USLegal Reporter

Four fomer Dell human-resources executives have filed a class action lawsuit against the computer maker alleging employment discrimination. The managers claim that Dell’s recent layoffs unfairly targeted women and workers over the age of 40. The suit also alleges that Dell discriminates against women in pay, job placement, and promotions.

The lawsuit was filed yesterday in a California court. The employees are seeking $500 million in damages.

Dell announced in May 2007 that it had plans to lay off 8,800 employees. The figure represents about 10 percent of its work force.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/external/idg/2008/10/29/29idg-Dell-hit-with-d.html

Nebraska’s Governor, Dave Heineman, Wednesday called for a special legislative session on November 14 to revise the state’s recently passed safe haven law. Originally, the governor planned to wait until January when the legislature reconvened, but the date has been moved up due to continued abandonment by parents and guardians of pre-teens and teenagers.

The current law, which became effective in July, allows the drop-off of children at a licensed hospital without fear of prosecution, but does not limit the age of such children. As a result, around 23 teens and pre-teens have been abandoned with parents citing uncontrollable and violent behaviors. The intent of the law was to protect children who are in immediate danger of being harmed by panicked mothers. The revisions will limit the safe haven to three-day old infants.

Source: http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2008/10/nebraska-governor-calls-special.php

The US District for the Eastern District of Missouri Monday issued a preliminary injunction against a recently passed Missouri law that sets restrictions on the Halloween activities of registered sexual offenders. The court held that the provisions of the law that would have required sex offenders to avoid interaction with children on Halloween and remain indoors from 5:00pm to 10:30pm unless just cause existed to leave were unduly restrictive and might prevent such persons from celebrating with their own children or traveling. The court upheld other portions of the law, such as requiring sex offenders to go without porch lighting and to display a sign stating no candy would be handed out at their residence.

Missouri Governor Matt Blunt stated in a press release that an appeal had been filed with the Court of Appeals to reverse the ruling.

Source: http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2008/10/missouri-law-limiting-halloween.php

Senator Ted Stevens was convicted today on seven counts of corruption related to lying about gifts and services received.

A federal jury found Stevens guilty of knowlingly failing to disclosure more than $250,000 in gifts and services including remodeling work on his home, an expensive massage chair, a sled dog and others items which he received from friends.

Senate ethics rules require annual financial disclosure forms. Stevens was found to have made false statements on disclosure forms from 1999 to 2006.

The maximum sentence on each of the felony charges is five years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine.

Stevens has served in the Senate for more than 40 years. He says he plans to continue to run for re-election.

Sources: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/28/washington/28stevens.html?hp

http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=6088781&page=1

The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled today that Tennessee can prohibit wineries from selling directly to consumers. This means that state residents can not buy wine directly through the Internet and have it shipped to their homes.

The court says federal trade rules allow Tennessee to mandate that consumer utilize wholesalers to purchase wine.

Source: http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2008/10/24/ap5603597.html

US Homeland Security Secretary, Michael Chertoff, announced Wednesday the implementation of a final rule for a government program developed to screen potential air passengers against the government’s “no fly” terrorist watch list. The program, Secure Flight, will be in effect in early 2009 for domestic flights (late 2009 for international flights) and will require airlines to collect and submit to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) the full names, gender and birthdate of traveling passengers. The TSA will then compare the information against the government’s watch list and decide whether a passenger should receive a boarding pass.

The program is designed to eliminate misidentifications and other inefficiencies in the process, which was previously handled by the airlines themselves. The program has been delayed due to privacy concerns, but the TSA Administrator, Kip Hawley, stated:

“Secure Flight will improve security by maintaining the confidentiality of the government’s watch list information while fully protecting passengers’ privacy and civil liberties. … Ensuring privacy has been a cornerstone of this program and TSA has developed a comprehensive privacy plan to incorporate privacy laws and practices into all areas of Secure Flight.”

Source: http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2008/10/chertoff-announces-revised-airline.php

http://www.tsa.gov/what_we_do/layers/secureflight/index.shtm

The US Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit to stop JBS S.A. from acquiring National Beef Packing Company, LLC. The merger would combine the 3rd and 4th largest beef packing plants in the country. However, in its civil antitrust suit filed on Monday, DOJ says the move would result in higher prices for consumers.

Attorneys General of Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas and Wyoming are joining the Department’s lawsuit.

Source: http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2008/October/08-at-936.html

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case involving the punishment of illegal aliens who use false Social Security and alien registration numbers that belong to a real person. A 2004 law makes a two-year prison sentence mandatory for aggravated identity theft. Aggravated identity theft under the statute is defined as knowingly using the identifying information of another in connection with certain other offenses.

At issue is whether the random selection of an identifying number that in fact belongs to a real person qualifies as knowing use for purposes of the aggravated identity theft statute. The defendant in the case, Ignacio Flores-Figueroa, a Mexican citizen, used a counterfeit Social Security card bearing his real name and a false Social Security number in order to obtain employment. Although it was unknown to Flores-Figueroa, the Social Security number belonged to a minor. The Court will decide whether the knowing use of false information is sufficient for a conviction or whether the accused must know the false information belongs to a real person.

Source: http://www.lexisone.com/news/ap/ap102108a.html

The United States Supreme Court overturned a lower court order today that would have required Ohio election officials to take additional measures to verify voter eligibility. A lawsuit had been filed by the state GOP. It has been concerned about the potential for voter fraud because information provided by some newly registered voters has not matched up with driver’s license and Social Security numbers.

In reaching its decision, the Court said that a federal law which called for computer checks of new voters did not authorize private lawsuits by citizens to enforce it.

Sources: http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/17/ohio.voting/

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-scotus18-2008oct18,0,3579254.story

A Missouri teenager’s father is claiming that the online taunting of his daughter caused her to be admitted to a mental health clinic and he is suing for over $25,000 in medical expenses and seeks to have Internet social networks Facebook and Web portal Live.com provide information on the sender of messages to his daughter. The case is similar to another Missouri case, in which Megan Meier, 13, committed suicide over the Myspace communications by a fictitious boyfriend. Megan’s death led to the passage of a new Missouri statute, making Internet harassment a felony for people over 21 and a misdemeanor for those under 21.

In the recently filed case, the unidentified teenager, age 16, had previously undergone outpatient treatment for 22 days in June and July for a psychiatric condition that the lawsuit claims was partly due to an obsessive relationship with a teenage boy. The suit claims someone created a fictitious Facebook account, using photos of an attractive, older model and the name “Jennifer Litzinger”, “for the purpose of creating a purported rival” for the boy’s affections. The suit claims that on the day before the teen was to finish outpatient treatment in July, “Litzinger” sent multiple communications, claiming she had been talking and texting with the boyfriend every day and night, was more attractive than the teen, and other comments designed to make the teen feel inferior to her fictitious rival.

Source: http://www6.lexisnexis.com/publisher/EndUser?Action=UserDisplayFullDocument&orgId=607&docId=l:l:865451574&topicId=13585&source=undefined&start=11&topics=single