Show t ' j ' ‘ AS - ¥ t : - iia- 'V j i t f t Herald Journal Logan Otah Thursday April r-Th- ef J ' 'r ' 2004 1 Inbriof Court to rule : j 1::i Nation t ' - ' J' ( I t ( - v- ' V -- V-'"- ' J ' i s- ' VSV 'V' s 7 if ex-employ- "r ee i ' : t ittS ft© ©V©FlfaQMD ' ' £ BEST WWIABIf COPY -i- ' v j ' ' can pursue harassment suit — ' ’ i i 4 II ' Police dispatcher Nancy Drew Suders says she had no choice but to quit her job after enduring months of veibal abuse and harassment from male She wasn't thinking about the finer points of employment law when she walked out although she quickly learned that getting fired would have made her sexual harassment " ' lawsuit much easier to pursue Suders’ case came to the Supreme Court on Wednesday as an example of the problems that harassment can cause for employees employers ond a legal system struggling to draw rules fair to all sides Day in and day out Suders claims her male at a Pennsylvania State Police barracks taunted her with lewd talk Suders says one officer repeatedly grabbed his crotch in front of her and others told dirty jokes “She was subjected to horrendous conditions at work" and ( got nowhere when she sought help within the police agency her lawyer Donald Bailey told the court Suders’ supervisors deny any harassment They claim she was disorganized often late and overwhelmed by her duties They note she never told anyone about the alleged abuse until just before she quit and that she left the job in 1998 after being accused of stealing rcsultsof a computer test that her supervi-sot- s' told her she had failed She was not charged The Supreme Court has said employers can be on the hook for lawsuits oyer sexual harassment that results in some clear punishment for the employee such as getting fired or demoted The' court also has said that an employer can avoid such suits by showing a sincere and effective policy aimed at preventing and responding to harassment Suders wants the justices to conclude that in cases like hers quitting is really the same thing as getting fired She shouldn’t be penalized because she didn’t wait around for further abuse or punishment her supporters argue WASHINGTON £ (AP) I ’ - Ts - -- AP photo Preparing for the pitch Denver Mayor Hickenkroper crouches down into a catcher’s stance while playing catch with Colorado Gov BN Owens on Tuesday in Civic Center Park in Denver Mayor Hickenlooper and Gov Owens tossed a baseball in preparation lor throwing the opening pitch at Coors Field during the Rockies' home opener April 12 Both the mayor and the governor pitched for their high school baseball teams Announcer talk show host dies MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Art James who was an announcer or host fora dozen TV game shows over three decades including “Concentration” and “Family Feud Challenge” has died He was 74 James who lived in Chaska died Sunday in Palm Springs Calif his former wife Sandra Pietron said Wednesday Pietron also of Chaska said he was stricken by a sudden illness and the cause of death- was not known James worked as an announcer on “Concen- tration” which ran from 19S8 to 1973 and was " g NBC's game show “One of the gentlemen from his Army days was an executive with NBC and asked Art to audition for this new game show ’Concentration’ with Hugh Downs who heeded an announcer” said his first wife Jane Hamilton “He was nervous as a cat but he got it” said Hamilton who lives in Los Angeles work-relat- ed aMe” He also wants to require' employees to show that a cumulative injury — one that develops over time — was substantially caused by work Unlike many states California covers all Industries snd all workers such as field hands like Navarro and employees of small businesses California also makes it easier than many states to claim a injury among other things it covers cumulative injuries and occupational diseases that other states do not Because of those factors and others the total paid in work- ers’ comp premiums in Cali- fomia has gone from $64 billion in 1997 to an estimated $23 trillion in 2003 according to the California Chamber of Commerce And the average cost of dealing with workplace injuries has more than Doubled climbing from $268 per $100 of payroll in 2000 to $630 per $100 in 2003 — the highest rate in the nation Business groups portray the problem as less a matter of fraud and malingering bn the part of workers and more a case of too much subjectivity in the way injuries are diagnosed and rated in severity J ‘ work-relat- I ed Martha Stewart seeks new trial over juror NEW YORK (AP)— Martha Stewart asked for a new trial Wednesday saying one of the jurors who convicted her lied about an arrest on assault charges Stewart lawyer Robert Morvillo said in papers filed in federal court that he would have sought to strike juror Chappell Hartridge had he known about his past “These facts in and of - longest-runnin- ' - T SACRAMENTO Calif (AP) — Rosaura Navarro picked strawberries in the fields near Watsonville until she wrenched her back and leg while lifting the baskets of fruit four years ago-Back injuries are notoriously hard to diagnose and Navarro says doctors could not pinpoint the source of her pain Nevertheless the woman she has been a week in work- - ' $110 getting ers’ conip instead of the $420 die made picking crops Such benefits may be in jeopardy as California tries to overhaul the most costly workers' compensation insurance system in America California’s 91 year-old system has been troubled for the better part of the past decade but now with premiums doubling and tripling the economy stagnant and businesses threatening to leave the state fixing it has become a priority for lawmakers and Gov Arnold Schwarzenegger Schwarzenegger wants to require doctors to use “objective medical findings” to determine if an employee has a' injury Injuries would have tq be “reproducible measurable or observ- - themselves establish thin Ms Stewart is entitled to a new trial” Morvillo wrote The papers also accused Hartridge Hartridge of seeking money for post-triinterviews On the day of the guilty verdict the juror said al tr& publicly that he believed the decision was “a victory for the little guys” Federal prosecutors did not immediately return a call for comment A telephone number for Hartridge could not immediately be found Stewart was convibted March 5 along with her broker Peter Bacanovic of obstructing justice and lying tbjhp government about her sale of a block of stock in a biotechnology company just before the price drojpped The homemaking authority is scheduled to be sentenced June 17 She is widely expected to get 10 to 16 months in prison Stewart’s lawyers said was arrested in 1997 after a woman with whom he was living filed an assault complaint Har-trid- ge j FIND OUT HOW TO GET AN TM IMMEDIATE $600 RETURN m it i as ON A SMART INVESTMENT A n ' r Fairmont features: ' : J M Mechanical will match your tax return up to $600 when you purchase any new heating and cooling system You will enjoy an exceptional feeling of comfort with the latest in technology in your home and - 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