Settlement Brings Healthcare Relief for Illinois Prisoners

Accused of enabling negligence and providing substandard care, Illinois has agreed to a series of reforms intended to improve health throughout its prison system. Under the agreements, writes the Chicago Tribune, a federal monitor will oversee adjustments to prison healthcare. Among the accepted changes are increased medical and dental staffing, ‘proper training and qualifications for


Appeals Court Scores a Win for Trump’s Transgender Ban

On Friday, an appeals court ruled in favor of President Donald Trump’s ban on transgender persons serving in the U.S. military. The ruling lifted a lower court injunction against the policy. Bloomberg.com reports that the contested plan, crafted by recently-departed Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, was ‘less restrictive’ than the all-out ban first proposed by Trump.





Arizona Chief Prosecutor Urges High Court to Block Anti-Discrimination Ordinance Against Phoenix Business

Arizona’s Attorney General, Mark Brnovich, and his office are currently working hard to convince the State’s Supreme Court to “block Phoenix from enforcing its anti-discrimination ordinance against two women who refuse to craft wedding materials for same-sex nuptials.” In a legal brief submitted with the court, Brnovich claims that “Arizona and a handful of other states that have sided with him have compelling interests in protecting their citizens’ freedoms of speech and religion secured by the U.S. Constitution, as well as by their individual state constitutions.”


Cambridge School District Reaches Settlement With Employees Over Retirement Healthcare Benefits

A lawsuit settlement was recently reached between the Cambridge Central School District and retired employees over “changes made to their prescription drug benefits.” According to the suit, which was filed back in January 2016 in the State Supreme Court of Washington County, there were a total of 24 retired workers included in the complaint. The retired workers filed the lawsuit after “the district’s health insurance provider, the Washington-Saratoga-Warren-Hamilton-Essex BOCES Health Consortium Trust, dropped the more expensive Empire Blue Cross Matrix Plan” and switched “active employees to a less expensive plan.”


AC Transit Hit With Lawsuit Over Allegations of Pregnancy Discrimination

AC Transit is at the center of a class-action lawsuit over allegations that it discriminated against pregnant and breastfeeding employees. The suit also alleges that women are often “laughed at when requesting accommodations for their pregnancies.” The lawsuit was officially filed in Alameda County Superior Court and argues the “public transit agency, which serves Alameda and Contra Costa counties, fails to meet the needs of pregnant or breastfeeding employees.”