Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2004/07/23

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Subject: [Leica] FYI: legal press release
From: jls at runbox.com (Jeffery Smith)
Date: Fri Jul 23 11:55:48 2004

I'm going through the same sort of thing. In January, my wife was
driving to work and had just driven 3 blocks when a lady with 2 kids in
her SUV ran a stop sign. My wife slammed on the brakes but still hit the
rear of her vehicle. The woman apologized profusely and was ticketed for
running the stop sign. When I had our car towed in to be repaired, her
insurance company (300 miles away) told me that they think my wife was
probably speeding (!) and said that they would pay only half since it
was half my wife's fault. So, State Farm has to take them to court.

To add insult to this, the woman who ran the stop sign is trying to beat
the ticket. So my wife has been subpoenaed three times to traffic court
(but never called as a witness). She has lost about $1,000 in sales from
having to shut down her store on three occasions to sit in court so this
lady can get out of paying for her ticket.

Jeffery Smith
New Orleans, LA


-----Original Message-----
From: lug-bounces+jls=runbox.com@leica-users.org
[mailto:lug-bounces+jls=runbox.com@leica-users.org] On Behalf Of Jim
Shulman
Sent: Friday, July 23, 2004 1:31 PM
To: 'Leica Users Group'
Subject: RE: [Leica] FYI: legal press release

Jeffrey,

You were always expendable.  Now, unless it's under the threat of
lawsuit or
union action, it often makes greater economic sense for a company to
shed
you from the workforce and replace you with someone younger, cheaper,
and
more pliant.

We live in an era of calculated risk and costs.  Why should a company
follow
a high ethical standard if, odds on, they might make more money getting
rid
of the "problem" and worrying about a lawsuit later?  The injured party
may
or may not have the stamina, money, or fury to see it through.  The
company
often assumes that, in the event of a viable lawsuit, they can always
settle.  

I know of three examples from various experiences with this line of
thought:

1. My partner, John, was recently in an auto accident.  Another driver
rammed into the driver's door of his car.  John was stopped, perfectly
legally, in a line of traffic.  The other driver backed into his door.
The
culpability could not have been clearer.  John made the claim with the
other
driver's insurance company.  The other driver's insurance company
refused to
settle; they told him, "Go sue us."  So he contacted an attorney, who
sent a
letter.  THEN the insurance company settled for an amount covering the
attorney's fees and the damages.  

In the old days, with clear culpability, there would have been no
question--the claims adjuster might have written a check on the spot.
Now
it's a matter of playing the odds.  Would John have just said,
"Fergeddit"
and eaten the cost of the repair?  With many people, the trouble of
finding
a lawyer would have outweighed the expense of the repair.  The insurance
company follows the letter of the law and makes more money.

2. An employer I know dismissed a longtime employee who had been treated
for
breast cancer.  The employee was on disability during her chemotherapy,
and
still managed to make it to the office part-time.  When the chemotherapy
was
finished, she came back full time.  The employer told her that they no
longer needed her services, and was "redefining" the job.  The person
who
filled the "redefined" job assumed the same set of responsibilities.
Did
she have a case?  I'm no attorney, but I'd be willing to bet that she
did.
She chose not to pursue a lawsuit, since it would be far more draining
on
her health and outlook.  She walked away and started another career.
The
company got rid of their health "problem" and saved a fortune.  The
company
played the odds and won.

3. A food processor once told me that the company regularly "played the
odds" with their processed edibles.  Occasionally a batch would go
through
tainted, but that it would be far more costly to institute more rigorous
processing and inspection standards.  The cost of paying fines was lower
than re-engineering the process.

I hope to hell that Brian makes this an extraordinarily expensive and
embarassing decision for Google.  That's the only chance older/less
healthy
workers have at redress for what appears to be a horrible injustice. 


Jim Shulman
Bryn Mawr, PA


-----Original Message-----
From: lug-bounces+jshul=comcast.net@leica-users.org
[mailto:lug-bounces+jshul=comcast.net@leica-users.org] On Behalf Of
Jeffery
Smith
Sent: Friday, July 23, 2004 2:07 PM
To: 'Leica Users Group'
Subject: RE: [Leica] FYI: legal press release

Good Grief! I'm 54 too. We've reached that age that we are seen as
expendable. Depressing.

Jeffery Smith
New Orleans, LA


-----Original Message-----
From: lug-bounces+jls=runbox.com@leica-users.org
[mailto:lug-bounces+jls=runbox.com@leica-users.org] On Behalf Of Brian
Reid
Sent: Friday, July 23, 2004 1:00 PM
To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
Subject: [Leica] FYI: legal press release

I've had to keep quiet about this for a long time, but today my attorney
issued this press release:

http://reid.org/brian/misc/PressRelease.html

Summary: I was let go from Google for "unspecified reasons" and I am
taking them to court for wrongful termination.

Please don't let this affect your use of Google. It's still the greatest
search engine around, even if it has a few people in management with
whom I disagree. The working folks who keep it operating are the best.
And until recently, all of them reported to me....

_______________________________________________
Leica Users Group.
See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information


_______________________________________________
Leica Users Group.
See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information

_______________________________________________
Leica Users Group.
See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information



In reply to: Message from jshul at comcast.net (Jim Shulman) ([Leica] FYI: legal press release)