Welcome to the third issue of the 2021 volume of Unprecedented. Those who watched the Super Bowl last night would have seen several signs of the times: recognition of the 7,500 vaccinated healthcare workers in attendance,...more
COVID-19 and Unprecedented: Litigation Insights, Issue 22
In our 22nd edition of Unprecedented, our weekly update on COVID-19-related litigation, we see cases against employers continue to rise, and offer insight for...more
9/2/2020
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Business Closures ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Civil Liability ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Dilution ,
Dismissals ,
Emergency Orders ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Executive Orders ,
Facebook ,
False Designation of Origin ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Governor Evers ,
Governor Northam ,
Instagram ,
Masks ,
OSHA ,
Refunds ,
Remote Learning ,
Students ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Tuition ,
Universities ,
VA Supreme Court ,
Workers' Compensation Claim ,
Workplace Safety ,
Wrongful Death
As we continue our weekly update on COVID-19 related litigation, we have decided that this 19th issue of Unprecedented is the most fitting time for a format change to make viewing our content easier. Now, all content is...more
8/14/2020
/ Business Closures ,
Business Interruption ,
Case Consolidation ,
Chase Bank ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Criminal Contempt ,
Denial of Insurance Coverage ,
Due Process ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Protection ,
Executive Orders ,
Government Shutdown ,
Governor Cuomo ,
Governor Pritzker ,
Masks ,
Multidistrict Litigation ,
Occupational Exposure ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Political Parties ,
Public Gatherings ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Sick Employees ,
Social Distancing ,
Statutory Immunity ,
Tyson Foods ,
Waiver of Liability ,
Workplace Safety
This 18th edition of Unprecedented, our weekly update on COVID-19-related litigation, sees us return to what, even in these early days of the pandemic, must be considered as some of the hottest topics. Thus, we discuss new...more
8/5/2020
/ All-Risks Insurance ,
American Medical Association ,
Bars ,
Business Closures ,
Business Interruption ,
Casinos ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Civil Liability ,
Class Action ,
Colleges ,
Commercial Leases ,
Commercial Tenants ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Contracts Clause ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Denial of Insurance Coverage ,
Due Process ,
Eviction ,
Executive Orders ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
Government Lockdown ,
Gross Negligence ,
Immunity ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Landlords ,
Legitimate State Interest ,
Moratorium ,
Occupational Exposure ,
Property Damage ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Remote Learning ,
Restaurant Industry ,
School Closures ,
State Health Departments ,
Students ,
Takings Clause ,
Universities ,
Waiver of Liability ,
Workplace Safety
This 17th edition of Unprecedented, our weekly update on COVID-19-related litigation, discusses everything from insurance coverage disputes to statewide shutdown orders. Despite an uphill climb towards liability, businesses...more
7/30/2020
/ Breach of Contract ,
Business Closures ,
Business Losses ,
Civil Liability ,
Class Action ,
Colleges ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Denial of Insurance Coverage ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Funding ,
Free Exercise Clause ,
Government Shutdown ,
Governor Sisolak ,
Governor Wolf ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Immunity ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Occupational Exposure ,
OSHA ,
Popular ,
Refunds ,
Remote Learning ,
Restaurant Industry ,
State and Local Government ,
Tuition ,
Universities ,
Workplace Injury ,
Wrongful Death ,
Wrongful Withholding
This 16th edition of Unprecedented, our weekly update on COVID-19-related litigation, discusses claims ranging from insurance coverage disputes to prisoners’ rights. The top story this week, however, is undoubtedly a Michigan...more
7/23/2020
/ Business Interruption ,
Civil Authority Coverage ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
College Athletes ,
Confrontation Clause ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Court Schedules ,
Criminal Procedure ,
Cruise Ship Passengers ,
Cruise Ships ,
Denial of Insurance Coverage ,
Disgorgement ,
Dismissal With Prejudice ,
Dismissals ,
Emergency Orders ,
Governor Wolf ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Insurance Brokers ,
Masks ,
Negligence ,
Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress ,
NFL ,
OSHA ,
Policy Exclusions ,
Price Gouging ,
Prisoners ,
Property Damage ,
Restitution ,
Safety Standards ,
School Sports ,
State Attorneys General ,
Student Athletes ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices ,
Video Recordings ,
Videoconference ,
Virtual Litigation ,
Witnesses ,
Writ of Habeus Corpus ,
Writ of Mandamus ,
Zone of Danger Test
