Malik Thomas W

01/31/2021

BREAKING: Former Pres. Trump is parting ways with the lawyer who was supposed to anchor his impeachment trial, sources told @ [ABC News]. https://abcn.ws/3adzz44

01/31/2021

Women-owned Tansley Halloran law firm opens in downtown Worcester

With ten years of experience each, Maura Tansley and Elizabeth Halloran have opened a women-owned law firm in Worcester.

01/31/2021

Tucked away deep within the massive 2,123-page Consolidated Appropriations Act passed by Congress late last year , you will find something called the No Surprises Act. After years of debate among health insurance companies, hospitals, doctors, ambulance companies, patient advocates, legislators and others, this act takes on the problem of surprise medical bills — that is, health care provider bills not covered by a patient’s health insurance plan. This happens because a health care provider has provided services but is not a participant in the patient’s health plan provider network.

The stage for surprise medical bills is set by the fact that health insurance plans negotiate rates with a select group of health care providers that are far below the “sticker price” rates these providers assign to their services. (This pricing scheme makes little sense since no one pays these inflated charges. They mostly just serve as a starting point for a negotiation between the provider and a patient without insurance.) In pursuit of profit, health insurance plans require their members to use in-network providers and often won’t pay for services rendered by out-of-network providers.

As an example, let’s say you end up in a hospital emergency room because of a car accident. You are in no position to see which providers are in your health plan network. However, because of your immediate need for care (and because the law requires it), you receive necessary services. This includes an ambulance company, the hospital, a surgeon, an anesthesiologist, a pulmonologist, an oxygen supplier, a physical therapist, etc. Some of these providers may be a part of your health plan network, but some are not. The result is a stack of very large sticker price bills from the out-of-network providers, who will soon be on your doorstep demanding payment. If you’re persistent, you might be able to get the providers to reduce their charges and give you time to pay. If not, your accounts will be turned over to a collection agency, your credit score will be trashed, your car may get repossessed, and you’ll probably be off to see a bankruptcy lawyer.

01/29/2021

January 2021 California Employment Law Notes
Friday, January 29, 2021
Bank Employee Who Was Harassed By A Customer Can Proceed With Sexual Harassment Claim
Christian v. Umpqua Bank, 2020 WL 7777882 (9th Cir. 2020)
Jennifer Christian, a former employee of Umpqua Bank, alleged she was sexually harassed by one of the bank’s customers in violation of Title VII and Washington state law. Among other things, the customer dropped off “small notes” stating that Christian was the “most beautiful girl he’[d] seen” and that he “would like to go on a date” with her. After Christian informed the customer that she was not interested, the customer sent her a long letter stating that she was his “dream girl” and they were “meant to be together.” Flowers and references to their being “soulmates” soon followed. Christian notified the bank manager and others in the workplace about the customer’s repeated overtures toward her, but her colleagues just warned her “to be careful.” Eventually, in response to Christian’s repeated requests, the bank closed the customer’s account and told him not to return; the bank also temporarily transferred Christian to another branch before Christian resigned based upon her doctor’s advice that it was “bad for her health to continue working at Umpqua Bank.”

Christian sued for gender discrimination and retaliation, and the district court granted the bank’s summary judgment motion. The Ninth Circuit reversed, holding that the incidents of harassment were severe or pervasive enough to create a hostile environment even though there was a seven-month gap between them and some of the incidents did not involve direct interaction with the customer (e.g., letters and notes that were left for her or persistent inquiries that the customer made about Christian to her colleagues). The Court also held there was a triable issue of fact as to whether the bank ratified or acquiesced in the harassment in view of its “glacial response – more than half a year after the stalking began – [which] was too little too late.”

