Civil Procedure › Labor & Employment Law › Civil Rights

Mihalik v. Credit Agricole Cheuvreux: Second Circuit Clarifies Standard of Review of New York City Human Rights Law Claims

On April 26, 2013, the Second Circuit held that New York City Human Rights Law ("NYCHRL") claims must be analyzed separately from federal and state discrimination claims and that the severe or pervasive standard of liability...more

Record $240M Award for Abuse of Disabled Workers Slashed to $1.6M

A jury verdict earlier this month to mentally disabled workers who were abused and forced to live in a “house of horrors” has been drastically slashed after trial....more

Labor & Employment E-Note - May 14, 2013

In This Issue: - Court Rules NLRB's Workplace Union Notices Violated Law - NLRB Urges Regional Directors to Maintain High Settlement Rate - EEOC Seeing Rising Number of Age Discrimination Complaints - OSHA...more

Fenwick Employment Brief - May 2013

The NLRB's controversial requirement that employers post notices informing employees of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act (as reported in our January and May 2012 FEBs) has been held unconstitutional by the...more

The Force is Sometimes Against Us

Julie Gilman Veronese sued Lucasfilm Ltd. in 2009 after she was hired—and then fired—as an assistant to the estate manager at George Lucas’s San Anselmo estate. She claimed she was fired because she was pregnant....more

"My Prior Complaint Was One Of The Reasons For The Adverse Employment Action": Mixed Motive Theories For Retaliation Claims Under...

Recently, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center v. Nassar, which addresses the causation standard for retaliation claims under Title VII. The Supreme Court has already held...more

California Employment Law Notes - May 2013

Kenneth Hatai sued his employer (CalTrans) and his supervisor (Sameer Haddadeen), alleging discrimination based on his Japanese ancestry and the fact that he was not of Arab ancestry like Haddadeen. The case was tried to a...more

EEOC Makes Protecting Rights Of LGBT Workers A Top Priority

As the debate over gay marriage continues to intensify throughout the country, so does the issue of workplace rights for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. LGBT workers currently face substantial...more

Monty Green v. The City of New York, et al.

Complaint

More importantly, at no time, did any internal investigator observe him solicit anyone for sexual favors in exchange for monies; observe him hire anyone as a sex worker to perform sexual favors for others in exchange for...more

Courts Hold Employers In Contempt For Violating EEOC Settlement Agreements

Employers that ignore consent decrees (court-approved settlement agreements) may be held in contempt of court and subject to additional fines, sometimes totaling $1,000 for each day of noncompliance. Recent contempt orders by...more

Pennsylvania Court Denies Certification Of Disability Discrimination Claims

In the vast majority of discrimination cases, there is little dispute over whether the plaintiff is actually in a protected group. For example, in sex discrimination cases, for the most part, they are either male or female;...more

Appellate Court: Tenured Teachers May be Terminated for “Disability” Without Violating CFEPA

The Connecticut Appellate Court yesterday released two notable employment law decisions. They won’t become “official” until April 30, 2013, so you have some time to digest them. I’ll cover one today and leave the other for a...more

Recent Development on Corporate Liability in U.S. Courts for Conduct Outside the United States

This week the U.S. Supreme Court issued its much-awaited decision in Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co., which addressed the question of whether a federal court may recognize a cause of action under the Alien Tort Statute...more

The Final Breaths of the Alien Tort Statute

On April 17, 2013, the Supreme Court decided Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum. For all intents and purposes, the decision eliminates use of the federal Alien Tort Statute ("ATS") as an employment law weapon to be used against...more

Fenwick Employment Brief: Employee Asked To Wear French Maid's Costume Not Sexual Harassment

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

Fifth Circuit: No Fee Shifting For Title VII Mixed-Motive Retaliation Claims

On April 3, 2013, the Fifth Circuit affirmed a ruling from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas that a plaintiff was not entitled to attorney’s fees and costs under Title VII (42 U.S.C. § 2000 e-5(g))...more

Fenwick Employment Brief: California Court Addresses Admissibility Of "Me Too" Evidence Of Discrimination

In Hatai v. Dept. of Transportation, a California court of appeal upheld a trial court's decision to exclude "me too" evidence of discrimination from individuals outside of the plaintiff's protected class, but in doing so...more

Employment Law Newsletter: April 2013

Post-Brinker Meal Break Decisions on Class Certification De-Published by California Supreme Court - We have previously reported on the California Supreme Court’s decision in Brinker Restaurant Corp. v....more

Fenwick Employment Brief - April 2013

In Hatai v. Dept. of Transportation, a California court of appeal upheld a trial court's decision to exclude "me too" evidence of discrimination from individuals outside of the plaintiff's protected class, but in doing so...more

Sixth Circuit Stands by School System's Promotion Decisions

Both public and private employers should take note of a recent decision by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals that rejected a disgruntled employee’s contention that she was denied promotion because of a “perceived...more

Employers Sanctioned By Federal Courts For Destroying Records

Employers in two recent EEOC cases were sanctioned by federal courts for destroying employee records. These rulings illustrate the need for employers to develop and implement document retention procedures to avoid costly...more

Case Update: Wright v. College and Association of Registered Nurses of Alberta (Appeals Committee) 2012 ABCA 267

In the November 6, 2012 edition of Perspectives for the Professions we reported on the decision of the Court of Appeal referenced above. In this case two registered nurses, on numerous occasions, stole narcotics from their...more

Utah Employment Law Letter - April 2013: Failure to Promote: 10th Circuit ‘chops’ Forest Service employee’s discrimination claims

Originally published in the Utah Employment Law Letter - April 2013. If a proverbial tree falls in the forest, even though it may be bigger and taller than the trees around it, does anyone hear it? Now imagine that the...more

Calling a Co-Worker “Stupid” Not Enough to Prove “Disability”, Court Says

With the changes to the ADA laws a few years back broadening the definition of a “disability”, there was some speculation (including on this blog) that we would not see very many instances where a court would throw out an ADA...more

Updates from the Second Circuit and Supreme Court About Arbitration Provisions and Potential Impact on Employers

Last week, the Second Circuit weighed in again on the enforceability of an arbitration provision in Parisi v. Goldman, Sachs & Co., No. 11-5229-cv (2d Cir. Mar. 21, 2013). The provision at issue required employees to pursue...more