Tag Archives: settlement

A dimly lit room with a small stage surrounded by mirrors. There's a pole on the stage, and a row of cushioned chairs facing it. The lighting is primarily purple and blue, creating a nightclub-like atmosphere.

Strippers Win Revealing Settlement

Leaving everything on the table

A company in Atlanta just found out the hard way that they’re required to actually pay their employees. Seventy-three exotic dancers from Club Onyx won a total of $1.55 million from their main employer, Galardi South Enterprises.   Apparently the owner of Club Onyx compensated his strippers only by the generosity of the average strip club attendee.  This led to unfair advantages for certain more talented strippers (and, I suspect, more dollar bills could fit in larger g-strings).  The judge’s ruling states that strippers are not qualified as independent contractors, and therefore are due wages beyond any tips they receive.  This follows a rising tide of wage dispute lawsuits, such as Mario Batali’s tip-stealing debacle or California’s lunch compensation conundrum.

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Clarissa Settles It All

TV turnaround

Comebacks can be costly.  Melissa Joan Hart starred in a couple of hit TV shows in her career, Clarissa Explains It All (1991-1994) and Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1996-2003), both aimed at the teenage demographic.  After that, she wasn’t quite so young anymore (just 15 at the start of Clarissa, surprisingly), and thus wasn’t the best choice to sell TV shows to said demographic anymore.  Consequently, her acting career sort of floundered in the years post-Sabrina.  Sometime in 2006 and shortly after the birth of her first son, Hart hired talent manager Kieran Maguire to help bump her up to the lucrative 25-to-36 demographic and win back her bygone star power.  This tactic turned out to be successful: in 2010, Hart premiered her TV show Melissa and Joey, a family sitcom about parents and motherhood and raising kids and junk.  (Aside: That I, a 23-year-old male, have no interest in watching the show is testament to its intended marketing segment.)  Nevertheless, things were looking good for Mrs. Hart in her successful transition from teenage idol to sitcom matron.

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Pregnant Chicago Inmates No Longer Shackled During Childbirth

Rights gained

That title is not a metaphor for anything.  Despite regulations requiring prison guards to undo any restraints on pregnant prison inmates during labor, many women were shackled and strapped down up to and, sometimes, during the delivery of a baby.  Guards apparently ignored not only the law, but also medical personnel pleading for them to unlock the handcuffs to prevent pain, discomfort, or other complications.  The law banning such restraint has been in the books since 1999, but apparently has not been followed by the employees of Cook County Jail.  Some 80 women stepped forward in this class action lawsuit, all to make claims of poor treatment during labor.

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Fatal Philadelphia Duckboat Crash Settled for $17 Million

Though it walks two worlds, it is a master of none

A duckboat is a particular kind of bus that can travel by both land and sea.  Typically seen in cities like Philadelphia and Boston, which have prominent and accessible rivers, the boat/bus hybrid is particularly useful for tour companies, the novelty of amphibious sightseeing being extremely attractive to tourists.  Rarely do these duckboats cause a problem.  Their pre-planned and short water routes don’t get in the way of bigger ships, and on land they operate just like normal buses.  Back in July 2010, however, bad luck and negligence conspired conspired to end this reputation of relative safety.  A duckboat stalled in the water.  A tugboat captain pushing a barge turned down his emergency radio and looked away to answer a phone call.  The two vessels — one helpless, one aimless — collided.  The duck boat tumbled underneath the barge, bringing two Hungarian tourists to a watery grave.  Yesterday, after two years of negotiations and court maneuvering, lawyers associated with the case announced that they had reached a settlement with the tug- and duckboat companies.

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A pregnant woman in a blue dress holds her belly with both hands. She stands against a dark background, partially facing sideways. Her long, wavy hair cascades over her shoulder.

Maternity Leave No Reason to Discriminate for Mortgage Insurer

Maternity v. Mortgage

The mortgage insurer MGIC Investment Group has settled a federal lawsuit alleging that they refused to sell mortgage insurance to women on maternity leave.  The suit claimed that the company required 70 women to return to work before they would sell them the insurance, which “allows homebuyers to take out loans with down payments of less than 20%”, according to the Wall Street Journal.  Yesterday, the company settled for $550,000, with $511,000 to be compensation for the women and $39,000 as a civil penalty to the government.  In addition, MGIC will have to train its employees on discrimination law and revamp its policies concerning customers on maternity leave.  The company has also entered a preliminary settlement in a related class action suit in order to avoid spending any more money on a lawsuit they will likely lose.

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