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®
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
The Michigan Supreme Court’s recent ruling in the case of Miller v. Department of Corrections expands the scope of retaliation claims under the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act (ELCRA). This decision could have important...more
Former HR Executive Sues Financial Services Company for Equal Pay Violations in New Jersey Federal Court - A former head of human resources sued a financial services company for allegedly underpaying her relative to her...more
A newly enacted, under-the-radar statute in California could undermine efforts by employers to challenge the expert opinion testimony regarding alleged emotional distress offered by employees at trial. In many if not most...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed a district court’s decision that “but-for” is the proper causation standard for FMLA retaliation claims addressed within the...more
Litigation over employment issues relating to the COVID-19 pandemic is finally reaching the trial and appellate courts. This week, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed dismissal of a lawsuit from a warehouse manager...more
The Americans with Disabilities Act does not require employers to ignore or excuse serious violations of their rules of conduct. For example, an employee who brings a weapon to work in violation of the employer’s policy...more
In McCharles v Jaco Line Contractors Ltd., 2022 AHRC 115, an employee alleged that her employer discriminated against her on the basis of gender contrary to the Alberta Human Rights Act (AHRA) when it terminated her...more
On August 15, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held in Roberts v. Gestamp West Virginia, LLC, that an employer’s “usual and customary” notice procedures relating to absences extended beyond the company’s...more
On July 15, 2022, the Michigan Supreme Court clarified and, arguably, expanded the public-policy exception to the well-established at-will employment presumption in Michigan. Although the case may conclude differently after...more
In Hong Kong, an implied duty of mutual trust and confidence (“Duty”) exists between an employer and an employee. This duty requires that an employer shall not “without reasonable and proper cause, conduct itself in a manner...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
Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act protects the rights of employees to engage in “concerted activity,” regardless of whether they are members of a union. Concerted activity means two or more employees working...more
Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act prohibits retaliation against employees because they either oppose discriminatory actions (the "Opposition Clause") or because of their participation in an investigation, proceeding, or...more
Despite widespread vaccine availability and the corresponding optimism about returning to “normal,” the coronavirus pandemic continues to spawn hundreds of employment and health-related lawsuits. Many of these lawsuits have...more
Fisher Phillips’ COVID-19 Employment Litigation Tracker continues to report that the healthcare industry is the hardest hit by COVID-19 employment litigation. As of the beginning of June, more than one in five of every...more
Welcome to #WorkforceWednesday. This week, employers continue waiting on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA’s) COVID-19 emergency temporary standard as retaliation claims rise. Secretary of Labor Puts...more
On April 6, 2021, the total number of COVID-19-related employment complaints filed in United States courts passed the 2,000 mark. Although it took eight months to reach the first 1,000 complaints (March–November 2020), it...more
On March 3, 2021, in Rohrer v. Oswego Cove, LLC, the Oregon Court of Appeals reversed the lower court’s dismissal of an employee’s common-law wrongful discharge claim for seeking legal advice about her employment....more
On March 4, 2021, the New Jersey Appellate Division in Kalim v. Urban Outfitters, Inc. affirmed the trial court’s dismissal of a former employee’s wrongful termination, hostile work environment, and retaliation claims under...more
In Knaup v. Molina Healthcare of Ohio, Inc., (No. 2:19-cv-166) the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio addressed whether an employee had received an extension of time for submitting medical...more
There's a new sheriff in town . . . . . . so y'all better straighten up. You probably know by now that the Biden Administration fired Sharon Fast Gustafson, the Trump-appointed General Counsel of the Equal Employment...more
Warmington v. Board of Regents of the Univ. of Minnesota U.S. Dist. Ct., D. Minn. (April 21, 2020) - PROCEDURAL HISTORY: Warmington, a highly accomplished and nationally recognized track and field coach, resigned in...more
Since March 12, there have been 937 lawsuits (including 96 class actions) filed against employers due to alleged labor and employment violations related to the coronavirus....more
Under the Tennessee Public Protection Act (TPPA), also known as “the whistleblowing statute,” it’s illegal to fire an employee if the sole cause for the termination was for refusing to either remain silent about or to...more