Katz, Marshall & Banks» News & Events

KMB partner Debra Katz publishes the commentary “Are oral complaints to supervisors protected under wage-and-hour law?” in the National Law Journal’s Supreme Court Insider Blog

stiff — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 17:30:24 +0000

Katz, Marshall & Banks partner Debra Katz published the commentary “Are oral complaints to supervisors protected under wage-and-hour law?” on the Supreme Court Insider blog of The National Law Journal. In the article Ms. Katz comments on Kasten v. Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Corp, a case pending before the Supreme Court. Kevin Kasten, the plaintiff, claims that his termination from Saint-Gobain’s high performance polymer products manufacturing facility was motivated by internal oral complaints he voiced regarding the fairness and legality of the company’s timekeeping system, which he claims is a complaint protected against retaliation by the Fair Labor Standards Act. The defendant claims that the wording of the FLSA’s anti-retaliation clause, “file a complaint,” grants protection against retaliation only to those who file written complaints with a government body, not verbal complaints to internal management. The case was granted certiorari by the Supreme Court to examine “whether an oral complaint is protected conduct under FLSA’s anti-retaliation provision.” Ms. Katz writes in favor of granting protection to internal oral complaints, arguing that there is no practically relevant distinction between oral and written complaints, as many grievances are made and resolved verbally in the workplace. She further warns that denying retaliation protections to those who voice oral complaints would have the unintended consequences of deterring employees from voicing grievances in fear of retaliation, motivating employers to fire those who voice verbal complaints to prevent further written complaints, and disproportionately affecting workers with low incomes or with limited writing or language skills.

This is the first in a four-part commentary on employment law cases pending before the Supreme Court this term.

Read the full commentary here.

KMB partner David Marshall elected to the Board of Directors of the Public Justice Foundation

stiff — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 18:35:43 +0000

The Public Justice Foundation has elected Katz, Marshall and Banks partner David Marshall to its Board of Directors. The Public Justice Foundation is a public interest law firm that encourages lawyers and others to serve the public interest and to hold the powerful accountable through precedent-setting and socially significant litigation. Public Justice has a 28-year record of fighting for workers’ rights, consumers’ rights, civil rights and civil liberties, environmental protection, public health and safety, and access to the courts. The organization’s Access to Justice Campaign is a leading force in litigating issues such as federal preemption and mandatory arbitration, which employers and corporations use to close the doors to the courts for working people and consumers.

Court denies summary judgment in False Claims Act whistleblower retaliation suit by KMB client James Gordon against Afghanistan defense contractors ArmorGroup and Wackenhut

filoromo — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 17:59:50 +0000

In a major victory for False Claims Act whistleblowers, the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia ruled that KMB client James Gordon may proceed with a whistleblower retaliation suit against his former employer, Afghanistan defense contractor ArmorGroup North America (“AGNA”), along with ArmorGroup International, AGNA’s parent Wackenhut Services and two AGNA employees.

The suit, filed on September 9, 2009, alleges that Mr. Gordon was retaliated against for reporting numerous violations by AGNA at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan and Bahrain, including: the failure to adequately staff the Kabul embassy; the permission of visits by AGNA employees to brothels notorious for trafficking women; the purchase of counterfeit goods from a Lebanese company owned by the wife of AGNA’s Logistics Manager; and the attempted substitution of subpar Iraqi vehicles in place of the armored escort vehicles the company had promised to purchase to transport guards to and from the U.S. Embassy in Kabul. The case was originally filed in the District Court for the District of Columbia, but was transferred to the Eastern District of Virginia.

Read the court’s opinion denying in part the defendants’ motion to dismiss or for summary judgment: Gordon v. ArmorGroup – EDVA Denies Motion to Dismiss.

Washington Post article on Andre Chreky sexual harassment settlement quotes KMB partner Debra Katz

stiff — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 21:03:28 +0000

An August 17, 2010, article in the Washington Post, “D.C. hairstylist Andre Chreky settles harassment lawsuit for $7 million,” announced the settlement of the second sexual harassment case brought against D.C. hairstylist Andre Chreky by a former employee. Mr. Chreky settled the suit, brought by Jennifer Thong, for $7 million on Friday, August 13. On March 8, the first sexual harassment suit, brought by KMB client Ronnie Barrett, resulted in a $2.3 million jury verdict against Mr. Chreky. On March 19, Mr. Chreky filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The Washington Post article quotes Katz, Marshall & Banks partner Debra Katz, Ms. Barrett’s attorney, as saying, “We don’t know what this $7 million is going to mean, and we don’t know what our $2.3 million is going to mean. We’re in litigation before the bankruptcy court on that now.”

VIDEO (Bloomberg TV): KMB partner Lisa Banks discusses sexual harassment allegations against former HP CEO Mark Hurd

stiff — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 16:44:55 +0000

The August 9th, 2010, “Taking Stock” on Bloomberg TV featured Katz, Marshall & Banks partner Lisa Banks. The interview by Pimm Fox focused on the resignation of Hewlett-Packard’s CEO, Mark Hurd, who has been accused of sexual harassment, but ostensibly resigned over an issue with expense reports. However, Ms. Banks, as well as interviewee Murray Schwartz, stated that she believes there is more to Mr. Hurd’s resignation than has been reported in the news. She said, “The company’s actions don’t seem to make a lot of sense. If what they’re telling us is true, in my experience, this [the expense reports issue] is not the type of thing that would lead to the ouster of the CEO.”

