3/10/09: In the West Virginia Legislature, HB 3032, introduced on March 10, 2009, would give employees the right to review their personnel files. The legislation has not been passed, and in prior legislative sessions,…more
In Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, 550 U.S. 618, 128 S. Ct. 2162 (2007) (FindLaw site opinion), the United States Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, issued an important decision in a sex discrimination case under…more
The US Supreme Court in Gomez-Perez v. Potter, 128 S. Ct. 1931 (2008) ruled that the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, 29 U.S.C. ยง 621 et seq., prohibited retaliation against federal employees who had complained…more
The US Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals hears appeals from federal district courts in West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, and South Carolina. The Fourth Circuit has 15 judges when all of the judicial positions are…more
On April 1, 2009, the US Supreme Court ruled that arbitration agreements in union contract, where union members waive the right to file suit over age discrimination claims, and instead must submit those claims to binding…more
In October 2009, a jury in Charleston, West Virginia awarded the plaintiff $1.7 million in an age discrimination case. The Employer, West Virginia American Water Company, terminated the plaintiff, James, Nagy, at age 53, after…more
A jury in Jackson County, West Virginia awarded $2.1m for age discrimination in March 2010, in Rice v. Burke-Parsons-Bowlby Corporation. The jury awarded the 47 year old plaintiff future lost income through his projected…more
It may seem obvious, but the Fourth Circuit ruled in Pueschel v. Peters, 577 F.3d 558 (4th Cir. 2009) that alleged sexually derogatory statements that took place while the plaintiff-employee was away from work on medical leave…more
The Courts frequently struggle over the enforcement of employment arbitration agreements. The West Virginia Supreme Court in Clites v. Clawges, 224 W. Va. 299, 685 S.E.2d 693 (2009), decided that an arbitration agreement that…more
In the past, same-sex couples who needed time off to care for a child were excluded from FMLA coverage because the interpretation of the definition of "son or daughter" under the law did not encompass children of same-sex…more
Retaliation under the employment discrimination laws is one of the most rapidly developing areas. Most of the recent major decisions have been in favor of the employees. The US Supreme Court in Crawford v. Metropolitan…more
When is sexual conduct bad enough to be sexual harassment? The Fourth Circuit dealt with this issue in EEOC v. Fairbrook Medical Clinic (4th Cir. 2010). A male supervisor doctor sexually harassed a female doctor, and the trial…more
This articles accompanies the PowerPoint presentation on the same topic, which I also uploaded to JD Supra. The article discusses the parameters of the employment at will rule, and the exceptions that legislatures and courts…more
What is the employment at will rule, what power does it give employers, and what are the exceptions to it? This documents is a PowerPoint presentation, which references a separate article which I handed out at the same CLE…more
This sexual harassment case involves a plaintiff stumbling into a room where the owner of the company is having sex with a co-worker. The owner shortly after that fired the plaintiff. Trial court dismissed the case on a rule…more
