In recent years, participants in 401(k) and similar employer-sponsored retirement plans have filed class action suits alleging that the plans contain overly expensive investment options. On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court...more
1/28/2022
/ 401k ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Class Action ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Excessive Fees ,
Fees ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Hughes v. Northwestern University ,
Remand ,
Retirement Plan ,
Retirement Plan Providers ,
SCOTUS
In a disturbingly increasing number of charge investigations, employers have faced broad information requests from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), including requests that appear unrelated to the charging...more
Earlier this month, the Trump administration withdrew the Department of Justice’s prior position that Title IX of the Civil Rights Act prohibits schools and other covered institutions from discriminating on the basis of...more
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court accepted review of a case that should decide whether employers can include class and collective action waivers in mandatory arbitration agreements signed with individual employees. Under...more
Last year in its Encino Motorcars decision, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals’ reliance on a Department of Labor (DOL) interpretation finding that automobile dealership service advisors do not...more
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court accepted review of a Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals decision that could determine whether transgender status is a protected classification under federal civil rights laws. In Gloucester Sch....more
On June 20, 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to provide a definitive opinion on a pay issue that has concerned automobile dealerships for years. The question involves whether dealership service advisors fall under the...more
6/28/2016
/ Arbitrary and Capricious ,
Car Dealerships ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Navarro v Encino Motorcars ,
Over-Time ,
Sales Commissions ,
SCOTUS ,
Service Advisors ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
Last month’s CRST decision by the U.S. Supreme Court raised hopes for employers seeking to recover attorneys’ fees from the EEOC after prevailing in litigation against the agency. Last week, the Eighth Circuit Court of...more
Title VII allows federal courts to award attorneys’ fees to the prevailing party in discrimination suits. While plaintiffs typically receive their fees if they win a discrimination or retaliation claim, defendants can also...more
Title VII and related federal civil rights laws contain short administrative claims periods that often result in preclusion of actions filed after expiration of these dates. These exclusions lead to frequent litigation...more
5/31/2016
/ Constructive Discharge ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Green v Brennan ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Race Discrimination ,
Resignation ,
Retaliation ,
SCOTUS ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Title VII ,
USPS
Employers frequently offer light duty work as a means for injured employees to return to their regular job duties. Light duty is typically associated with employees with Workers’ Compensation related injuries. ...more
The Americans with Disabilities Amendment Act significantly broadened the definition of protected disabled individuals under federal antidiscrimination law. In subsequent rules implementing ADAAA, the Equal Employment...more
4/13/2016
/ ADAAA ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disability ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Essential Functions ,
Failure to Accommodate ,
Mercedes-Benz ,
Over-Time ,
Pregnancy ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
SCOTUS ,
Young v United Parcel Service
In last year’s Mach Mining decision, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is required to attempt to settle (“conciliate”) discrimination claims before bringing suit against...more
In its 2011 Dukes decision, the U.S. Supreme Court limited the circumstances under which groups of employees can maintain class action claims relating to their employment. In that case, the Court concluded that Wal-Mart...more
3/28/2016
/ Admissible Evidence ,
Calculation of Damages ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Collective Actions ,
Commonality ,
Doffing ,
Donning ,
Dukes v Wal-Mart ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
SCOTUS ,
Statistical Sampling ,
Tyson Foods ,
Tyson Foods v Bouaphakeo ,
Wage and Hour
On January 20, the Supreme Court released its decision in Montanile v. Board of Trustees of the National Elevator Industry Health Benefit Plan, concluding that although health plan fiduciaries can generally seek subrogation...more
Retail automotive dealerships enjoy a special exemption from the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Section 13(b)(10)(A) of the FLSA provides an overtime exemption for “any salesman, partsman, or mechanic...more
Class and collective action claims involve a named plaintiff who files the action on behalf of himself or herself, along with a class of similarly situated individuals. In the employment context, a typical collective action...more
Employers seeking to avoid costly and often hostile juries have increasingly relied upon mandatory arbitration agreements with employees. Under these provisions, the parties agree to submit any disputes involving the...more
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear the consolidated appeals of seven cases involving employer provision of birth control under the Affordable Care Act. In its 2013 Hobby Lobby case, the Court concluded that the...more
In its most recent term, the U.S. Supreme Court held in the Mach Mining case that federal courts have limited ability to review whether or not the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission fulfilled its statutory duty to...more
On October 1, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear the appeal of a company whose mandatory arbitration agreements with its contractors were deemed invalid by California state courts. Once again, the Court will determine...more
10/12/2015
/ Arbitration ,
Class Action ,
Contractors ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Independent Contractors ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Misclassification ,
Motion to Compel ,
Preemption ,
SCOTUS ,
Severability Doctrine ,
Unconscionable Contracts
Earlier this year in its Abercrombie decision, the U.S. Supreme Court stated that an employee suing for religious discrimination did not have to demonstrate actual knowledge of an employee’s religious practices to trigger...more
In a 5-4 decision announced last Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Obergefell v. Hodges that all states are required to recognize same-sex marriages. This ruling follows the Supreme Court’s 2013 decision in U.S. v....more
7/6/2015
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
DOMA ,
Health Insurance ,
IRS ,
Marriage Equality ,
Obergefell v. Hodges ,
Same-Sex Marriage ,
SCOTUS ,
Spouses ,
US v Windsor
On June 25, 2015, the United States Supreme Court issued the much anticipated decision in King v. Burwell and concluded that the tax credits allowed to eligible taxpayers for premiums paid under a Marketplace health insurance...more
The U.S. Supreme Court rejects the overwhelming majority of requests for review of lower court decisions. For some reason, the Court appears to have a soft spot for so-called “donning and doffing” cases. These cases involve...more