Related Links:

VIDEO: Schwartz, Banks Discuss Resignation of HP’s Mark Hurd, Bloomberg, August 9, 2010

Employment Law 360 publishes an article, “How Far Will The High Court Go On 3rd-Party Reprisals?” by Michael Filoromo and Debra Katz

stiff — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 17:22:44 +0000

Employment Law 360 published a July 29 article, “How Far Will The High Court Go On 3rd-Party Reprisals?” by Katz, Marshall & Banks attorneys Michael Filoromo and Debra Katz. In Thompson v. North American Stainless LP, the plaintiff, Mr. Thompson, filed a retaliation complaint against the company in response to his termination, which occurred three weeks after his wife filed her own EEOC complaint of sex discrimination against the company. The article outlines the contention between the courts themselves, as well as between the courts and the EEOC, as to whether or not a third-party to an employment dispute has a right to pursue a charge of retaliation. Some courts hold that Title VII only protects those who are “personally engaged.” However, others note that the fear of retaliatory actions directed toward a person who the “personally engaged” individual cares about may affect the latter’s willingness to act on his or her own behalf.

Related Links:

KMB partner Debra Katz speaks on “RIFs, Layoffs, Restructuring and Next Steps”

stiff — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 13:05:09 +0000

Katz, Marshall & Banks partner Debra Katz gave a speech, “Now that the Recession is Fading: RIFs, Layoffs, Restructuring and Next Steps,” for WMACCA and the D.C. Bar on July 29th, 2010.

BNA article on Scott Bloch quotes KMB partners Debra Katz and Avi Kumin

stiff — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 20:05:13 +0000

Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. (BNA) published a July 27, 2010 article, “Whistleblowers Urge Imposing Prison Time On Ex-Special Counsel for Contempt Charge,” in its Government Employee Relations Report. The article outlines Mr. Bloch’s actions and whistleblower advocates’ reactions to his light potential sentence, as well as the victim impact statement by Katz, Marshall & Banks partners Debra Katz and Avi Kumin. The article quotes a statement made to BNA by Ms. Katz, who said that she and Mr. Kumin “wrote the letter because they believe it is important ‘for the court to know the impact of his unlawful behavior,’” commenting that the light sentence sets a “very bad precedent” for government officials. The sentencing has been pushed back to September 8 in order to allow attorneys for both sides to provide Judge Robinson with more information.

Related Links:

“Whistleblowers Urge Imposing Prison Time On Ex-Special Counsel for Contempt Charge,” Government Employee Relations Report, July 27, 2010
Letter to Judge Deborah Robinson by Debra Katz and Avi Kumin regarding sentencing of Scott Bloch

Article on Scott Bloch sentencing quotes KMB partner Debra Katz

stiff — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 18:55:48 +0000

A July 20, 2010, article in the Washington Post, “Watchdogs criticize sentence for ex-chief of whistleblower protection office,” described the dissatisfaction of advocacy groups with Scott Bloch’s sentence. Mr. Bloch, the former head of the Office of Special Counsel, faces a probation sentence in lieu of “up to six months in prison.” The article quotes Katz, Marshall & Banks partner Debra Katz, who wrote that probation “would represent a miscarriage of justice.” Ms. Katz and KMB partner Avi Kumin, who represent former and current OSC employees, as well as an alliance of public interest organizations, wrote a victim impact statement to Magistrate Judge Deborah Robinson on July 15, 2010.

Related Links:

Watchdogs criticize sentence for ex-chief of whistleblower protection office, Washington Post, July 20, 2010
Letter to Judge Deborah Robinson by Debra Katz and Avi Kumin regarding sentencing of Scott Bloch

KMB partners Debra Katz and Avi Kumin deliver victim impact statement on behalf of whistleblowers to judge sentencing Scott Bloch, former head of Office of Special Counsel

filoromo — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 21:45:37 +0000

In a July 15, 2010, letter to Magistrate Judge Deborah Robinson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, KMB partners Debra Katz and Avi Kumin explained the tremendous negative effects that the actions of Scott Bloch, former head of the Office of Special Counsel, had on whistleblowers. Mr. Bloch, who on April 27, 2010, pled guilty to criminal contempt of Congress, is due to be sentenced by Judge Robinson on July 23, 2010. The Justice Department has indicated that, while Mr. Bloch faces up to six months in prison, it does not oppose a sentence of probation.

In their letter, Ms. Katz and Mr. Kumin noted that as head of the federal government’s Office of Special Counsel, Scott Bloch was charged with protecting whistleblowers. Instead, Mr. Bloch discriminated against government employees on the basis of their sexual orientation, and he retaliated against whistleblowers who opposed or sought to report his many abuses. While under investigation for his actions, Mr. Bloch hired Geeks on Call, a computer firm, to scrub potentially incriminating files from his computers.

Ms. Katz and Mr. Kumin stated that the adverse impact of Mr. Bloch’s misconduct are “severe, long-lasting, and broad” and that his sentence should reflect that reality. Many whistleblowers were terminated or involuntarily transferred after years of service to the federal government and have suffered financial and emotional distress that still has not been remedied. Other whistleblowers – and indeed federal employees in general – have been harmed by the Office of Special Counsel’s practice of dismissing hundreds of whistleblower complaints without investigation. Finally, Ms. Katz and Mr. Kumin noted, a failure to adequately punish Mr. Bloch “would signal not only to Mr. Bloch, but to every federal official that their best way out of a serious federal investigation is to destroy documents in order to cover up evidence of their misconduct.”

Related Links:

Letter to Judge Deborah Robinson by Debra Katz and Avi Kumin regarding sentencing of Scott Bloch
Whistleblowers Want Tough Sentence for Scott Bloch, Blog of Legal Times, July 19, 2010
Groups Urge Court to Hold Accountable Disgraced Federal Official, Project on Government Oversight, July 19, 2010