Ryan Farrick is a freelance writer and small business advertising consultant based out of mid-Michigan. Passionate about international politics and world affairs, he’s an avid traveler with a keen interest in the connections between South Asia and the United States. Ryan studied neuroscience and has spent the last several years working as an operations manager in transportation logistics.
A federal judge approved a $7.5 million class-action settlement against retail giant Wal-Mart, after finding that the company had violated gender discrimination laws by denying spousal benefits to same-sex couples. According to The Boston Globe, the suit was filed on behalf of a New Bedford, MA, woman by the advocacy group GLAD. The Globe notes
The family of Timothy Piazza, a 19-year old student at Penn State University who’d die after partaking in a hazing ritual, plans to file a lawsuit against both the school and the fraternity involved. Piazza was a freshman at Penn State when he rushed the Greek-letter organization Beta Theta Pi. As part of a hazing
The U.S. Supreme Court struck a blow against consumer protections on Monday, ruling that a national collections agency wasn’t in the wrong for pursuing an expired debt. In a split 5-3 decision, the court sided with Midland Funding, which had repeatedly called an Alabama woman regarding $1,879 she’d owed for over a decade. The woman,
Thousands of Michigan residents have received payouts from the state following a $47 million settlement alleging food assistance was wrongfully cut off to deserving families. Between 2013 and 2014, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder and his Department of Health and Human Services began enforcing a state law which stopped benefits from going to individuals wanted for
A civil rights watchdog filed a lawsuit against controversial Massachusetts Sheriff Thomas Hodgson last Thursday. The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Economic Justice filed the lawsuit after submitting several requests for information pertaining to the sheriff’s department’s participation in a program with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The program would teach law enforcement officers
Former Los Angeles Sheriff’s Deputy Jan Adams was awarded a $1.275 million in a lawsuit which claims the department had retaliated against her following testimony against colleagues. The LA Times reports the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved the settlement on Tuesday “without comment.” Adams had blown the whistle on colleagues she claimed were
Accusations of a racially-charged work environment and tied noose cost a New Jersey county authority $97,000. Scott Henry, a former employee of New Jersey’s Atlantic County Utilities Authority, filed a lawsuit in August 2015 claiming he’d been harassed by two coworkers. Henry, who is black, said he’d found a noose “hanging from a chair in
Former President Barack Obama publicly called on members of Congress to fight back against a Republican repeal and replacement of his signature Affordable Care Act. Since leaving office, Obama has, as a matter of policy, steered clear of political discourse. He has retained a neutral and even somewhat optimistic tone concerning the Trump administration. The
FedEx has settled a series of lawsuits brought against it by disgruntled drivers to the tune of $224 million. The litigation, initiated by FedEx drivers from 19 states, claims the company had under-compensated its over-the-road employees by misclassifying them as independent contractors rather than full-time workers. According to the Indianapolis Business Journal, the payments made
Senators grilled United Airlines President Scott Kirby twice last week, apparently skeptical of the company’s promises to improve customer service procedures and transparency polices. Since the forceful removal of passenger David Dao from an overbooked flight in the second week of April. The incident, made infamous by footage of Dr. Dao being manhandled by black-clad