This 15th edition of Unprecedented, our weekly update on COVID-19-related litigation, showcases new and evolving trends. This week we note how COVID-19 has accelerated a pre-existing trend toward class action litigation. And...more
7/19/2020
/ Airlines ,
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) ,
Business Closures ,
Business Interruption ,
Casino Employee ,
Casinos ,
Class Action ,
Contact Tracing ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cruel & Unusual Punishment ,
Denial of Insurance Coverage ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Entertainment Venues ,
Executive Orders ,
Exemptions ,
Failure to Comply ,
Government Lockdown ,
Gym Memberships ,
Health Care Providers ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Limitation of Liability Clause ,
Masks ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Popular ,
Prisoners ,
Private Schools ,
Public Nuisance ,
Quarantine ,
Refunds ,
Shelter-In-Place ,
Sick Employees ,
Social Distancing ,
Trump Administration ,
Unions ,
Universities ,
Workplace Safety
This 14th edition of Unprecedented, our weekly update on COVID-19-related litigation, showcases new and evolving trends. Employers are facing claims for both doing too much and too little in response to the COVID-19 pandemic....more
7/13/2020
/ Arbitrary and Capricious ,
Austria ,
Bars ,
Board of Education ,
Class Action ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Disparate Impact ,
Due Process ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Equal Protection ,
Eviction ,
Executive Orders ,
Failure To Protect ,
First Responders ,
Florida ,
Free Speech ,
Government Shutdown ,
Governor Cuomo ,
Governor Pritzker ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Kid Rock ,
Lack of Authority ,
Landlords ,
Liquor Licences ,
Local Ordinance ,
Long Term Care Facilities ,
Masks ,
Medical Monitoring ,
Moratorium ,
Negotiations ,
New York ,
Non-Essential Businesses ,
Nursing Homes ,
On-Call Employees ,
Parental Rights ,
Pennsylvania ,
Permanent Bans ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Protests ,
Public Schools ,
Rent ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Right to Privacy ,
San Francisco ,
Social Distancing ,
State Constitutions ,
State Health Departments ,
State of Emergency ,
Students ,
Takings Clause ,
Teachers ,
Tenants ,
Tennessee ,
Texas ,
Tourism ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Decontamination
This 13th edition of Unprecedented, our weekly update on COVID-19-related litigation brings new developments in everything from constitutional law to tort liability. Shutdown cases show no signs of slowing down, and it seems...more
6/29/2020
/ Breach of Contract ,
Business Closures ,
Commercial Leases ,
Commercial Tenants ,
Contract Disputes ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Event Cancellation ,
Fifth Amendment ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
Health and Safety ,
Landlords ,
Refunds ,
Workplace Safety
This 12th edition of Unprecedented, our weekly update on COVID-19-related litigation brings new developments in labor and employment cases, consumer protection cases, and civil rights litigation. Price gouging and fraud for...more
6/22/2020
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Event Cancellation ,
Fraud ,
Loan Applications ,
Masks ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Price Gouging ,
Public Health ,
Refunds ,
Vendors
This 11th edition of Unprecedented, our weekly update on COVID-19-related litigation, identifies news reports placing the number of COVID-19 filings at around 2,700, with insurance coverage disputes former the single largest...more
6/16/2020
/ Business Interruption ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cruise Ships ,
Elder Care ,
Emotional Distress Damages ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Insurance Industry ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Multidistrict Litigation ,
Nursing Homes ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Police Power ,
Prison ,
Prisoners ,
Public Health ,
State Constitutions ,
State Legislatures ,
Vaccinations ,
Wrongful Death
This tenth edition of Unprecedented, our weekly update on COVID-19-related litigation, finds us reporting fewer shutdown-related cases than in previous weeks, suggesting that these cases are winding down as the country opens...more
6/8/2020
/ Business Closures ,
Commercial Leases ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Masks ,
Multidistrict Litigation ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Prisoners ,
Rent ,
School Closures ,
State and Local Government
In the recent decision Newton v. Morgantown Machine & Hydraulics, the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia limited the state’s public policy regarding the use of self-defense in the workplace. The plaintiff in Newton...more
12/24/2019
/ Appeals ,
Employment Policies ,
Harless Claim ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Imminent Harm ,
Reaffirmation ,
Self-Defense ,
Stand Your Ground Laws ,
Wrongful Discharge in Violation of Public Policy ,
Wrongful Termination ,
WV Supreme Court
Welcome to the fourth quarter edition of SuperVision, the e-newsletter from Spilman Thomas & Battle's Labor & Employment Law Group.
