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High Court Ruling May Give Voter Rights Groups A Strong Tool
Voting-rights advocates are hoping that a Supreme Court ruling against two North Carolina congressional districts helps them argue cases of improperly drawn electoral maps elsewhere.
Because those districts were already redrawn for the 2016 election, the ruling doesn't require immediate changes from North Carolina. But it looms large in other battles still unfolding over voting districts there and elsewhere.
Also pending before the high court are separate challenges to state House and Senate districts that have helped the GOP cement veto-proof majorities in both chambers. Meanwhile, further challenges to North Carolina's current congressional districts are pending.
Treasurer: Judge's Ruling May Cost State $100M-Plus
North Carolina state government ultimately may have to pay more than $100 million in damages to retired workers and teachers after a judge ruled it was wrong to require them to begin paying health insurance premiums six years ago.
Retirees sued in 2012 after the legislature directed the state employee health insurance plan to mandate they make monthly contributions to receive what had been standard insurance coverage for decades.
Superior Court Judge Edwin Wilson ruled last week in favor of the retirees, saying the state had entered into a legal contract with workers for a benefit that was taken away. State Treasurer Dale Folwell wrote legislators last Friday identifying the possible $100 million price tag.
Judge Triples Award For People Called By Dish Network
A federal judge in North Carolina has tripled the award for more than 50,000 people on the Do Not Call Registry who were contacted by Dish Network, setting up a potential $60 million payout.
In January, a jury decided to give $400 to each of the people on the registry, but Judge Catherine C. Eagles ruled Monday that the award should be increased to $1,200 per person.
In her decision, Eagles said Dish and its agent, Satellite Systems Network, willfully and knowingly violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.
IBM To Employees: Work From Office Or Find New Job
One of the North Carolina triangle region's biggest employers has issued a 30-day ultimatum to a number of its employees who work from home: move into company office space or find a new job.
The Wall Street Journal reported last week that IBM has asked an undisclosed number of employees to join their teams in person. IBM spokeswoman Laurie Friedman tells The News & Observer the vast majority of employees have chosen to move into company office space.
IBM was an early adopter and longtime evangelist for the practice of letting employees work from home. Friedman says the new policy is a shift to a new way of work, not a cost-saving measure. She declined to say how many workers will be affected, but said that there will be exceptions.
Teacher Suspended After Students' Racially Charged Remarks
A North Carolina teacher was suspended after a review found that students frequently joked about Nazis and the Holocaust and a white student told a black classmate that he should name his children "Crackhead and Convict."
The News & Observer of Raleigh reports a spokeswoman for the Wake County Public Schools System said William Sullivan was suspended in March without pay for five days. The school system said his failure to deal with the environment led to a 15-year-old white student being pulled to the floor, which was caught on video and went viral.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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