LAWSUITS NEWS & LEGAL INFORMATION
Rights Violation
Union Vale, NY: (Mar-06-08) Christopher Kemlage, a former highway department employee, brought charges against the town of Union Vale, alleging that highway department officials attempted to stop employees from unionizing the department. The suit further accused the town of racism and threatened violence by department employees, stating that Kemlage's rights of association, free speech, equal protection and freedom from unreasonable seizure had been violated. Specifically named in the July 2007 lawsuit was Highway Superintendent Peter DeForest and department employee Michael Billens, who were accused of threatening Kemlage and attempting to oust him from the department as a result of his union activities.
Sources stated that Kemlage openly engaged in organizational and recruitment efforts with the objective of having Local 456 of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters certified as the collective bargaining agent for subordinate employees in the Highway Department. Kemlage said that the department did not provide employees with mandatory safety equipment and refused to take remedial action with respect to these concerns. He further claimed that he was denied overtime opportunities and was assigned to labor-intensive projects. Kemlage and Billens were assigned to perform a work detail and that while the two worked together; Kemlage was not permitted to use the restroom and was repeatedly threatened and humiliated.
As part of a settlement reached in the case, the parties agreed to resolve the dispute out-of-court, with the town paying the former highway department employee $237,500. [THE VOICE LEDGER: TOWN FORKS OVER $237K TO SETTLE SUIT]
Published on Mar-9-08
Sources stated that Kemlage openly engaged in organizational and recruitment efforts with the objective of having Local 456 of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters certified as the collective bargaining agent for subordinate employees in the Highway Department. Kemlage said that the department did not provide employees with mandatory safety equipment and refused to take remedial action with respect to these concerns. He further claimed that he was denied overtime opportunities and was assigned to labor-intensive projects. Kemlage and Billens were assigned to perform a work detail and that while the two worked together; Kemlage was not permitted to use the restroom and was repeatedly threatened and humiliated.
As part of a settlement reached in the case, the parties agreed to resolve the dispute out-of-court, with the town paying the former highway department employee $237,500. [
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