Court Cases

Barometre v. L & L Painting Co. (EEOC, filed 2006)
Legal Momentum filed a charge of discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) alleging sex discrimination and retaliation claims on behalf of a female apprentice painter against her employer.

Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway Co. v. White, 548 U.S. 53 (2006)
In an important victory for employees everywhere, on June 22, 2006 the U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous ruling in favor of forklift operator Sheila White. The Court ruled that Ms. White's employer violated federal anti-discrimination law when it responded to her sexual harassment complaint by transferring her to a less desirable job and later suspending her without pay for over a month.

Client v. DeFoe Construction and Local 731 (EEOC, filed 2006)
Legal Momentum represents a 50-year-old laborer who was fired from a state-funded construction project in New York City.  The EEOC recently found "probable cause" to believe our client's employer and her union discriminated against her because of her sex and age, and retaliated against her for complaining about that misconduct.

Genao v. Allied New York Servs., Inc., et al. Index No. 19335/06., (Sup. Ct. NY. Co, filed 2006)
Legal Momentum has filed suit in New York state court on behalf of Nattalia Genao, the only female mechanic at Allied New York Services, Inc., a company providing fueling services and fuel facility maintenance at JFK International Airport. The case alleges that Ms. Genao endured pervasive harassment at Allied's JFK worksite, culminating in an incident in which Ms. Genao's three foot tall standing toolbox was soaked in urine. Legal Momentum also represented Ms. Genao in EEOC proceedings against her union, which were resolved in early 2006.

Hernandez v. HCH Miller Park Joint Venture, 418 F.3d 732 (7th Cir. 2005)
Legal Momentum submitted an amicus brief to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit on behalf of a female laborer who brought claims of sex discrimination and retaliation arising out of her work on Milwaukee's Miller Park construction site.

Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. 127 S. Ct. 2162 (2007)
The Court ruled that an employee loses her right to sue for pay discrimination if she does not bring her claim within 180 days of her employer's pay decision-even if the employee has no reason to believe that that decision is discriminatory.

Mahl v. Millar Elevator Service Corp., et al., No. 02 CV 10019 (PKC) (S.D.N.Y. Consent Stipulation and Order of Settlement and Dismissal entered Mar. 10, 2004)
Legal Momentum and our co-counsel, the law firm of Goodman & Zuchlewski, settled this lawsuit, which we filed on behalf of our client, Nancy Mahl. Ms. Mahl is one of only a few women elevator mechanics (out of over 500) who work in the New York division of Schindler Elevator Corporation, the world's second largest elevator company.

Miller v. Conti Enterprises (EEOC, filed 2005)
Legal Momentum represents a woman laborer who tried, repeatedly and unsuccessfully, to be hired on a state-funded road construction project in lower Manhattan. The EEOC determined that there was "probable cause" to believe the company discriminated not only against our client, but all other women who had applied for work at the site.

Prowel v. Wise Business Forms No. 07-3997 (3rd Cir., filed 2008)
Legal Momentum co-authored an amicus brief in this case concerning discriminatory sex stereotypes on the job.

Sellick v. Consolidated Edison Co. of New York, et al. (EEOC, filed 2007) 
Legal Momentum represents Sharron Sellick, one of the few women mechanics in Con Ed's 500-employee Maintenance and Construction Services Department. Despite a stellar performance record, Ms. Sellick has been denied promotion to supervisor three times. On each occasion, Con Ed promoted less qualified men instead.  The charge of discrimination alleges that Ms. Sellick's experience is part of a pattern or practice of discrimination against women at Con Ed.

Wedow and Kline v. City of Kansas City, 442 F.3d 661 (8th Cir. 2006)
In a victory for women in firefighting and other non-traditional jobs, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit ruled that a city's failure to provide properly-sized protective clothing and its failure to provide adequate restrooms, showers and private changing facilities in firehouses, constitute sex discrimination.

Welfare v. American Airlines (EEOC, filed 2006)
Legal Momentum, along with New York City attorney Deborah H. Karpatkin, represents Angie Welfare, a female Fleet Service Clerk working in American Airlines' Cargo Division at J.F.K. International Airport. The position of Fleet Service Clerk requires an ability to lift, push, and pull heavy loads, although there are several assignments within the job category that require no lifting, pushing, or pulling. After Ms. Welfare learned in the spring of 2006 that she was pregnant, her doctor issued a restriction on heavy lifting, but otherwise concluded Ms. Welfare was fit for work. Her supervisors at American, however, told Ms. Welfare she couldn't stay on the job unless she could lift heavy loads. The airline cited its policy of limiting "light-duty" job assignments to employees injured at work, not those whose medical conditions arise "off the job." Consequently, Ms. Welfare was forced by the airline to go on unpaid sick leave. By the time she gave birth in early January 2007, Ms. Welfare was without a paycheck for seven months.