Tag Archives: civil laws

How Is It Still Legal to Fire Someone for Being Gay?

A New York court ruled today that firing an employee based on sexual orientation is against the law – but the legal battle isn’t over yet

Is it illegal to fire people because of their sexual orientation? Ask most people this question and you’ll get the same answer from almost 90% of them – of course it is. Unfortunately, though, in most places in the country that answer is wrong and it is perfectly lawful to do so. Today, however, a New York federal appeals court took a major step toward correcting that wrong, one that if adopted throughout the country will finally protect gay and lesbian people from being fired because of who they are.

Full Read – https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/how-is-it-still-legal-to-fire-someone-for-being-gay-w517124

Trump University case will go to trial

  @CNNMoney April 26, 2016: 5:49 PM ET



The slug-fest between Donald Trump and New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman over Trump University continues.

On Tuesday, a New York court ruled that Schneiderman’s $40 million civil suit alleging fraud against Trump University would still have to go to trial, even though Schneiderman had asked the court for a ruling based on the evidence already presented.

No date has been set for a trial. But according to a statement from Schneiderman, the judge “indicated her intention to move as expeditiously as possible.”

A spokesman for Schneiderman’s office said the trial could take place as early as this fall. If so, that timing could prove tricky for Trump should he be chosen as the GOP’s presidential nominee.

The Trump camp was happy with the court’s decision Tuesday.

“We are extremely pleased that the Supreme Court has yet again rejected the Attorney General’s attempt to avoid a trial.” said Alan Garten, an attorney for Trump.

Related: Trump University controversy … in 2 minutes

The denial of Schneiderman’s request for summary judgment came after a New York court rejected the arguments of Donald Trump’s lawyers that Schneiderman’s fraud case should be tossed out.

Trump University, launched in 2005, was a real estate seminar business that promised to teach students the mogul’s investing techniques to get rich on real estate. The business, which has effectively been defunct for several years, is currently facing three lawsuits filed by and on behalf of former students who claim it was a fraud.

Schneiderman’s suit, filed in 2013, accuses Trump University of deceptive business practices, alleging that its advertisements made false claims, including that Trump handpicked the instructors and that consumers who took the seminars would receive access to private sources of financing — i.e., “hard money lenders.”

“It was a classic bait-and-switch scheme,” Schneiderman told CNN.

–CNN’s Drew Griffin contributed to this report.

 CNNMoney (New York)First published April 26, 2016: 5:20 PM ET from http://money.cnn.com/2016/04/26/news/trump-university/

Federal prosecutor reviews possible use of RICO law for Altoona-Johnstown

By Peter Smith / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

U.S. Attorney David Hickton said his office is looking into whether a federal civil law on organized crime can be applied to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown in the wake of a state grand jury report that said it had a history of clergy sexual abuse and coverup.

The report found that much of the abuse by diocesan priests dated back several decades, and neither the abuse nor any alleged coverup could be prosecuted under the statute of limitations.

But federal laws allow U.S. prosecutors to bring a civil case against an organization and seek an injunction or a consent decree to shape its future behavior, and such cases do not have a statute of limitations, he said.

Mr. Hickton said his office is looking into the case because it prosecuted one Altoona-Johnstown priest, Joseph Maurizio, who last month was sentenced to 17 years in federal prison for sexually abusing boys at a Honduras orphanage between 2004 and 2009.

U.S. Attorney David Hickton said his office is looking into whether a federal civil law on organized crime can be applied to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown in the wake of a state grand jury report that said it had a history of clergy sexual abuse and coverup.

The report found that much of the abuse by diocesan priests dated back several decades, and neither the abuse nor any alleged coverup could be prosecuted under the statute of limitations.

But federal laws allow U.S. prosecutors to bring a civil case against an organization and seek an injunction or a consent decree to shape its future behavior, and such cases do not have a statute of limitations, he said.

Mr. Hickton said his office is looking into the case because it prosecuted one Altoona-Johnstown priest, Joseph Maurizio, who last month was sentenced to 17 years in federal prison for sexually abusing boys at a Honduras orphanage between 2004 and 2009.

Sourced From – http://www.post-gazette.com/news/state/2016/04/02/Federal-prosecutor-reviews-possible-use-of-RICO-law-for-Altoona-Johnstown/stories/201604020025