Legal Briefs: Teacher Jameeka Chambers Forces Student to Urinate in his Lunchbox in Front of Entire Class, Louisiana House Rejects Equal Pay for Women

Legal Briefs: Jameeka Chambers, Orlando Teacher of the Year

ORLANDO (CN) - The mother of a middle school student says his teacher made her son urinate in his lunchbox in front of the entire class. She claims the teacher refused his request to go to the restroom and told him to use his lunchbox if he couldn't wait.

Shameka Bryant says her son, Q.T., was a student in Jameeka Chambers' class at Meadowbrook Middle School in Orange County. Bryant says her son asked Chambers if he could use the restroom, and she told him to wait until class ended or use a lunchbox in the back of the classroom. The mom says her son was unable to wait and to "avoid soiling himself, he urinated in the lunchbox in the back of the classroom, in the view and presence of his classmates and his teacher."

The negligence suit was filed against Chambers and the Orange County School Board. Bryant claims the defendants caused emotional harm and public humiliation and the school board failed to train its teachers. Bryant is represented in Orange County Court by Martin Jaffe with Morgan & Morgan.

Group Wants Right to Kill Elephants & Polar Bears

WASHINGTON (CN) - Five hunters and a hunting advocacy group say the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service illegally denies trophy import permits for elephants legally killed by tourists in Mozambique. A separate complaint challenges the denial of import permits for trophy polar bears "taken" in the Gulf of Boothia, off Baffin Island, Canada.

The hunters and Conservation Force say all their elephant permits were denied on the same day for "duplicate reasons," and other permits are not being processed at all. "The primary claims are that both the treatment and denial of the permits is arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion and not in accordance with CITES, the ESA, the APA, Federal Register Act and Due Process," the federal complaint states.

They want the Fish & Wildlife Service and Department of the Interior enjoined from denying or delaying permits by treating them as low priorities, among other things. The polar bear complaint claims to be the first attempt to import polar bear "trophies" from the Gulf of Boothia under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Conservation Forces is based in Metairie, La. The plaintiffs are represented by John Jackson III of Metairie.

Louisiana House Rejects Equal Pay for Women

BATON ROUGE (CN) - The Louisiana House of Representatives on Thursday rejected an Equal Pay for Women Act that would have barred employers from paying women less than men in similar jobs. House Bill 705, by Rep. Barbara Norton, D-Shreveport, was backed by women's rights organizations but faced strong opposition from business lobbyists. It was rejected by 59-33 vote.

The bill would have made it possible for an employee who believes she is paid less than her male counterparts and has complained and given her employer 90 days to remedy the situation to file a discrimination action in Federal Court. Supporters of the bill said that women in Louisiana earn two-thirds to three-fourths what men make.

Critics said that it is already against the law to discriminate on the basis of race, sex, religion and national origin, and that the federal Equal Employment Act also covers gender discrimination. Among the opponents were the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry and the state Chapter of the Federation of Independent business.

President Barack Obama Signs Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 Into Law

Photo: Ledbetter, behind President Obama, looks on as

he signs the law. Photo taken by Jason Reed of Reuters.

I don't think Lilly Ledbetter ever thought she would go down in history as a pioneer. Much like Rosa Parks, Johnnie Carr, Madame C. J. Walker, and so many other great women. Today, President Barack Obama signed into law the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009.

Before putting his pen to the paper, Obama said: "Lilly Ledbetter did not set out to be a trailblazer or a household name. She was just a good hard worker who did her job -- and she did it well -- for nearly two decades before discovering that for years, she was paid less than her male colleagues for doing the very same work. Over the course of her career, she lost more than $200,000 in salary, and even more in pension and Social Security benefits -- losses that she still feels today.

"Now, Lilly could have accepted her lot and moved on. She could have decided that it wasn't worth the hassle and the harassment that would inevitably come with speaking up for what she deserved. But instead, she decided that there was a principle at stake, something worth fighting for. So she set out on a journey that would take more than 10 years, take her all the way to the Supreme Court of the United States, and lead to this day and this bill which will help others get the justice she was denied. ...

"I intend to send a clear message: That making our economy work means making sure it works for everyone. That there are no second class citizens in our workplaces, and that it's not just unfair and illegal -- it's bad for business -- to pay someone less because of their gender, or their age, race, ethnicity, religion or disability." Source: USA Today

This is a great moment for true equality for women in the workplace. I would venture to say that every woman out there can identify with Lilly Ledbetter. This law was long overdue and I salute President Obama for his actions today. Women are not second class citizens. We are much more than we get credit for. As a woman, a mother and a wife, I am immensely grateful that this has been signed into law.

President Barack Obama Signs Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 Into Law

Photo: Ledbetter, behind President Obama, looks on as

he signs the law. Photo taken by Jason Reed of Reuters.

I don't think Lilly Ledbetter ever thought she would go down in history as a pioneer. Much like Rosa Parks, Johnnie Carr, Madame C. J. Walker, and so many other great women. Today, President Barack Obama signed into law the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009.

Before putting his pen to the paper, Obama said: "Lilly Ledbetter did not set out to be a trailblazer or a household name. She was just a good hard worker who did her job -- and she did it well -- for nearly two decades before discovering that for years, she was paid less than her male colleagues for doing the very same work. Over the course of her career, she lost more than $200,000 in salary, and even more in pension and Social Security benefits -- losses that she still feels today.

"Now, Lilly could have accepted her lot and moved on. She could have decided that it wasn't worth the hassle and the harassment that would inevitably come with speaking up for what she deserved. But instead, she decided that there was a principle at stake, something worth fighting for. So she set out on a journey that would take more than 10 years, take her all the way to the Supreme Court of the United States, and lead to this day and this bill which will help others get the justice she was denied. ...

"I intend to send a clear message: That making our economy work means making sure it works for everyone. That there are no second class citizens in our workplaces, and that it's not just unfair and illegal -- it's bad for business -- to pay someone less because of their gender, or their age, race, ethnicity, religion or disability." Source: USA Today

This is a great moment for true equality for women in the workplace. I would venture to say that every woman out there can identify with Lilly Ledbetter. This law was long overdue and I salute President Obama for his actions today. Women are not second class citizens. We are much more than we get credit for. As a woman, a mother and a wife, I am immensely grateful that this has been signed into law.