Judge says New Orleans teachers and others were wrongfully fired after Katrina

From The New Orleans Times-Picayune: The Orleans Parish (La.) School Board and the state of Louisiana wrongfully fired thousands of New Orleans teachers and other school employees after Hurricane Katrina, a judge has ruled. The decision in the class-action suit could mean the employees are owed hundreds of millions of dollars in lost wages and benefits. Judge Ethel Simms Julien issued her ruling a year after a trial. Seven individuals sued on behalf of about 7,000 dismissed employees, from teachers and principals to janitors and bus drivers.