January 15, 2019
On January 12, 2019, the Supreme Court of the United States granted certiorari in Fort Bend County v. Davis, which questions whether Title VII’s requirement that a plaintiff exhaust their administrative remedies is a jurisdictional prerequisite to suit or instead a waivable claim processing rule.
Before filing a lawsuit under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, an individual who alleges…
January 13, 2019
Even lawyers can get it wrong. The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) recently reached a settlement agreement with the law firm Goldberg Segalla regarding allegations that the law firm forced employees to sign a “confidentiality agreement” that made discussing the terms and conditions of employment a terminable offense (Case No. 02-CA-220607).
The NLRB, though, barred the confidentiality…
January 7, 2019
Learn about the latest changes in labor and employment law at the upcoming Labor & Employment Seminar on January 25, 2019 at the Tropicana Conference Center. Our topics focus on new trends in employment and labor law and include an outlook for the 2019 Indiana Legislative Session. Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credits are pending. Download the invitation here.
January 6, 2019
Since we just turned the page on 2018, it is time to focus on what labor and employment law developments may be in store for employers in 2019. This post highlights several labor and employment regulatory and case law developments that may come to fruition this year.
1. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is scheduled to release a new proposal in June regarding how employers…
January 1, 2019
On November 15, 2018, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed the district court’s grant of summary judgment to an employer who had terminated an employee following her unauthorized review and disclosure of confidential personnel files. In Netter v. Barnes, the Fourth Circuit held that Title VII does not protect a terminated employee who violated a valid state law. You…
December 16, 2018
The highly publicized decision from a federal district court judge in Texas declaring the Affordable Care Act unconstitutional has raised serious questions across America, not the least of which is – Is the Affordable Care Act still the law of the land? The answer for the time-being is, yes.
Late Friday night, the Texas district court held that the individual mandate provision of the ACA was…
December 11, 2018
Learn about the latest changes in labor and employment law in the attached JK Defense Newsletter and an upcoming Labor & Employment Seminar on January 25, 2019 at the Tropicana Conference Center. Our topics focus on new trends in employment and labor law and include an outlook for the 2019 Indiana Legislative Session. Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credits are pending. Download the invitation …
December 9, 2018
This past summer saw a significant upheaval in the area of public-sector labor law with the United States Supreme Court ruling in Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, Council 31, which held that agency fees could not be automatically deducted from an employee’s pay unless that employee affirmatively consents to the payment. (You can read more on the Janus …
November 5, 2018
Today, in Mount Lemmon Fire District v. Guido, 586 U.S. ____ (2018), which is the first decision of the new term, the Supreme Court of the United States unanimously upheld the Ninth Circuit’s decision to reopen a lawsuit by two firefighter captains who claimed that they were illegally terminated by the Tucson Fire District because of their age. The Fire District argued that because it employed…
November 5, 2018
The United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania recently granted conditional certification for a collective action for two female employees of Five Guys who claim violations of the Equal Pay Act, a federal law which prohibits discrimination in the payment of wages to employees performing jobs that require “equal skill, effort, and responsibility.” 29 U.S.C. § 206(d). The…
October 30, 2018
The United States Supreme Court will decide soon whether to review a case from the Second Circuit Court of Appeals regarding whether sexual orientation is a protected trait under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. What makes this case interesting is that the Department of Labor and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission have taken the opposite sides, echoing the deep split of authority among…
October 14, 2018
A new case from the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals provides some guidance to employers on fitness for duty exams. This is the money quote: “An employer’s quest for reassurance that its employee is fit for duty where, as here, the evidence reveals a legitimate concern about the employee’s performance ability is not proof that the employee was regarded as impaired.” (Link: …
January 15, 2019
On January 12, 2019, the Supreme Court of the United States granted certiorari in Fort Bend County v. Davis, which questions whether Title VII’s requirement that a plaintiff exhaust their administrative remedies is a jurisdictional prerequisite to suit or instead a waivable claim processing rule.
Before filing a lawsuit under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, an individual who alleges…
January 13, 2019
Even lawyers can get it wrong. The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) recently reached a settlement agreement with the law firm Goldberg Segalla regarding allegations that the law firm forced employees to sign a “confidentiality agreement” that made discussing the terms and conditions of employment a terminable offense (Case No. 02-CA-220607).
The NLRB, though, barred the confidentiality…
January 7, 2019
Learn about the latest changes in labor and employment law at the upcoming Labor & Employment Seminar on January 25, 2019 at the Tropicana Conference Center. Our topics focus on new trends in employment and labor law and include an outlook for the 2019 Indiana Legislative Session. Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credits are pending. Download the invitation here.
January 6, 2019
Since we just turned the page on 2018, it is time to focus on what labor and employment law developments may be in store for employers in 2019. This post highlights several labor and employment regulatory and case law developments that may come to fruition this year.
1. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is scheduled to release a new proposal in June regarding how employers…
January 1, 2019
On November 15, 2018, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed the district court’s grant of summary judgment to an employer who had terminated an employee following her unauthorized review and disclosure of confidential personnel files. In Netter v. Barnes, the Fourth Circuit held that Title VII does not protect a terminated employee who violated a valid state law. You…
December 16, 2018
The highly publicized decision from a federal district court judge in Texas declaring the Affordable Care Act unconstitutional has raised serious questions across America, not the least of which is – Is the Affordable Care Act still the law of the land? The answer for the time-being is, yes.
Late Friday night, the Texas district court held that the individual mandate provision of the ACA was…
December 11, 2018
Learn about the latest changes in labor and employment law in the attached JK Defense Newsletter and an upcoming Labor & Employment Seminar on January 25, 2019 at the Tropicana Conference Center. Our topics focus on new trends in employment and labor law and include an outlook for the 2019 Indiana Legislative Session. Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credits are pending. Download the invitation …
December 9, 2018
This past summer saw a significant upheaval in the area of public-sector labor law with the United States Supreme Court ruling in Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, Council 31, which held that agency fees could not be automatically deducted from an employee’s pay unless that employee affirmatively consents to the payment. (You can read more on the Janus …
November 5, 2018
Today, in Mount Lemmon Fire District v. Guido, 586 U.S. ____ (2018), which is the first decision of the new term, the Supreme Court of the United States unanimously upheld the Ninth Circuit’s decision to reopen a lawsuit by two firefighter captains who claimed that they were illegally terminated by the Tucson Fire District because of their age. The Fire District argued that because it employed…
November 5, 2018
The United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania recently granted conditional certification for a collective action for two female employees of Five Guys who claim violations of the Equal Pay Act, a federal law which prohibits discrimination in the payment of wages to employees performing jobs that require “equal skill, effort, and responsibility.” 29 U.S.C. § 206(d). The…
October 30, 2018
The United States Supreme Court will decide soon whether to review a case from the Second Circuit Court of Appeals regarding whether sexual orientation is a protected trait under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. What makes this case interesting is that the Department of Labor and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission have taken the opposite sides, echoing the deep split of authority among…
October 14, 2018
A new case from the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals provides some guidance to employers on fitness for duty exams. This is the money quote: “An employer’s quest for reassurance that its employee is fit for duty where, as here, the evidence reveals a legitimate concern about the employee’s performance ability is not proof that the employee was regarded as impaired.” (Link: …
