A new Colorado law (8-2-122, C.R.S., HB 06S-1017) concerning employment verification requirements became effective on January 1, 2007. This law applies to public and private employers who transact business in Colorado, and to employees hired on or after January 1, 2007. There are two main components to the law: (1) Each employer in Colorado shall make an affirmation within 20 days after hiring a new employee. The employer must keep a written or electronic copy of the affirmation for the term of employment of each employee. A sample affirmation is available via the link in the left column. (2) The employer must keep a written or electronic copy of the employee’s identity documents presented for the federal Form I-9. The copies must be retained for the term of employment of each employee. The documents described above should not be submitted to the Colorado Division of Labor, unless specifically requested by the Division. Here's the link to the form Affirmation employers need to fill out . . . http://www.coworkforce.com/lab/AffirmationForm.pdf
Here's the link to the Colorado Department of Labor & Employment's website . . . http://www.coworkforce.com/lab/evr/
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Friday, August 10, 2007
Smiles In Any Language
Denver Attorney Brings Books to Guatemalan Village
http://www.9news.com/life/programming/shows/mornings/article.aspx?storyid=75104
DENVER. (Jamie Kim reporting). After hearing about children in a Guatemalan village with no books to read an area attorney decided to share her childhood favorites by delivering them in person. Kim Ryan found out about the need in San Bernabe from a fellow Denver attorney, Vince DeGarlais. "When I heard that these children had no books, I couldn't imagine a world like that," Ryan said. Ryan and her son Kyle happened to have a vacation planned to Guatemala the following week. She decided to turn that vacation into a literacy mission. The problem is she only had four days to do it. Ryan sent e-mails to fellow attorneys asking them to donate children's books in Spanish. She also bought books herself. In the end, she gathered about 100 books to take with her. Ryan says when she arrived with Kyle at the village they forgot all the Spanish words they knew. DeGarlais had to explain to the children that they were here to give them books. "The children just flocked around us, and it was the most amazing thing I'd ever seen," said Ryan. "Their faces were so filled with joy." What the children may not know is why Ryan is doing this. It is to honor her younger brother who died from a heart attack in February. He was just 29 years old. "He really cared about people on a deep level," said Ryan. "He was a very, very giving person - and he would read like crazy. He also read like a couple books a week." So she thought it would be appropriate to create a library in San Bernabe in his honor. Those dozens of books delivered on her recent trip are the start of the Aaron J. Ryan Living Memorial Library. Ryan says she has learned something important from this project. "You can take something in your life that feels devastating to you, and turn it into something that can help other people. Sometimes we think we have to make this huge difference. And for us, just carrying books in our suitcase was a way that we could make a difference," said Ryan. Ryan believes her little brother would approve. She says she found a sign of that recently in a picture of Aaron getting books for his fourth birthday. "I really feel like he's blessed this whole thing," she adds. Ryan hopes her efforts will inspire others to help even one person. She plans to keep making trips to Guatemala to deliver more books. She is asking people to donate children's books in Spanish to take with her.
For more information on where to drop off the books, contact her at kim@ryanfirm.com
To make a contribution by check, please make check payable to "The Coghill Foundation" and write "Ryan Library" in the memo space. Please send to Kimberlie K. Ryan, The Ryan Law Firm, LLC, 283 Columbine St. #157, Denver CO 80206.
The Coghill Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization, and we will get a receipt to you for your tax deduction.
http://www.9news.com/life/programming/shows/mornings/article.aspx?storyid=75104
DENVER. (Jamie Kim reporting). After hearing about children in a Guatemalan village with no books to read an area attorney decided to share her childhood favorites by delivering them in person. Kim Ryan found out about the need in San Bernabe from a fellow Denver attorney, Vince DeGarlais. "When I heard that these children had no books, I couldn't imagine a world like that," Ryan said. Ryan and her son Kyle happened to have a vacation planned to Guatemala the following week. She decided to turn that vacation into a literacy mission. The problem is she only had four days to do it. Ryan sent e-mails to fellow attorneys asking them to donate children's books in Spanish. She also bought books herself. In the end, she gathered about 100 books to take with her. Ryan says when she arrived with Kyle at the village they forgot all the Spanish words they knew. DeGarlais had to explain to the children that they were here to give them books. "The children just flocked around us, and it was the most amazing thing I'd ever seen," said Ryan. "Their faces were so filled with joy." What the children may not know is why Ryan is doing this. It is to honor her younger brother who died from a heart attack in February. He was just 29 years old. "He really cared about people on a deep level," said Ryan. "He was a very, very giving person - and he would read like crazy. He also read like a couple books a week." So she thought it would be appropriate to create a library in San Bernabe in his honor. Those dozens of books delivered on her recent trip are the start of the Aaron J. Ryan Living Memorial Library. Ryan says she has learned something important from this project. "You can take something in your life that feels devastating to you, and turn it into something that can help other people. Sometimes we think we have to make this huge difference. And for us, just carrying books in our suitcase was a way that we could make a difference," said Ryan. Ryan believes her little brother would approve. She says she found a sign of that recently in a picture of Aaron getting books for his fourth birthday. "I really feel like he's blessed this whole thing," she adds. Ryan hopes her efforts will inspire others to help even one person. She plans to keep making trips to Guatemala to deliver more books. She is asking people to donate children's books in Spanish to take with her.
For more information on where to drop off the books, contact her at kim@ryanfirm.com
To make a contribution by check, please make check payable to "The Coghill Foundation" and write "Ryan Library" in the memo space. Please send to Kimberlie K. Ryan, The Ryan Law Firm, LLC, 283 Columbine St. #157, Denver CO 80206.