Bank Employee Who Was Harassed By A Customer Can Proceed With Sexual Harassment Claim Christian v. Umpqua Bank, 2020 WL 7777882 (9th Cir. 2020) Jennifer Christian, a former employee of Umpq

01/29/2021

(1/11) “There is a moment I’ll never forget. My mother was teaching a class at our home, and my father hit her in front of the students. It was humiliating. She was an esteemed teacher in our town. After it happened, I asked her: ‘How could you possibly stay with him?’ She replied: ‘Boys will be boys. It’s a woman’s job to hold the home together.’ It’s the same story taught to every Pakistani girl. We are raised from a young age to believe that our purpose in life is to find and keep a husband. We are taught to cook, and clean, and never complain. It’s different for boys. They are allowed to grow, and work, and find their own way. But a daughter has just one path: to marry as quickly as possible. I always wanted more from life, even as a child. I wanted to create something. I wanted to be somebody. But there was nowhere to look for inspiration. The internet didn’t exist back then. And even on our television shows— women who wanted more than a family were depicted as villains. Maybe if a girl had perfect grades, then she could become a doctor or lawyer. But that wasn’t me. My grades were only average. I remember when I was sixteen years old, I secretly recorded my voice and mailed the tape to a local radio station. I thought maybe I could host my own program. But my mother found the package and removed it from the post. Then a few months later I had my first meeting with a matchmaker. My mother coached me to keep my head down. She warned me not to be clever, and to answer every question with a single sentence. But none of the questions were about my personality. All of them were about my cooking, and cleaning, and sewing. At one point I got aggressive. I told the matchmaker that I had no interest in marriage. But she only laughed at this. ‘I hear that from every girl,’ she answered. ‘But they always fall in love with their husbands. Because marriage is a beautiful thing.’ For the next several months I rejected every suitor who came to our home. I kept hoping that my parents would change their mind. They were liberal people. Both of them were educators. But during my 12th grade year they took a pilgrimage to Mecca. And when they returned, things got even worse.”

01/28/2021

Column: Growth continues in Minnesota West law enforcement program
Enrollment has increased to more than 30 students per year

Enrollment has increased to more than 30 students per year

01/28/2021

Christine Dacera's mother, Sharon, said she believes there is "still a cover-up" in the case of her daughter, as police released a fresh medico-legal report on Christine's death.
Her lawyer also claimed it was not an autopsy, "only an examination of the organs of Christine."

01/28/2021

“How any cop believes there is any justification for pointing a gun at a 6-year old child—it’s beyond me,” David Lane, lawyer for Brittany Gilliam, says of officers who detained Gilliam and her 4 children.
"This is a life changing event for these kids."

Colorado police are under fire for holding a Black woman and four unarmed kids in custody at gunpoint, forcing them to lie face-down on the ground in a parking lot for two hours after incorrectly thinking their vehicle was stolen. MSNBC’s Ari Melber reports on the disturbing case, and interviews t...

01/27/2021

Measure 110, which will decriminalize personal possession of small amounts of drugs, making it a violation much like a traffic ticket, becomes law on Monday.

01/27/2021

A defense lawyer says a laptop stolen from the offices of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi during the U.S. Capitol attack hasn’t been recovered by investigators.

01/27/2021

MURRAY – For the second day in a row, an emergency call forced Murray High School to stop classes on Tuesday so law enforcement agencies could investigate a potential threat.

On Monday, the Murray Police Department and other agencies investigated a false report of shots fired at the school. Less than 24 hours later, they were on campus again, this time investigating a bomb threat. Late Tuesday afternoon, MPD’s public information officer Sgt. Andrew Wiggins said no bomb was found. The campus was turned back over to the Murray Independent School District around 10:25 a.m., he said.

“At approximately 8:10 a.m., the Murray Police Department received a call stating there were bombs at Murray High School,” Wiggins said. “Multiple officers were already on the scene and alerted the school to the call. Bomb squad units and the ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, To***co, Fi****ms and Explosives) were notified as well. The school was evacuated and a sweep of the school was performed. The campus was thoroughly searched multiple times, and it was officially determined to be safe around 10:25 a.m. Kentucky State Police, Calloway County Sheriff’s Office, Murray State University Police and the ATF assisted on scene. An investigation into the call is ongoing.”

Wiggins said the threat came through a phone call to the MPD dispatch and police are investigating the whereabouts of the caller and other details. He said police are also looking into whether there was any connection between Monday’s call of shots fired at the school and Tuesday’s bomb threat, but he could not comment further on it at this time. He also said he could not comment on whether or not anyone had been questioned or arrested in connection with either incident. Wiggins said he could not go into great detail about how bomb threats are investigated, but he said officers must make sure the scene is safe by “double and triple-checking” before releasing the building.