Transcript

INTERVIEW ABOUT THE UPS WAGE AND HOUR CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT OF $87 MILLION DOLLARS

INTERVIEWOR: For years, shipping giant UPS had a dark secret. One that Wendy York and co-counsel exposed to the world.

WENDY YORK: We were fighting for the workers, the drivers who were being taken advantage of by UPS the tightest ship in the shipping business. They were encouraged not to go with their lunch breaks or meal periods and UPS was actually stealing time from them through a computerized unlawful deduction from their paystubs everyday.

CO-COUNSEL: Requiring them to do almost an impossible amount of deliveries in a day and then automatically deducting an hour or a half hour for lunch.

INTERVIEWOR: Co-counsel and York took on UPS on behalf of 23,000 workers in a daunting fight.

WENDY YORK: They hired what I call “tall building lawyers” who engaged in scorched earth litigation for three and a half years.

INTERVIEWOR: With trial looming, UPS settled the case for $87 million dollars, the largest wage and hour case in California history.

WENDY YORK: It was a message, a statement to UPS that “UPS you can’t treat your drivers like this anymore. You cannot profit at the expense of your drivers.”

INTERVIEWOR: And the team made sure any unclaimed money in the settlement went to charity.

CO-COUNSEL: Roughly $1.4 million dollars went to the Northern California Food Bank and $1.4 million dollars went to the Southern California Food Bank.

WENDY YORK: I will be shopping or I will be out and about and I will run into a UPS driver and I will ask them you know wherever I am in California – Are you taking your lunches – are you taking your breaks? And they will look at me and they will say, “ahhh you are my lawyer – thank you.”

 

• “Harassment Claimed by firefighter” May 13, 2003
• “Reaction to Harassment Claim” May 14, 2003
• “City Moves to Diversify” June 1, 2003
• “Formal harassment lawsuit hits city” July 1, 2003
• “Action Taken, Fallout is Felt” but Sacramento Fire Department Admits Mistakes Made During Investigation, April 19, 2003
• “Still Burning” History of Harassment of Women, February 14, 2003
• “Oak Park Fire Station Inquiry” after axe handle incident, February 12, 2003
• “Harassment Probe Prompts Some Firefighter Transfers“, April 1, 2003
• “Fire Chief Addresses Firefighter Allegations from Firefighter,” over female firefighter who sues department, July 8, 2004

  Other Sacramento Fire Department Sex Scandals Evidence A Larger Problem Within The Department

• “Porn Star Costume Ball” July 4, 2004
• “Ex-fire captain testifies of picking up women in engines” August 18, 2005
• “Firefighter Admits Mistakes” in Threesome Sex Scandals, March 2, 2005
• “Good Old Boy Syndrome” July 16, 2004
• “Unwanted Exposure” from prostitute posing in Sacramento firefighter’s uniform on Craigslist, October 10, 2005
• “Joy Rides by Fire Crews” July 8, 2004

  Watch a national TV news feature regarding the current trend in sex scandals and misconduct in America’s fire departments.

McNeill v. Tehama County
Catastrophic Injuries from accident of Auto vs 20,000 lb Asphalt Roller Compactor, $1.1 Million Jury Verdict

• “$1.1 million injury verdict goes against Tehama County” July 29, 2005
• “Man awarded $1.1 million” July 30, 2005
• “Lawyer: Injury verdict goes against county” July 30, 2005

Wage and Hour Class Action Litigation

• “Private Attorney General Act” February 9, 2004

Ollison v. Eskaton—the Homestead of Fair Oaks
Nursing Home Negligence and Elder Abuse

• “Ollison Verdict” July 27, 2002
• “Jury Awards $3M in Local Nursing Home Abuse Case” August 6, 2002
• “Jury Throws Party for Victim in Nursing Home Case” August 27, 2002

Prasad v. Regents of the University of California (UCDMC)
Wrongful termination, racial discrimination

• “Ex-employee awarded $891,710” December 23, 2000

Johnson & Johnson
Vicryl Sutures Mass Tort Case

• “Deadly Suture in a Hospital Near You“- transcript of Geoff Matcalf Radio Interview
• “Plaintiff’s Stories” July 28, 1999
• “Outbreak” September 12, 1999
• “3 new lawsuits blame sutures” March 26, 2000

Rojo v. Winncrest, et al.
Toxic Mold Litigation

• “Toxic Mold” October 13, 1996

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Video Transcript

ABC NEWS REPORT ABOUT THE CHP WHISTLEBLOWER CASE

REPORTER I: Allegations of corruption at the highest levels of the California Highway Patrol. Tonight a CHP insider blows the whistle.

WENDY YORK: This man is a man who has devoted 19 years of service to CHP – they have destroyed a man, his career and his reputation.

REPORTER II: She is talking about the man who blew the whistle on the California Highway Patrol. A man who is making new allegations tonight of corruption.

REPORTER I: The man appointed to investigate the high number of medical pensions in the CHP – something called “Chief’s Disease” is suing the CHP Commissioner saying the Commissioner is being punished for doing his job too well. It’s a story ABC 7 has been following – Vic Lee is in the newsroom with more tonight – Vic.

