“Third party” or “associational” retaliation is reprisal taken by an employer against someone other than the person who engaged in “protected conduct.” In 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Title VII’s anti-retaliation...more
5/14/2024
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Appeals ,
Employment Litigation ,
Hiring & Firing ,
MI Supreme Court ,
Protected Activity ,
Retaliation ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Termination ,
Third-Party ,
Third-Party Relationships
On June 29, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its long-awaited decision in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College and Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. University of North...more
7/3/2023
/ Affirmative Action ,
Civil Rights Act ,
College Admissions ,
Colleges ,
Diversity ,
Educational Institutions ,
Equal Protection ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
Race Discrimination ,
SCOTUS ,
Students for Fair Admissions v Harvard College ,
Students for Fair Admissions v University of North Carolina ,
Universities
On June 29, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision clarifying the standard for determining whether employees’ religious accommodation requests impose an undue hardship on employers....more
Can public school children with disabilities sue their schools for violations of the federal antidiscrimination statutes and collect compensatory damages before exhausting their administrative remedies under the Individuals...more
3/23/2023
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Compensatory Damages ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Dispute Resolution ,
Due Process ,
Educational Institutions ,
Exhaustion Doctrine ,
IDEA ,
Public Schools ,
School Districts ,
SCOTUS ,
Special Education ,
Students
On April 28, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its 6-3 decision in Cummings v. Premier Rehab Keller, P.L.L.C., holding that emotional distress damages are not recoverable in a lawsuit brought under the Rehabilitation Act of...more
KEY TAKEAWAYS -
..Plan fiduciaries have a duty of prudence to independently evaluate on an ongoing basis investments offered in a plan’s menu of options and remove any imprudent ones.
..Plan participants’ ultimate...more
1/28/2022
/ 401k ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Class Action ,
Duty of Prudence ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Excessive Fees ,
Fees ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Hughes v. Northwestern University ,
Plan Participants ,
Remand ,
Retirement Plan ,
Retirement Plan Providers ,
SCOTUS
Key Takeaways -
..The Supreme Court stayed OSHA's Vaccination or Testing ETS, but state/local requirements may apply, employers may still have policies requiring COVID-19 vaccination or testing, and employers still have a...more
1/17/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Biden v Missouri ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Mandates ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
National Federation of Independent Business v Department of Labor and OSHA ,
OSHA ,
SCOTUS ,
Stays ,
Temporary Regulations ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing
Employers and plan fiduciaries should take careful note of a recent ruling issued by the United States Supreme Court which may prompt increased Employee Retirement Income Security Act ("ERISA") litigation and otherwise alter...more
3/2/2020
/ Actual or Constructive Knowledge ,
Appeals ,
Breach of Duty ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Intel Corp. Investment Policy Committee v. Sulyma ,
Material Disclosures ,
Question of Fact ,
Reaffirmation ,
Retirement Plan ,
Retirement Plan Beneficiaries ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Split of Authority ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Summary Judgment
A majority of the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Federal Arbitration Act ("FAA") bars class arbitration actions when the agreement is ambiguous about the availability of such arbitration. The opinion strengthens protections...more
4/29/2019
/ Ambiguous ,
Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Class Arbitration ,
Consent ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Federal v State Law Application ,
Jurisdiction ,
Lamps Plus Inc v Varela ,
Motion to Compel ,
Preemption ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Stolt-Nielsen
In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court held that automobile service advisors are exempt from overtime rules under the Fair Labor Standards Act. While the opinion, which was issued on April 2, 2018, will certainly impact car...more
The U.S. Supreme Court has reversed a U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals decision holding that that former employees of CNH Industrial N.V. were entitled to lifetime, vested healthcare benefits. The opinion, issued yesterday,...more
2/23/2018
/ CNH Industrial N.V. v Reese ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Contract Interpretation ,
Contract Terms ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employee Benefits ,
Extrinsic Evidence ,
Lifetime Health Benefits ,
Reservation of Rights ,
Retirement ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Split of Authority ,
Summary Plan Description ,
Vesting
The Supreme Court ruled, on May 23, 2016, that for employees alleging that they were “constructively discharged” from their employment (as opposed to terminated by their employer), the statute of limitations begins to run...more
5/24/2016
/ Constructive Discharge ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Employees ,
Green v Brennan ,
Race Discrimination ,
Resignation ,
Retaliation ,
SCOTUS ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Title VII ,
USPS
On April 26, 2016, the United States Supreme Court ruled that when a public employer demotes an employee out of a desire to prevent that employee from engaging in First Amendment protected activity, the employee can challenge...more
An unaccepted settlement offer or offer of judgment does not moot a plaintiff's case, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled this week in Campbell-Ewald Co. v. Gomez. In the case, Jose Gomez filed a nationwide class-action on behalf of...more
In DIRECTV, Inc. v. Imburgia et al., the Supreme Court bolstered the preemptive power of the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”), once again overturning a state court’s holding that an arbitration agreement was unenforceable due...more
On May 18, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously concluded that the timeliness of an Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) breach of fiduciary claim regarding the selection of investments in a 401(k) plan is not...more
Federal agencies are not required to follow formal notice-and-comment rulemaking when making significant changes to interpretive rules, according to a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court. In Perez v. Mortgage Bankers Association,...more
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Sixth Circuit’s reliance on retiree-friendly inferences set forth in UAW v. Yard-Man are incompatible with ordinary principles of contract interpretation and should not be used when...more
Employees are not entitled to pay for time spent during security screenings at the end of the workday, a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court ruled on December 9, 2014. In Integrity Staffing Solutions v. Busk, two employees who...more
Fiduciaries of employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) are not entitled to a “presumption of prudence,” the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled in Fifth Third Bancorp v. Dudenhoeffer, released June 25, 2014. The Court...more
Providing truthful, sworn testimony outside the course of ordinary job duties is First Amendment speech for the purposes of retaliation lawsuits, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on June 19, 2004. The ruling prohibits a public...more
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to review a 2013 Sixth Circuit decision that could alter the way collective bargaining agreement provisions covering retiree health benefits are interpreted. In Taketts v. M&G Polymers, the...more
Putting on and taking off protective clothing is considered “changing clothes” under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on January 27, 2014. The ruling allows employers and unions to exclude...more
The Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) does not permit courts to invalidate a contractual waiver of class arbitration where the costs of pursuing an individual federal statutory claim in arbitration would exceed the potential...more