Articles

Judge: IPS leader may be named in firing suits in student sex case

A federal judge has ruled that Indianapolis Public Schools Superintendent Lewis Ferebee and other high-ranking IPS officials may be named as defendants in lawsuits by two former school employees. The employees claim they were wrongly fired after IPS botched a response to reports of a sexual relationship between a student and a school counselor.

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SCOTUS tackles big docket, pace likely to persist

In reviewing the recently ended U.S. Supreme Court term that included several landmark cases and three reversals of precedent, retired 7th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge John Tinder finally had to quote baseball legend Yogi Berra as to what might happen in the 2018 term.

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Hoosier law firms promoting women leadership before, after #MeToo

Across Indianapolis, women were being tapped to lead their law firms before the #MeToo movement, either as practice group chairs, committee leaders, managing partners or a combination. But the movement has sparked additional conversations in their law firms, giving credence to gender equality efforts that were already in place.

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Lawmakers skip assessment of unemployment fund

Despite Indiana’s unemployment rate of 3.2 percent, the General Assembly is still required by law to perform a yearly checkup of the unemployment fund to make sure the nest egg is strong and healthy enough to support Hoosier workers who are laid off. However, at present, no examination has been scheduled.

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SCOTUS-created group lists anti-harassment measures

A federal working group has made two dozen recommendations for ways the judiciary can prevent and respond to workplace harassment, issuing a report that marks the end of the first phase of a U.S. Supreme Court-led initiative that began in response to the national #MeToo movement.

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Harvey Weinstein arraigned on rape, criminal sex act charges

Flinching when he heard himself described as a man who used power to prey on women, disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein was arraigned Friday on rape and other charges in the first criminal prosecution to result from the wave of allegations against him that sparked a national reckoning over sexual misconduct.

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Firm can pursue damages in competitor’s recruitment of workers

An Indianapolis-based civil engineering firm will have the opportunity to defend its demand for liquidated damages from three employees who allegedly violated non-recruitment agreements after the Indiana Court of Appeals reversed summary judgment for the firm’s competitor. The court also upheld the denial of summary judgment to the competitor on two additional claims stemming from its alleged impermissible recruitment of employees.   

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Divided Supreme Court rules for businesses over workers

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled employers can prohibit workers from banding together to dispute their pay and conditions in the workplace, an important victory for business interests. The justices ruled 5-4 Monday, with the court’s conservative members in the majority, that businesses can force employees to individually use arbitration, not the courts, to resolve disputes.

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IU had 56 reports alleging employee sexual misconduct

More than 50 reports alleging sexual misconduct by Indiana University employees across all campuses were filed from July 2016 to June 2017. The Bloomington campus had 17 reports and the Indiana University-Purdue University campus in Indianapolis had 21.

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