VIC LEE: Well Pete – this is the amended lawsuit filed in Sacramento by Asst. CHP Chief Brian Kilmer. The 19-year veteran says he was retaliated against when he discovered that “Chief’s Disease” goes all the way to the top.

WENDY YORK: They are not being honest to our public – to our taxpayers and somebody needs to hold them accountable.

VIC LEE: Attorney Wendy York says that someone was her client – Asst. Chief Brian Kilmer. The man CHP Commissioner Mike Brown appointed last fall to weed out worker’s comp fraud in the CHP. Kilmer headed the CHP fraud task force to investigate an phenomenon known as “Chief’s Disease” an unusually high rate of disability retirements among the highest ranking officers. 80% among Asst. Chiefs, almost the same for Deputy Chiefs, 68% for Asst. Commissioners. Kilmer says he discovered that Commissioner Brown’s administration was forcing Chiefs to retire when they fell out of favor. York explains how.

WENDY YORK: Encouraging Chiefs that don’t fit within their “good ?le boy” system or their little political power program to use the Worker’s Compensation system to push out Chiefs who don’t want to go down that road.

VIC LEE: The lawsuit says Commissioner Brown and his Deputy Joe Farrow retaliated against Kilmer.

WENDY YORK: Then they move him to a different assignment of doing menial tasks and push him out by saying “we want you to file a worker’s comp claim” when he doesn’t want to do so.

VIC LEE: The amended complaint charges Commissioner Brown with “a questionable past”. It says that while Brown was Commander of the Southern Division 850 fraudulent bus driver certificates were issued.

WENDY YORK: Over 800 school bus drivers did not have the appropriate criminal background checks done as Commissioner Brown suggested and approximately 8 of them were child molesters – registered sex offenders.

VIC LEE: The suit also says during his tenure in Los Angeles Brown had a history of absenteeism.

WENDY YORK: There was an extra curricular activity in terms of a relationship that he had that was taking time away from him doing his job.

VIC LEE: And finally that Brown misused CHP resources.

WENDY YORK: Commissioner Brown used the CHP plane to attend a movie premiere. Talk about using our public taxpayer dollars inappropriately.

VIC LEE: Now Asst. Chief Kilmer is on medical leave. His attorney says a part of his condition due to stress from the retaliation. The CHP says neither the Commissioner nor the agency will comment on the lawsuit. Now the Sacramento D.A. has convened a Grand Jury to investigate Chief’s Disease. Attorney York says Kilmer was initially subpoenaed to testify but he has not been called yet. Vic Lee ABC 7 News.

 

 

Interview Transcript

INTERVIEW ABOUT NURSING HOME NEGLECT/ABUSE CASE IN CALIFORNIA

INTERVIEWOR: Wendy York protects those in our community who need it most – the elderly. So when the family of Dr. Keith Maddy had suspicions about his nursing home, they called her.

WENDY YORK: From all outwards appearances, this facility looked fabulous.

INTERVIEWOR: But that appearance was deceiving. Dr. Maddy served in the CIA and as a Colonel in the U.S. Army. When he needed care for his dementia, those who were supposed to serve him – failed.

WENDY YORK: He was subjected to being teased when his diapers were changed. The staff would tease him about the size of his genitals. He would be left sitting in his excrement in a wheelchair. The staff wouldn’t change his diapers.

INTERVIEWOR: And then there were the falls. More than three dozen of them. Dr. Maddy’s last fall took his life. The insurance company wouldn’t pay the policy but hard work and hard negotiation paid off. A settlement of $1 million dollars and an assurance that it won’t happen again.

WENDY YORK: They had to sell all three facilities because they could no longer find insurance in California for their three facilities. So we closed them down. It feels really good because these owners had no business being in this business.

 

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Transcript

INTERVIEW RE FIRE HOUSE GONE WILD

REPORTER: Noticed the number of stories about firehouse antics in the past few months. It is like heroes gone wild but when you dig deeper like we did – it boils down to one unavoidable fact. Some girls just can’t resist the uniforms and our Tina Malavay says – she is one of them.

SKIP TO INTERVIEW OF WENDY YORK REGARDING SACRAMENTO FIREHOUSES

TINA: And then there is Sacramento, California. A real hot bed of firehouse antics. Attorney Wendy York represents women who are suing the local fire department. She has had her choice from a menu of outrageous firehouse entrees.

WENDY YORK: From drinking on the job, having sex on the job in these instances that we have gone over. The porn star party, the cruising for the girls.

TINA: Among Wendy York’s more serious cases is that of a female firefighter who was allegedly harassed out of her job by a firehouse fraternity.

WENDY YORK: At Station 6 there is a group of Orangemen who are all guys. They have a reputation within the Department of being elitist and sexist and the fire service was Carol Irving’s life and she was going to make it her career.

TINA: The Orangemen allegedly didn’t want an Orangewoman around so they did things like tagging her gear with orange paint and writing a nasty message on her axe handle. The crossed the practical joke line with this photo of a doll with a gun to its head and it gets worse.

WENDY YORK: They put a mousetrap and this isn’t the exact one but they put a mousetrap in her boot and the mousetrap snapped on her toe.

TINA: That was not funny. But some other antics raised some smiles and eyebrows like the four fighters.