The Chartwell Chronicles: Employment Law
Managing the Size and Structure of Your Post-Pandemic Workforce
#WorkforceWednesday: OSHA ETS on Hold, Retaliation Claims Increase, "Vaccination Ambassadors" - Employment Law This Week®
Last month, we reported on a decision from the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals (which includes Tennessee) concluding that an employee’s asthma did not constitute a protected disability under the Americans with Disabilities...more
Last week’s decision by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, Morgan v. Allison Crane & Rigging LLC, stands as a reminder to employers to exercise caution in how they navigate accommodating employees with temporary medical...more
Maryland Health Care Provider Terminated Employee with Vision Impairments for Requesting Reasonable Accommodation on First Day of Work - BALTIMORE – All Day Medical Care Clinic, LLC, which operates five medical clinics in...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a summary judgment award on an employee’s failure-to-accommodate claim. The Court’s decision focused on the employer’s improperly narrow delineation of the...more
A North Carolina federal court dismissed a former employee’s legal claims related to her use of CBD outside of work after she tested positive for marijuana and was fired by her employer. The employer had a drug testing...more
The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas recently denied an employer’s motion for summary judgment when its alleged shifting reasons for terminating the plaintiff’s employment contract raised genuine issues...more
Key Points •The ministerial exception protects religious employers from government interference in internal employment disputes involving the selection, supervision, and removal of individuals who play an important role...more
On July 8, 2020, in a 7–2 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court in Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru expanded the “ministerial exception,” which allows religious organizations to avoid federal anti-discrimination...more
In Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru, 591 U.S. ___, 2020 WL 3808420 (2020) (“Morrissey-Berru”), the United States Supreme Court provided further guidance on the application of the “ministerial exception,” which...more
On June 1, 2020, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals entered an unpublished, per curiam decision affirming the grant of summary judgment in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Jacksonville division...more
Employees Unlawfully Fired Because of Disability-Related Absences, Federal Agency Charged - BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Wayne Farms, LLC, one of the nation’s largest poultry producers, will pay $175,000 and furnish significant...more
Employer's Unlawful Inquiry and Termination of Employee Violated the ADA, Federal Agency Says - DETROIT -- Blue Sky Vision, L.L.C., a Delaware-based management services organization that provides support to eye care...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The third key trend from our 16th Annual Workplace Class Action Litigation Report involves governmental enforcement litigation, including an overview of priorities and filings by the EEOC, the U.S....more
Heeding the adage “no one knows what the future may hold,” the Seventh, Eighth and Eleventh Circuits have uniformly refused to extend protections of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to employees with a perceived risk...more
Home Décor Business Fired Warehouse Employee for Taking Unpaid Leave It Forced Her to Use, Federal Agency Charges - LOUIS - Black Forest Décor, LLC violated federal law when it forced a worker with a disability at its...more
Hospital Supervisors Refused Accommodation for Deaf Employee, Federal Agency Charges - SANTA FE, N.M. - Christus Health, doing business as Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center in Santa Fe, N.M., violated federal...more
It’s hard to believe another year is coming to a close, but here we are. As part of my personal year-end celebration, I have prepared an informal ranking of the top mistakes I’ve tried to help clients avoid, correct, or...more
This month's key California employment law cases are from the California Court of Appeals and The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Sumner v. Simpson Univ., No. C077302, 2018 WL 4579765 (Cal. Ct. App. Sept. 25, 2018)...more
Under the Family Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”), employers are required to provide 12 weeks of unpaid leave to employees with certain family or medical issues. These issues include attending to serious health conditions that make...more
Last year, we reported a Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals decision establishing a rule that leave of more than a few weeks in duration falls outside employers’ reasonable accommodation obligations under the Americans with...more
The Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals’ ruling in Severson v. Heartland Woodcraft, Inc., leaving in place dismissal of an employee’s Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”)...more
Trial Court Erroneously Granted Bill Cosby's Anti-SLAPP Motion - Dickinson v. Cosby, 17 Cal. App. 5th 655 (2017) - After Janice Dickinson went public with her accusations of rape against Bill Cosby, Cosby's attorney...more
Trypanophobia—the fear of needles—played a significant role in a case brought against Rite Aid Pharmacy under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). In Stevens v. Rite Aid Corp., the Second Circuit overturned a jury...more
Employers everywhere have been repeatedly warned not to automatically terminate employees who have exhausted their Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave. Instead, employers should first consider whether the employee might...more
Employee with Ovarian Cancer Denied Leave and Fired, Federal Agency Charged - LAS VEGAS - The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has filed a lawsuit against the Wynn Las Vegas hotel/casino for violating...more