We’ve often written about the need to have clearly written policies that, once in place, are followed. If a dispute arises and there is any ambiguity in the policies and how the employer interpreted or used them, juries more...more
8/16/2018
/ Appeals ,
Breach of Contract ,
Colleges ,
Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing ,
Directed Verdicts ,
Early Retirement ,
Emergency Response ,
Emotional Distress Damages ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Evidence ,
Filing Grievances ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Judgment Notwithstanding the Verdict (JNOV) ,
Professors ,
Reversal ,
Student Athletes ,
Tenure ,
Wrongful Termination
At-will employment is the normal employer-employee relationship in South Carolina. In 2004, the state legislature passed a law stating that handbooks that took certain reasonable steps did not create a contractual exception...more
4/24/2018
/ Appeals ,
At-Will Employment ,
Building Codes ,
Construction Industry ,
Construction Permits ,
Directed Verdicts ,
Former Employee ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Medical Leave ,
Public Policy ,
Public Safety ,
Retaliation ,
SC Supreme Court ,
Stop Work Orders ,
Wrongful Termination
Lately, we’ve been seeing more cases in which public-sector employees accuse their governmental employer of violating the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Such claims can arise in many ways, but with the...more
6/12/2017
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Appeals ,
Code of Conduct ,
Compelling Governmental Interest ,
Facebook ,
Firemen ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Hiring & Firing ,
NLRB ,
Public Concern ,
Public Sector ,
Retaliation ,
Social Media Policy ,
Summary Judgment ,
Wrongful Termination
Employees and their counsel have been very aggressive in attempting to couch employment claims as state-law matters and filing claims in state court instead of federal court to try to avoid the federal judiciary. For various...more
3/1/2017
/ At-Will Employment ,
Boeing ,
Breach of Contract ,
Defamation ,
Defense Strategies ,
Dismissals ,
Employment Contract ,
Exclusive Remedy ,
Failure To State A Claim ,
Federal v State Law Application ,
Implied Contract ,
Motion to Amend ,
OSHA ,
Public Policy ,
State Labor Laws ,
State Law Claims ,
Whistleblowers ,
Workplace Safety ,
Wrongful Termination
In a relatively recent decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit (whose rulings apply to all South Carolina employers) found that an employer's faulty notice to an employee about his rights under the Family and...more