The Chartwell Chronicles: Employment Law
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The Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (“MCAD” or “Commission”) has released its Fiscal Year 2023 (“FY23”) Annual Report, which highlights the strides the Commission has made over the last fiscal year toward...more
On March 11, 2022, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed summary judgment, dismissing a Texas city employee’s claim that he had been unlawfully terminated from his job because of his age. The Fifth...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
In a landmark ruling, a Beijing court ruled in favor of a transgender employee against her employer, a Chinese e-commerce company, interpreting China’s anti-discrimination laws to include protection based on sexual...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The third key trend from our 16th Annual Workplace Class Action Litigation Report involves governmental enforcement litigation, including an overview of priorities and filings by the EEOC, the U.S....more
October 7, 2019 marked the beginning of a new U.S. Supreme Court term. One significant employment law matter the Court is expected to rule on has to do with lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (“LGBT”) rights. In a trio of...more
Retailer Unlawfully Fired Pregnant Employee Upon Receipt of Medical Information, Federal Agency Charges - HOUSTON - Party supply retail chain Party City Corporation violated federal law when a Texas store fired a...more
This month’s key employment law cases address nonsolicitation provisions and arbitration agreements. AMN Healthcare, Inc. v. Aya Healthcare Servs., Inc., 28 Cal. App. 5th 923, 239 Cal. Rptr. 3d 577 (2018) Summary:...more
As members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community (LGBT+) are increasingly open at work about their identities, circuit courts are recognizing that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act protects them from...more
While the debate is still not settled as to whether Title VII’s prohibition on sex discrimination applies to LGBTQ workers, at least one more federal appeals court has officially weighed in on the subject. On March 7, 2018,...more
In a unanimous decision in EEOC v. R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes, Inc., a three-judge Sixth Circuit panel has held that discrimination on the basis of transgender status is “necessarily” discrimination on the basis of sex...more
Courts have disagreed on whether an employer discriminating against an employee based upon their sexual orientation violates federal anti-discrimination laws. Yesterday’s ruling by a New York federal appeals court means this...more
In an en banc decision in Zarda v. Altitude Express, Inc., the Second Circuit has become the latest federal appeals court to hold that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is prohibited sex discrimination under...more
One of the many challenges for employers is that, occasionally, employees must be terminated. Unfortunately, sometimes those former employees claim to have been terminated illegally, giving rise to the risk of legal and...more
Water Company Denied Position to Veteran Manager Because of Her Gender, Then Eliminated Her Job Due to 'Consolidation,' Federal Agency Charges - TAMPA, Fla. -- Nestlé Waters North America, a Stamford, Conn.-based...more
Don't ask, don't get – data subject access requests and litigation - The Court of Appeal has provided further guidance on responding to data subject access requests made in the context of litigation – in this case...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: To the surprise of many, the EEOC is not retreating from the argument first made by the Obama administration that Title VII forbids employment discrimination based on gender identity. In EEOC v. R.G....more
On February 21, 2017, a federal court in Wisconsin reaffirmed a tribe's sovereign immunity with respect to Title VII claims of wrongful termination. See Bruguier v. Du Flambeau, 16-cv-604-jdp, (W. Dist Wisc. February 21,...more
Young Female Employee Sexually Harassed by Restaurant Manager and Terminated After She Complained, Federal Agency Charged - SAN DIEGO - A federal judge has ordered Mexicali Chicken & Salads, an El Centro, Calif.-based...more
On November 30, 2016, all of the judges of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals (covering Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin) reheard a case that could change the way federal courts treat sexual orientation-based discrimination...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Increasingly, courts have held that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity violates Title VII. Federal district courts in Nevada and Pennsylvania have recently joined their...more
Assistant Manager of Rantoul Store Was Fired Because of Her Gender Identity, Federal Agency Charges - URBANA, Ill. - Rent-A-Center violated federal civil rights law by discharging an employee from its Rantoul, Ill.,...more
Of significance to employers, the bill, which was signed into law last Wednesday, eliminates the common-law cause of action for wrongful discharge based on “EEO” discrimination....more
Big news for employees and employers in North Carolina — the General Assembly enacted a bill on Wednesday (signed by Gov. Pat McCrory (R) within hours) that was primarily intended to preempt a certain high-profile municipal...more