. Clearly a man who has no future in Senate-confirmable appointments… [Link fixed now, thanks commenter C.S.]

Tags: OSHA, safety

“Safety First, Or Just In The Top Three?” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

April 26 roundup

Walter Olson — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 12:26:33 +0000

Study of how class action lawyers interact with their named clients [Stephen Meili via Trask]
California releases numbers on how bounty-hunting lawyers did in 2010 under Prop 65 environmental-warning law [Cal Biz Lit]
According to the tale, lender errors in foreclosure gave Florida borrower home free and clear. Actual story may be more complicated than that [Funnell]
The very long discovery arm of the Philadelphia, and Pennsylvania, courts [Drug & Device Law, more]
UK law firm “could face big bill” after sending thousands of file-sharing demand letters [ABA Journal]
Goodbye to men’s track at U. of Delaware, and the women’s team is suffering too, as often happens with Title IX [Saving Sports]
OSHA’s proposed “illness and injury prevention program” (I2P2) termed a “Super Rule” with potentially widespread economic impact [Kirsanow, NRO]

Tags: class actions, discovery, forum shopping, mortgages, OSHA, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Prop 65, RIAA and file sharing, Title IX

April 26 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

November 21 roundup

Walter Olson — Sun, 21 Nov 2010 12:08:24 +0000

Federalist Society annual convention (which I attended) included panels on anonymity and the First Amendment, judicial recusals, many other topics;
Nomination of R.I.’s McConnell to federal bench could soon reach Senate floor [ProJo]
“Why U.S. Taxpayers Are Paying Brazilian Cotton Growers $147 Million” [NPR via Popehat]
“Litigation Governance: Taking Adequacy Seriously” [Trask, Class Action Countermeasures]
“Family” groups vs. a family, cont’d: Vermont Supreme Court upholds Miller-Jenkins custody ruling [Volokh, BTB]
OSHA allows more comment on what could be an extremely expensive mandate against noise in the workplace [ShopFloor]
Cops who inform on cops are often left to twist in wind [Balko]
Interview with Mark Zaid, collector of comic book art with law/legal themes [Abnormal Use]

Tags: class actions, Federalist Society, Miller-Jenkins case, OSHA, police, recusals, Rhode Island

November 21 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

A tuckpointer’s travails

Walter Olson — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 13:06:40 +0000

A St. Louis chimney repairer’s recent run-in with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) illustrates some of the regulatory burdens that might be worsened by pending legislation that would greatly expand OSHA’s punitive powers. I explain at Cato at Liberty.

Tags: OSHA

A tuckpointer’s travails is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

August 4 roundup

Walter Olson — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 13:30:22 +0000

“Wacky warning dept.: Steven Morris v. Harley-Davidson Motor Co.” [Wajert and Ted at PoL]
“Are HOA Foreclosures a Necessary Tool or an Extortion Racket?” [Jurow, Business Insider]
“Court Under Roberts Is Most Restrained in Decades” [Adler/Volokh, earlier]
New Jersey Supreme Court confirms equestrian center’s legal protection in horseback-injury case [NJLRA]
White-collar prosecution: Is “Conscious Avoidance” the Next “Honest Services”? [Christine Hurt, Conglomerate]
Cy pres class action giveaways arrive in Canada [National Post]
More on why Wal-Mart is spending big to fight a relatively low OSHA fine [Paul Greenberg, earlier]
Older jobseekers find offers scarce? Someone should pass a law! Oh wait [four years ago on Overlawyered]

Tags: Canada, cy pres, failure to warn, mortgages, New Jersey, OSHA, product liability, prosecution, recreation, Supreme Court, Wal-Mart

August 4 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

“The Regulatory Avalanche From Washington, D.C.”

Walter Olson — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 12:03:57 +0000

New obligations and liabilities for employers, as catalogued by the law firm of Ogletree Deakins.

Tags: OSHA, wage and hour suits, workplace

“The Regulatory Avalanche From Washington, D.C.” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

July 13 roundup

Walter Olson — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 13:18:35 +0000

Wal-Mart spending millions to fight $7,000 OSHA fine? Not so paradoxical when you think about it [Coyote]
Proliferation of product recalls, as with warnings, can result in consumer fatigue and inattention [WaPo via PoL]
Settlement said to be near between casino and gambler who lost $127 million [WSJ, UPI, earlier]
“Think Globally, Sue Locally: Out-of-Court Tactics Employed by Plaintiffs, Their Lawyers, and Their Advocates in Transnational Tort Cases” [study, PDF and press release; Jonathan Drimmer for US Chamber, related WSJ]
“End of an Era? Another Crunch Berries Case Dismissed” [Lowering the Bar, California Civil Justice, earlier on "froot" cases here, here, etc.]
New Jersey: “School legal costs are a killer” [Rayner, Daily Record]
ABA Journal profiles Ted Frank;
We’re the ones who write the laws around here, not you legislators: Washington Supreme Court strikes down med-mal notice law [SeattlePI.com]

Tags: advertising, Alien Tort Claims Act, class actions, compulsive gambling, CPSC, forum shopping, medical malpractice, New Jersey, OSHA, schools, Ted Frank, Wal-Mart, Washington state

July 13 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system