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#BigIdeas2020: NLRB’s Actions Impact Employers in 2020 - Employment Law This Week® - Trending News
The Fourth Circuit recently reaffirmed that not all forms of opposition constitute protected activity. In Bills v. WVNH EMP, LLC, the Fourth Circuit unanimously affirmed the Southern District of West Virginia’s Order...more
Morals based on a real court decision. My law partner Jon Yarbrough alerted me to a recent court decision that is full of little gems for employers. I thought I'd break the decision down into "true fables," each with a...more
The importance of a thorough, independent investigation prior to taking adverse employment action was reaffirmed this week by the Fifth Circuit in Brown v. Walmart. Brown sued her employer, Walmart, for retaliation when she...more
There are days when the workplace can feel a lot like a third-grade playground with kids running back and forth, bruised feelings, tearful meltdowns, and a real and apparent need for a nap and a snack. We also continually...more
Sanchez v. Brawley Elementary School District, 719 Fed. Appx. 723 (9th Cir. 2018) The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirms District Court’s ruling that a student’s conduct of kneeing her alleged harasser did not constitute...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Employers face a tough challenge in trying to balance their obligations under the ADA with efforts to enforce workplace rules. A recent decision out of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth...more
It has been two years since the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) published its enforcement guidance on retaliation and related issues in late August 2016. Since that time, the country elected a new...more
The ARB recently affirmed a motion for summary decision against a Complainant claiming retaliatory discharge under SOX, finding that he failed to demonstrate that he engaged in protected activity and that the Company would...more
On April 6, 2018, the Texas Supreme Court issued a decision assessing what evidence is necessary to support an actionable same-sex sexual harassment claim. In an opinion totaling over 100 pages, the six-justice majority and...more
The Fifth Circuit has issued another opinion in the continuing saga of Jackson State University and its past athletic director, Dr. Vivian Fuller—this one about retaliation against a witness. To refresh everyone’s memory: A...more
January 2017 is one of those rare months including a Friday the 13th, which might bring to mind a horror movie where a seemingly vanquished killer somehow rises to his feet – once again! – to wreak havoc on his stunned...more
Question: One of our male supervisors wants to fire a female employee who complained that he was sexually harassing her. The harassment allegations appear to have some substance: he asked her for pictures of herself in a...more
If you try to prevent or end workplace discrimination as part of your job, is it legal for your employer retaliate against you? Inquiring HR professionals, in-house lawyers, and counselors want to know!...more
In an important recent decision, DeMasters v. Carilion Clinic, the Fourth Circuit determined that the so-called “manager rule” exception to federal anti-retaliation laws does not apply to employment cases filed under Title...more
Barseghyan v. County of Los Angeles, No. B249184 (November 20, 2014): A California Court of Appeal recently held that an employee whose new supervisors were unaware that she had filed a sexual harassment complaint in her...more
In yet another case that impacts both union and non-union employers, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) recently found that an employee who asked coworkers for assistance in preserving evidence for a sex harassment...more
On July 17, 2013, the New Jersey Supreme Court held that a plaintiff need not demonstrate an actual violation of the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (NJLAD), let alone an identifiable victim, to prove a claim of...more
In Cho v. Chang, the California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District held that an employee’s statements to coworkers about alleged discrimination were not protected activities triggering special protection under...more
On July 17, 2013, the Supreme Court of New Jersey expanded the state’s already broad Law Against Discrimination (LAD), holding that an employee’s complaints about inappropriate workplace conduct need not identify any specific...more
The ruling provides guidance as to what employee conduct is protected under the antiretaliation provisions of two key state laws. On July 17, the Supreme Court of New Jersey issued a decision in Battaglia v. United...more
In Westendorf v. West Coast Contractors of Nevada, Inc., the Ninth Circuit upheld the dismissal of a sexual harassment complaint, despite offensive comments made by plaintiff's supervisor and coworkers, including a request...more
Title VII generally protects employees who oppose employment practices made unlawful by Title VII, such as sexual harassment. But what happens when a manager disagrees with the way in which her employer handles an internal...more