Labour hire firm Ashley Services Group Limited (ASH: ASX) announced today that it has executed a Deed of Settlement for a previously announced shareholder class action commenced against it.

Ashley Services first announced in December 2018 that it had signed a head of agreement recording a proposal to settle a class-action shareholder lawsuit.

The company reported the class action was commenced against it in December 2016 by Richard John Findlay Bradgate as Trustee of the Bradgate Superannuation Fund.

Claims in the case arose from allegedly misleading statements and omissions in Ashley’s prospectuses issued prior to is listing, according to IMF Bentham, a litigation funding provider.

The Deed of Settlement has now been signed by all parties to the proceeding and has been executed without admission of liability by any party. The settlement will now proceed to the Court for approval.

Ashley Services added that the settlement is expected to have minimal impact on its financial results.

The company said it will advise the market of the court’s decision to approve or reject the settlement.

By Pamela Wolf, J.D.

An Iowa jury sided with a transgender male nurse on claims that his employer discriminated against him by denying access to the male locker and restroom, and insurance coverage for a medically necessary surgery.

The American Civil Liberties Union scored a victory on February 13 when a Polk County, Iowa, jury awarded a transgender male nurse $120,000 on his discrimination claims that his employer, the Iowa Department of Corrections (DOC), discriminated against him because he is transgender.

The nurse was denied use of the men’s restrooms and locker room at work, as well as insurance coverage for medically necessary surgery, according to an ACLU release.

Transition at work. The plaintiff had been a staff nurse at the Iowa Correctional Institution for Women (ICIW) for the past seven years. After beginning medical treatment for gender dysphoria and consistently using male facilities in public places, he approached his supervisors to let them know that he is male and would transition to presenting as male and begin using male facilities at work, according to the complaint.

The plaintiff’s supervisors said that rather than using the men’s locker rooms and restrooms, he would be required to use a unisex private restroom to dress and store his belongings, isolating him from all of his coworkers. Notably, the unisex restroom lacks a shower, so unlike his coworkers, the plaintiff had no option for showering at work.

Insurance coverage. The complaint also alleged that Wellmark Blue Cross, the employer-sponsored medical insurance provider, had denied him health care coverage for medically necessary surgery because he is transgender, even though it provides coverage for similar procedures for non-transgender employees.

Claims alleged. The plaintiff raised state law sex and gender identity discrimination claims, and state constitutional equal protection claims based on sex and transgender status.

“Transgender Iowans deserve the same dignity, respect, and access to health care and gender-appropriate restroom and locker room facilities as any other person,” said John Knight, an attorney with the ACLU LGBT & HIV Project, and one of the attorneys who represented the plaintiff. “For many years, the law in Iowa has said that employers cannot discriminate on the basis of sex, and it has also barred gender identity discrimination since 2007.”

“The state should have been a model for other employers in its treatment of transgender workers. Instead, it blatantly discriminated against [the plaintiff],” Knight continued. “The jury in this case obviously saw that what the state did was wrong and should never happen again.”

The lawsuit, Vroegh v. Iowa Department of Corrections, was filed in the Iowa District Court, Polk County; the case is No. LACL138797.

Labour hire firm Ashley Services Group Limited (ASH: ASX) last month announced it signed a head of agreement recording a proposal to settle a class-action shareholder lawsuit. The proposed settlement will not be binding until all parties have signed the terms of the settlement deed and court approval has been given.

The Sydney-based company also noted the settlement is expected to have minimal impact on financial results and is expected to be agreed without admission of liability by any party.

Ashley Services reported the class action was commenced against it in December 2016 by Richard John Findlay Bradgate as Trustee of the Bradgate Superannuation Fund.

Claims in the case arose from allegedly misleading statements and omissions in Ashley’s prospectuses issued prior to is listing, according to IMF Bentham, a litigation funding provider.

A former employee who settled his workers’ compensation case with his employer could later sue the employer for harassment and discrimination based on the same workplace conduct that led to the compensation award, the California Court of Appeal ruled.

Malaysia’s Economic Transformation Programme has created 1.8 million jobs between its creation in 2010 and 2016.

Launched on 25 September 2010, the Economic Transformation Programme was formulated as part of Malaysia’s National Transformation Programme. Its goal is to elevate the country to developed-nation status by 2020.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said that during the period, Gross National Income increased by nearly 50% and Malaysia reduced its poverty level to 0.6%.

“We have kept inflation and unemployment low, and have been acclaimed by global institutions such as the World Bank and the IMF (International Monetary Fund) for the reforms we have undertaken,” Najib said during a keynote address at the 2017 Global Transformation Forum.

“We are firmly on the path to become a high-income nation. In short, we have an economic plan. That plan is working, we have delivered, and we will continue to deliver,” Najib said.

Among the programmes listed under the National Transformation Programme, Najib announced new innovation centres; increasing graduate employability; boosting female participation in the workforce; and supporting women’s place in the boardroom and leadership positions.