WARREN, Mich. (WJBK) - Your religion or your job. That's the decision more than a dozen local Muslim-Americans say they were forced to make by their employer. They kept their faith but lost their jobs. "They felt disrespected," said attorney Cary McGehee. "They felt like they weren't valued by the company and they felt insulted." Hurt, shocked, upset and confused - that's how 26-year-old Dulal Ali says he felt when he says he was forced to choose. "They're telling us choose between your religion or work - so I chose God, obviously," Ali said. Along with 15 other Muslim workers, Ali had been working at Brose Jefferson in Warren back in May during Ramadan. The group was observing their religion by fasting from sunrise to sunset. They requested their meal break be changed to 9 p.m., instead of the usual 7 p.m. "It's nothing new," Ali said. "They did it before for four or five years." "This year the production supervisor said he didn't have to accommodate religion," McGehee said. "That if he accommodated this religion, he would have to accommodate other religions." You can see and read the entire story here.
News, Free Press, Fox 17, AP Cover State UIA Refund Announcement
From the Detroit News
Lansing — The Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency made nearly 48,000 false fraud accusations against jobless claimants over a roughly two-year period and is in the process of refunding affected residents more than $20.8...
Pitt Selected as Interim Lead Counsel in Flint Water Suit
From Daily Business Review
Their appointment came Wednesday from U.S. District Judge Judith E. Levy, but South Florida attorney Theodore "Ted" Leopold and Michigan litigator Michael Pitt have already spent thousands of hours on litigation over...
MIRS Quotes Pitt in Flint Federal Suit Court Reversal Coverage
From MIRS
A major hurdle for civil federal Flint water crisis suits was cleared today, when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled that the claims of constitutional violations brought by the plaintiffs in two major suits are not...
Pitt Featured in WJRT 12 in Flint Water Decision Coverage
Flint (WJRT) - (8/1/17) Thousands of people in Flint have joined a class action lawsuit that is trying to compensate them for the pain and suffering that have endured because of high levels of lead in their water.
The two law firms involved...
Free Press Looks at UIA Data Glitch and Cites Lord
From the Detroit Free Press
LANSING — Records obtained by the Free Press point to a major glitch in importing data into a $47-million computer system the Unemployment Insurance Agency used to detect claimant fraud, meaning the system often...
Free Press, News, NLJ, ABC Covers Pitt and Flint Lawsuit Go Ahead
From the Detroit Free Press
The U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday reversed a federal judge’s decision to dismiss two lawsuits filed by Flint residents over the contamination of their drinking water, saying parts of the lawsuits can...
WWJ, Fox 2, Macomb Daily, Michigan Radio Feature McGehee in Brose Muslim Employee Dispute
DETROIT (WWJ) – The federal government is investigating claims by more than a dozen Muslim men who say they were asked to choose between their job and religion at a local company.
The group of 16 Muslim men say they involuntarily resigned from a...
WSWS Covers UIA Decision and Shares Lord Reaction
A three-judge panel in the Michigan Appeals Court dismissed a class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of Michigan workers falsely accused of civil fraud in the notorious Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) “robo-fraud” scandal. In the July...
Free Press, News Bloomberg Cover UIA Fraud Decision
From the Detroit News
Lansing — The Michigan Talent Investment Agency is asking district court judges to dismiss 186 bench warrants issued against residents who were accused of unemployment fraud and failed to appear in court to face...
Lord Quoted by Free Press, News, AP, Michigan Radio, Fox 17 in UIA Ruling Coverage
From the Detroit Free Press
LANSING — The Michigan Court of Appeals on Tuesday dismissed a class-action brought by unemployment insurance claimants falsely accused of fraud by a state computer system, saying the lawsuit was filed too...
Metro Times/WWJ TV Story on Markovitz Suit Cites Bonanni
The owner of a pair of iconic Detroit strip clubs is being sued in federal court for a second time for allegedly failing to pay dancers and other workers a proper wage.
A class action lawsuit filed early this month says that Alan Markovitz — once...
Legal News Profiles Civil Rights Career of PMP&R Attorney Robin Wagner
With two grandparents as lawyers, and a mother who was an administrative law judge, it was perhaps inevitable Robin Wagner would become a third-generation lawyer—but not until after a career as an associate dean, dean and vice president at several...
Detroit Free Press/News, MLive, Michigan Radio, Feature Lord in UIA Update
[caption id="attachment_1744" align="alignleft" width="300"] PMP&R Attorney Jennifer Lord[/caption]
From the Detroit Free Press
Michigan residents who say the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency has put them through hell sat in a Detroit...
Fox 17 Features Lord in UIA Update Story
MICHIGAN -- A court hearing is scheduled Friday in Detroit for a class-action lawsuit against the Unemployment Insurance Agency. Three judges in the Court of Appeals are tasked with deciding whether the case moves forward. Regardless of the outcome,...
Bonanni Deja Vu Case Receives Top Class Actions Coverage
Parties have reached a settlement resolving wage and hour claims against Déjà Vu nightclubs. Pitt McGehee Palmer & Rivers attorney Megan Bonanni was co-counsel for this Class Action with Jason Thompson and Jesse Young of...
Free Press Covers $6.5m Deja Vu Class Action Featuring Bonanni
A federal judge in Detroit on Monday overruled objections filed by several exotic dancers and approved a $6.5-million national settlement of a class action brought against the Déjà Vu chain of strip clubs, alleging unfair labor...
Lord Featured in Free Press UIA Story Questioning State's Ability to Admit Wrong
The most perplexing part about any of the lawsuits seeking redress against the State of Michigan for really screwing up the lives of hardworking, taxpaying residents, is why they're necessary in the first place.
An automated system put in place...
Legal News Covers Robin Wagner's Arrival at PMP&R
From the Legal News
Robin Wagner has joined Royal Oak, Mich. law firm Pitt McGehee Palmer & Rivers. The announcement was made by firm co-founding partner Cary McGehee.
“We’re pleased to announce that Robin has joined our law firm,” said...
MLive: PMP&R Led Flint Legal Team Demands Snyder Restore Water Subsidies
FLINT, MI -- A group of attorneys involved in civil litigation over the Flint water crisis is asking Gov. Rick Snyder to restore subsidies for Flint water customers until tap water is "safe and untainted."
"We speak on behalf of our clients, who...