Just as we were going to press, the National Labor Relations Board ("NLRB") issued two...more
12/18/2019
/ Appeals ,
Confidentiality Policies ,
Email Policies ,
Employee Privacy Rights ,
Governor Wolf ,
Internal Investigations ,
Minimum Wage ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Over-Time ,
Profanity ,
Public Comment ,
Public Policy ,
Racist Remarks ,
Rules of Civil Procedure ,
Self-Defense ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Summary Judgment ,
Title VII ,
Workplace Communication ,
Workplace Investigations
This fall, the U.S. Supreme Court heard three employment cases that collectively ask: Does Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination “because of…sex,” encompass discrimination based...more
10/30/2019
/ Altitude Express Inc v Zarda ,
Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
EEOC v RG & GR Harris Funeral Homes ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Gender Identity ,
LGBTQ ,
SCOTUS ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Split of Authority ,
Title VII ,
Transgender ,
Trump Administration
Many employers use background checks to guarantee it hires the best candidates—and to minimize legal liability for claims like negligent hiring. Unfortunately, this attempt to prevent one type of liability may...more
Welcome to the third quarter edition of SuperVision, the e-newsletter for Spilman Thomas & Battle's Labor & Employment Practice Group....in this edition of SuperVision, and in case you missed the e-blast we sent out the day...more
10/11/2019
/ Background Checks ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) ,
Minimum Salary ,
Over-Time ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
A recent decision from the Supreme Court of the United States - Fort Bend County v. Davis - has sparked conversations about whether a current or former employee must file a complaint with the EEOC before suing an employer for...more
6/18/2019
/ Affirmative Defenses ,
Amended Complaints ,
Appeals ,
Charge-Filing Preconditions ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Exhaustion Doctrine ,
Forfeiture ,
Fort Bend County Texas v Davis ,
Jurisdictional Requirements ,
Mandatory Claim-Processing Rules ,
Reaffirmation ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Discrimination ,
Retaliation ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Time-Barred Claims ,
Title VII ,
Waiver Rule
The Editor's Note -
...In this edition of SuperVision, Carrie Grundmann discusses EEO1 requirements, Mitch Rhein discusses the DOL's latest on the virtual marketplace, and Chelsea Thompson explains a recent United States...more
6/17/2019
/ Affirmative Defenses ,
Appeals ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EEO-1 ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Fort Bend County Texas v Davis ,
Independent Contractors ,
Pay Data ,
SCOTUS ,
Title VII ,
Virtual Marketplace Companies (VMCs) ,
Waivers
Sponsored wellness plans that include incentives to employees who voluntarily disclose personal health information as part of disability-related inquiries or medical examinations are in legal limbo after the EEOC removed the...more
3/18/2019
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Data Retention ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
GINA ,
Health Insurance ,
Incentives ,
Injunctions ,
PHI ,
Voluntary Disclosure ,
Wellness Programs
The Editor's Note -
Welcome to 2019's first edition of SuperVision, the e-newsletter from Spilman Thomas & Battle's Labor & Employment Law Group...
...In this edition of SuperVision, Carrie Grundmann explains a recent...more
3/14/2019
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Appeals ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
GINA ,
Independent Contractors ,
Minimum Salary ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Proposed Rules ,
Reversal ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Wellness Programs ,
White-Collar Exemptions ,
Workplace Communication
Employers rejoiced in December 2017 when the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) issued its decision in The Boeing Company, 365 NLRB No. 154 (Dec. 14, 2017), overthrowing its precedent regarding employers' handbooks. The...more
...In this edition of SuperVision, Chelsea Thompson explores new developments from the National Labor Relations Board regarding handbook policies and whether or not they comply with the National Labor Relations Act. Sarah...more
9/17/2018
/ Criminal Convictions ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disability Benefits ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Reimbursements ,
Workers' Compensation Claim
Some eagle-eyed employers may have noticed the Department of Labor’s model FMLA forms expired on Friday, June 1, 2018. This is because the DOL is required under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 to submit its FMLA forms to...more
...In this issue, Mitch Rhein examines the Supreme Court decision permitting class action waivers, Spencer Cook looks at a recent decision that warns employers to be careful about asking for past pay rates, Chelsea Thompson...more
6/13/2018
/ Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Document Retention Policies ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Epic Systems Corp v Lewis ,
Equal Pay Act ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Recruitment Policies ,
Required Forms ,
Salary/Wage History ,
SCOTUS