Brianna Smith is a freelance writer and editor in Southwest Michigan. A graduate of Grand Valley State University, Brianna has a passion for politics, social issues, education, science, and more. When she’s not writing, she enjoys the simple life with her husband, daughter, and son.
According to a recent recall notice, Bauer’s Candies, a Kentucky-based company, voluntarily recalled certain packages of Modjeskas, “individually-wrapped marshmallow candies dipped in chocolate or caramel” over concerns that the candies may be contaminated with hepatitis A.
Last month, the University of Michigan agreed to pay $300,000 to settle a whistleblower lawsuit with a former employee who alleged that she was wrongfully terminated. The settlement agreement was signed on December 3.
Last week, ALDI, in cooperation with Olde York Potato Chips, voluntarily recalled “96 cases of Clancy’s Wavy Potato Chips from limited stores” after the company discovered the “potential presence of milk resulting from product mislabeling.”
A dispute between the family of a three-year-old girl and the city of Napa recently settled for $5 million. The lawsuit was filed by the family shortly after the death of Kayleigh Slusher, who tragically passed away in 2014 after she was tortured and killed in a Napa apartment.
Earlier this week, the USDA announced a recall of 11,664 pounds of ready-to-eat meat and poultry sausages produced by R.L. Ziegler Company. The recall was issued over concerns that the Red Hot chicken and pork sausage products may be “contaminated with extraneous materials, specifically metal.”
A man in central Iowa recently underwent surgery to treat prostate cancer, only to discover that he never really had cancer in the first place. Unfortunately, the surgery he underwent left him with debilitating side effects, including incontinence and other serious issues.
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.”
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 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.”
Last month, Rock Island County agreed to settle a lawsuit for $630,000, bring an end to a legal battle that has lasted more than five years. The suit was originally filed by three former employees of Partners in Job Training and Placement/Workforce Development (PJTP) after they were fired for “reporting alleged financial fraud conducted by Mark Lohman, who was then interim director.” The three former employees were Jeanette Dawson, Carol Slavish and Michelle Holmes.