The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed to rehear en banc arguments on Kamehameha Schools' 118-year-old Hawaiian-only admission policy. A three-judge panel previously ruled that the practice violated Title VII. The school was established under the 1883 Will of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop and has more than 5,000 students enrolled in elementary to high school classes on Oahu, Maui, and the Big Island. Theoretically, non-Hawaiians may be admitted if there are openings after Hawaiians and part-Hawaiians have been offered admission, but the school routinely rejects students without Hawaiian blood.
EMPLOYEE RECEIVES $300,000 FROM BOSS
A Philadelphia jury returned a $300,000 award in a defamation case by a former Capital Grille bartender who had been fired for sexual harassment.
Christopher Kane was fired after an incident involving customers who were husband and wife and a hostess, in which the three engaged in "some playful frolicking and sexually charged behavior." After Kane was fired, his general manager told customers and employees that Kane's firing was not surprising given that "he's been fired from every job he's ever had for sexual misconduct." The defense had to admit that a background check prior to Kane's hiring indicated that Kane had never been fired from any job before he came to Capital Grille.