Monthly Archives: January 2010

Justice Department Sues Johnson & Johnson for Medicare Fraud

January 24th, 2010

DrugImage.jpgWhat do you do when the company you work for is defrauding the government? Perhaps the call the FBI, perhaps call the local police. But more and more employees are first turning to experienced false claims employment attorneys to represent them in lawsuits against the employer “on behalf of” the state or federal government.
One recent example is the Justice Department’s lawsuit against drug giant Johnson & Johnson. According to the complaint, J&J violated the Medicare Act by encouraging doctors to prescribe medication that was not medically necessary, but that would be paid by the taxpapers through Medicare. Doctors have a moral and legal obligation to prescribe medication that is in the best interest of their patients. But according to the complaint, doctors were paid money to over-prescribe unneccessary medication. The bills, submitted by doctors and hospitals on behalf of medicare patients, were paid by the state. The bills submitted to the state, better known as “claims,” were fraudulent because they were based on a fraud. And J&J apparently was the master agent behind the entire scheme.
This kind of fraud is quite common and hard to detect because doctors are generally given substantial leeway in prescribing medication. But medicare fraud is rampant, and South Florida is a major hot bed for medicare fraud.
Employees who blow the whistle on fraud on the government are potentially rewarded with a lucrative percentage of the government’s recovery, and of course there’s the personal satisfaction with doing your part to make sure that the American taxpayers are not being cheated. But these claims are difficult to prove and that is why you should speak confidentially to an experienced whistleblower lawyer as soon as you suspect the fraud. If you wait until you’re fired or you resign, it could be too late.

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AT&T’s first-tier “managers” may be entitled to $1 billion in overtime compensation

January 22nd, 2010

The Fair Labor Standards Act mandates that all employees be paid time and half for all time worked in excess of 40 hours in any given work week. The Act exempts only a small class of employees, commonly referred to as managers or supervisors. But the title “manager” or “supervisor” has no legal significance, nor does being “salaried.” The law considers what employees actually do on a daily basis — not what the company claims they do. Many companies – ranging from small businesses to large publically traded companies – routinely misclassify their employees and wrongfully deny them the overtime compensation they are legally entitled to receive.
According to a new lawsuit filed in federal court in Atlanta, telecom giant AT&T is one such company. Apparently their first tier managers are not paid any overtime, even though their job duties are not actually “managerial.” This is a fact intensive question and AT&T, which is facing millions of dollars in damages, will no doubt spare no expense defending this lawsuit. Employees of all levels should consult with an experienced overtime compensation employment attorney to get educated.

Posted in Class and Collective Actions | Comments Off

When does sexist language become sexual harassment?

January 21st, 2010

For years the federal courts have disagreed over what amount of bad, rude, sexist and raunchy langauge is required for someone to bring sexual harassment lawsuit. But a recent opinion by the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals provided much needed guidance on the topic and made it clear that using words such as “bitch,” “whore” and “cunt” in the workplace are unacceptable. Too many women have been denied their day in court because some judges have concluded that a certain amount of foul language is just part of the workday. Conduct that was accepted and tolerated twenty or thirty years ago is no longer acceptable and women have the right raise these issues with the employer and, if necessary, file suit to enforce and vindicate those rights.
In Reeves v. C.H. Robinson Worldwide, a female employee – who previously served in the U.S. Merchant Marines and was no stranger to sexist jokes and language – was forced to listen to her male co-workers degrade her and other women in the workplace for years. When she complained to management she was blown off and no corrective action was taken. After filing suit, the trial judge dismissed the lawsuit because he concluded that the daily verbal abuse and degradation she suffered was not sufficient to constitute sexual harassment. But the Court of Appeals strongly disagreed and issued a well-reasoned and detailed opinion reversing the dismissal and allowing the cas to proceed to trial. What makes the decision so important is that, despite being considered a very conservative court, not a single judge dissented or disagreed in any way with the reversal.
This case stresses the importance of having a zero tolerance policy when it comes to sexist language and conduct, and the importance of consulting with an experienced sexual harassment employment attorney as early as possible.

Posted in Retaliation, Sex Discrimination, Sexual Harassment | Comments Off