Kansas Supreme Court Upholds Noneconomic Damage Cap in Tort Cases

In Miller v. Johnson (No. 99818), a case handed down just this past Friday, the Kansas Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Kansas Tort Claims Act.

The KTCA caps noneconomic damages in tort claims to $250,000. The trial jury returned a verdict $325,000 excess of this amount, but the trial court set it aside in favor of the statutory cap. The opinion is very lengthy and does not break down easily into component parts, but it appears that the KTCA is here to stay for good. Long story short, the Court said that the legislature's imposition of limits in awards does not violate the separation of powers, in that it does not invade the province of the jury. On the plus side, the Court did reinstate $100,000 for future medical expenses.

Aside from the noneconomic cap, the KTCA also imposes a punitive damages cap of $5,000,000 at best, depending on the circumstances.

For information on how this decision may affect you, please give us a call at the Paulus Law Firm.

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Jordan Bergus
Attorney
Paulus Law Firm

Pregnancy To Become A Protected Disability Requiring Reasonable Accommodation?

On September 19, 2012, Senator Robert Casey of Pennsylvania proposed a bill that, if passed, would seek to end discrimination in the workplace based on pregnancy.

The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act would make it unlawful for an employer to: 1) deny employment; 2) fail to make reasonable accommodation; 3) require an employee to accept an accommodation she does not wish to accept; or 4) require an employee to take leave, if another reasonable accommodation is available.

Here is a link to the full text of the proposed legislation: Pregnant Workers Fairness Act.

Check the blog in the coming months for an update on the status of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act.

In the meantime, please contact the Paulus Law Firm with any questions that you have regarding pregnancy in the workplace or any other disability.
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Jordan Bergus
Attorney
Paulus Law Firm

Teachers Fired for Reproductive Choice

The ACLU of Kansas & Western Missouri filed a compliant on behalf of a employee who was fired from a Catholic school in Missouri for becoming pregnant outside of wedlock. Read the full story at http://www.aclu.org/blog/womens-rights-religion-belief/religion-isnt-free-pass-discriminate-against-employees 

A workers rights group protested Wednesday at the front of a New Haven pub that is says failed to pay a cook overtime even though he worked 72 hours a week. Click here for the full story and a video of the protest. http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2012/08/22/news/new_haven/doc5035524e95acb751414942.txt

The Society for Human Resource Management recently released a "hiring toolkit" for employing veterans. This "toolkit" demonstrates helpful steps which employers must take to successfully recruit and retain military veterans in civilian workplaces. It also includes helpful resources for employment law, related to employing veterans. To access this "toolkit" click here.

Wal-Mart Pays $4.8 Million in Back Pay

An investigation by the Department of Labor has shown that Wal-Mart is misclassifying certain employees; consequently, violating federal overtime pay laws. As a result of this investigation, Wal-Mart has agreed to pay $4.8 million in back pay to thousands of employees. However,a much larger issue may be at hand. There are probably many more employees who qualify for back pay than those who are included in the settlement. Also, many employees included in this settlement may have not been compensated for all the back pay owed. If you feel that you may qualify for back pay from Walmart, please contact Paulus Law Firm at mail@pauluslawfirm.com.

DST Systems Layoffs, age based

The Paulus Law Firm is currently investigating DST Systems following a series of layoffs by DST Systems that our current clients claim were based on age. If you've been terminated or laid off by DST Systems and feel that your termination was based in part on your age, please contact the Paulus Law Firm at mail@pauluslawfirm.com