Employment Law This Week: Constructive Discharge Claims, Class Waivers, Hiring Bias, Electronic Record-Keeping Rule, Equal Pay
Branch Rickey, former General Manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers and the man who gave Jackie Robinson his shot in the Big Leagues, once said that luck is the residue of design. (Actually, the phrase may come from the British...more
Colavecchia v. South Side Area Sch. Dist., No. 2:22-CV-01804-CCW, 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 70461 (W.D. Pa. April 21, 2023). The United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania denied South Side Area School...more
On February 8, 2023, the Minnesota Supreme Court issued its first significant decision interpreting the state’s employment discrimination law, the Minnesota Human Rights Act (MHRA), in three years. In a ruling that will...more
Black Employees at Domino’s Pizza in Olean, N.Y. Subjected to Racial Slurs, Intimidation and Physical Threats, Federal Agency Charges - BUFFALO, N.Y. – Parris Pizza Company, LLC, a Domino’s Pizza franchise in Olean, New...more
Over the past decade, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (which includes North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia) has substantially lowered the bar for demonstrating racial harassment in cases where a racial...more
On April 4, 2022, in the matter of Jane Rocks, et al. v. PNC Investments LLC, et al., a three-judge Appellate Panel affirmed the Superior Court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of PNC Investments LLC and dismissing the...more
Supervisors Repeatedly Ignored Young Workers’ Reports of Sexual Harassment, Federal Agency Charges - SEATTLE — Fast food chain Chipotle Services LLC and Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc., violated federal law by subjecting young...more
Supervisors Repeatedly Ignored Farmworker’s Reports of Sexual Harassment, Federal Agency Charges - SEATTLE —Chief Orchards, a tree fruit business based in Yakima, Washington, violated federal law by allowing a Latina...more
Employer Allowed Black Housekeeper to Racially Harass White Coworkers, Federal Agency Charges - MOORESVILLE, N.C. – T.M.F. Mooresville, LLC, operating as Hampton Inn & Suites in Mooresville, North Carolina, subjected white...more
Recently, the Louisiana Court of Appeal, First Circuit, in Thompson v. Cenac Towing Co., L.L.C., analyzed a trial court’s grant of summary judgment in a company’s favor after a noose-like rope was found hanging in a maritime...more
Restaurant Tolerated a Sexually Hostile Work Environment, Federal Agency Charged - LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Pei Wei Asian Diner, LLC, doing business as Pei Wei Fresh Kitchen in Little Rock, will pay $300,000 to former...more
On November 7, 2019, the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey in Paige v. Atrion Communication Resources, Inc., et al., considered a hostile work environment/sexual harassment claim under the New Jersey Law...more
Company Failed to Stop a Male Manager's Harassment of Female Employee, Federal Agency Charges - ATLANTA - Caribbean Farmers Market, a Decatur, Ga, supermarket, will pay $25,000 and provide other significant relief to...more
In recent years, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (which includes North Carolina and South Carolina) has lowered the bar for plaintiffs to take racial harassment claims to a jury trial when the alleged conduct involved use...more
Black Employee Had to Quit Due to Racial Slurs and Harassment, Federal Agency Charges - STATESVILLE, N.C. - Joe's Old Fashioned Bar-B-Que, Inc., doing business as Lancaster's BBQ & Wings, a North Carolina corporation,...more
The U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey denied an employee’s request to reopen her case based on alleged changed attitudes “post-Weinstein.” The Court also denied the employer’s request for sanctions but...more
Black Employee Subjected to Racist Language and Images, Federal Agency Charges - PHOENIX - Arizona Discount Movers of Phoenix violated federal law by subjecting an African-American employee to racial harassment and...more
With the start of college football season around the corner, attention turns to off-season shake ups in coaching staffs. One controversial change involved defensive coordinator Robert H. Shoop. Shoop traded in his blue and...more
They say that timing is everything — or at least now it is for so-called “constructive discharge” claims. Last month, the United States Supreme Court, in a 7-1 decision, solidified the rule that the time within which an...more
The U.S. Supreme Court held in Green v. Brennan that the statute of limitations for a constructive discharge begins to run on the date of resignation, not the date of the employer’s last discriminatory act, resolving a...more
Federal law requires a governmental employee to file a constructive discharge claim with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission within 45 days of the “matter alleged to be discriminatory.” The vagueness of that phrase...more
Normally in this space we write about court decisions that have already occurred and are likely to impact employers. This week, we focus on cases that have just been filed and could have far reaching implications. In a...more
A recent ruling from a Tennessee appeals court reinforces that a prompt and reasonable investigation can help save an employer from liability in response to sexual harassment charges....more