The Coghill Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization, and we will get a receipt to you for your tax deduction.
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
Punitive Damages Awarded in Disability Harassment Case
DALLAS – The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has received a favorable jury verdict of $166,500 in a disability harassment lawsuit brought against a Subway restaurant franchise, BobRich Enterprises, Inc., on behalf of a female manager who was discriminated against and forced to resign because of her hearing impairment.
The Dallas jury of five women and two men awarded former area supervisor Tammy Gitsham $66,500 for lost wages and emotional harm and an additional $100,000 in punitive damages in the EEOC’s suit under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division (Case No. 3-05-CV-1928M, before Judge Barbara M.G. Lynn). The EEOC charged in the case that Subway Owner Robert Suarez and one of his managers subjected Gitsham to a disability-based hostile work environment, including teasing and name-calling, because she is hearing impaired and wears hearing aids.
The jury verdict followed the presentation of evidence by the EEOC that Gitsham was forced to resign her position after both the owner and human resources/training manager repeatedly mocked her privately and in front of other employees, creating a hostile workplace, with taunts such as: “Read My Lips” and “Can you hear me now?” and “You got your ears on?”
“I am very happy with the judgment,” said Gitsham, commenting on the verdict. “It is important for people to realize that they don’t have to put up with this type of mean-spirited treatment from business owners. I feel that I can now move on with my life.”
According to the EEOC, BobRich Enterprises, Inc. has owned and operated as many as 20 Subway stores throughout the Dallas metroplex. Gitsham worked as an area supervisor for Subway, managing between five and 10 stores throughout the metroplex during her year and a half of employment at the franchise.
EEOC’s Dallas Regional Attorney Robert Canino said, “As our nation observes the 17th anniversary of the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act, this case should remind employers of their legal obligation to promote discrimination-free workplaces for people with disabilities. Humiliating an excellent and loyal employee because of a disability is more than just bad behavior, it is bad business. This company should have been as focused on creating a healthy work environment as it was on making a healthy sandwich.”
The ADA, enacted on July 26, 1990, prohibits private employers, state and local governments, employment agencies, and labor unions from discriminating against qualified individuals with disabilities in job application procedures, hiring, firing, advancement, compensation, job training, and other terms, conditions, and privileges of employment.
EEOC Supervisory Trial Attorney Suzanne M. Anderson said, “All individuals deserve the freedom to compete and advance in the workplace on a level playing field -- including individuals with disabilities. Employers should proactively prevent disability discrimination by putting policies and procedures in place to ensure that employees and managers clearly understand and abide by the letter and spirit of the law.”
Since Fiscal Year 1992, when the ADA’s employment provisions became effective, the EEOC has received more than 235,000 charge filings alleging disability discrimination, filed more than 700 ADA lawsuits, and obtained approximately $665 million in total monetary relief for charging parties.
The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination based on race, color, gender (including sexual harassment and pregnancy), religion, national origin, age, disability and retaliation. Further information about the EEOC is available on its web site at www.eeoc.gov.
The Dallas jury of five women and two men awarded former area supervisor Tammy Gitsham $66,500 for lost wages and emotional harm and an additional $100,000 in punitive damages in the EEOC’s suit under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division (Case No. 3-05-CV-1928M, before Judge Barbara M.G. Lynn). The EEOC charged in the case that Subway Owner Robert Suarez and one of his managers subjected Gitsham to a disability-based hostile work environment, including teasing and name-calling, because she is hearing impaired and wears hearing aids.
The jury verdict followed the presentation of evidence by the EEOC that Gitsham was forced to resign her position after both the owner and human resources/training manager repeatedly mocked her privately and in front of other employees, creating a hostile workplace, with taunts such as: “Read My Lips” and “Can you hear me now?” and “You got your ears on?”
“I am very happy with the judgment,” said Gitsham, commenting on the verdict. “It is important for people to realize that they don’t have to put up with this type of mean-spirited treatment from business owners. I feel that I can now move on with my life.”
According to the EEOC, BobRich Enterprises, Inc. has owned and operated as many as 20 Subway stores throughout the Dallas metroplex. Gitsham worked as an area supervisor for Subway, managing between five and 10 stores throughout the metroplex during her year and a half of employment at the franchise.
EEOC’s Dallas Regional Attorney Robert Canino said, “As our nation observes the 17th anniversary of the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act, this case should remind employers of their legal obligation to promote discrimination-free workplaces for people with disabilities. Humiliating an excellent and loyal employee because of a disability is more than just bad behavior, it is bad business. This company should have been as focused on creating a healthy work environment as it was on making a healthy sandwich.”
The ADA, enacted on July 26, 1990, prohibits private employers, state and local governments, employment agencies, and labor unions from discriminating against qualified individuals with disabilities in job application procedures, hiring, firing, advancement, compensation, job training, and other terms, conditions, and privileges of employment.
EEOC Supervisory Trial Attorney Suzanne M. Anderson said, “All individuals deserve the freedom to compete and advance in the workplace on a level playing field -- including individuals with disabilities. Employers should proactively prevent disability discrimination by putting policies and procedures in place to ensure that employees and managers clearly understand and abide by the letter and spirit of the law.”
Since Fiscal Year 1992, when the ADA’s employment provisions became effective, the EEOC has received more than 235,000 charge filings alleging disability discrimination, filed more than 700 ADA lawsuits, and obtained approximately $665 million in total monetary relief for charging parties.
The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination based on race, color, gender (including sexual harassment and pregnancy), religion, national origin, age, disability and retaliation. Further information about the EEOC is available on its web site at www.eeoc.gov.
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