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Court: Can gov't get involved in church dispute?
Industry News |
2011/10/04 10:49
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The Supreme Count on Tuesday seemed deeply divided on how far the government can intrude inside the employment practices of churches and religious groups, a decision being closely watched by religious institutions concerned about their independence and by civil rights groups looking out for their employees.
The issue in the dispute between the Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School of Redford, Mich., and former teacher Cheryl Perich is whether a government agency has the right to sue the school on her behalf for firing her after she complained of discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Perich was promoted from a temporary lay teacher to a called teacher in 2000 at the Redford, Mich., school by a vote of the church's congregation and hired as a commissioned minister. She taught secular classes, as well as a religious class four days a week. She also occasionally led chapel service.
She got sick in 2004 but tried to return to work from disability leave despite being diagnosed with narcolepsy. The school said she couldn't return because they had hired a substitute for that year. They fired her after she showed up and threatened to sue to get her job back.
Perich complained to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which sued the church for violations under the disabilities act.
A federal judge threw out the lawsuit, saying that Perich fell under the ADA's ministerial exception, which keeps the government from interfering with church affairs. But the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated her lawsuit, saying Perich's primary function was teaching secular subjects so the exception didn't apply. |
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Samsung Seeking To Block Sale Of New IPhone 4S
Industry News |
2011/10/04 10:48
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Samsung said it will file court injunctions in France and Italy seeking to block the sale of Apple's latest iPhone amid an intensifying patent fight between the smartphone giants.
Samsung plans to file preliminary injunctions in Paris and Milan asking that courts block Apple's iPhone 4S from being sold in France and Italy, alleging patent infringement of wireless telecommunications technology, the company said Wednesday.
Apple has continued to flagrantly violate our intellectual property rights and free ride on our technology, and we will steadfastly protect our intellectual property, Samsung said in a statement.
The South Korean company did not say when the French and Italian filings would take place, but also said it plans similar moves in other countries after further review.
The announcement comes one day after Apple Inc. unveiled the iPhone 4S in the United States.
Seoul-based Apple spokesman Steve Park, speaking by phone from Japan, declined to comment on Samsung's announcement.
The companies have been at odds since April when Apple took legal actions claiming Samsung's Galaxy line of smartphones and tablet computers copy the iPhone and iPad. Samsung has responded by taking Apple to court over what it alleges are violations of its patents covering wireless communications. |
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LA sheriff under fire after report slams jails
Industry News |
2011/09/29 10:36
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Los Angeles County's longtime sheriff is facing one of the toughest attacks of his 13-year term, after a civil rights group demanded his resignation and claimed he looked the other way while his sprawling jail network became co-opted by violent and corrupt deputies who routinely abuse inmates.
Sheriff Lee Baca, whose deputies oversee about 15,000 inmates in the nation's busiest jail system, said he welcomed the criticism but disputed the claims made Wednesday by the American Civil Liberties Union. He said he had no intention of stepping down.
The ACLU demanded the four-term sheriff's resignation, saying he and his top commanders are willfully indifferent to claims made by inmates and civilian jail visitors that deputies routinely viciously assault inmates.
In one case, an inmate at the downtown Men's Central Jail said deputies accused him of stealing mail then punched him, breaking an eye socket, and marched him naked to a cell occupied by two gang members.
Deputies repeatedly ignored the man's cries for help as the gang members raped him while another inmate flushed his head down a toilet to muffle his screams, the man, who had been jailed for making criminal threats, said in a sworn declaration. |
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Obama appeals health care setback to high court
Court Watch News |
2011/09/29 03:36
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Raising prospects for a major election-year ruling, the Obama administration launched its Supreme Court defense of its landmark health care overhaul Wednesday, appealing what it called a fundamentally flawed appeals court decision that declared the law's central provision unconstitutional.
Destined from the start for a high court showdown, the health care law affecting virtually every American seems sure to figure prominently in President Barack Obama's campaign for re-election next year. Republican contenders are already assailing it in virtually every debate and speech.
The administration formally appealed a ruling by the federal appeals court in Atlanta that struck down the law's core requirement that individuals buy health insurance or pay a penalty beginning in 2014.
At the same time, however, the winners in that appellate case, 26 states and the National Federation of Independent Business, also asked for high court review Wednesday, saying the entire law, and not just the individual insurance mandate, should be struck down. |
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