News & Analysis as of

Protected Activity Summary Judgment

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

Texas Supreme Court Rules Request for Disability Accommodation Does Not Support Retaliation Claim Under State Law

Texas courts generally look to federal courts’ interpretation of federal anti-discrimination laws to assist in interpreting the anti-discrimination provisions of the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act (TCHRA). However, the...more

Miller Canfield

6th Circuit Clarifies Opposition Clause of Title VII - Performance of Regular Job Duties as Protected Activity

Miller Canfield on

Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act prohibits retaliation against employees because they either oppose discriminatory actions (the "Opposition Clause") or because of their participation in an investigation, proceeding, or...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

First Circuit Finds No Discrimination or Retaliation in Harvard’s Tenure Decision

In Theidon v. Harvard University, No. 18-1279 (January 31, 2020), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit affirmed a lower court’s decision granting summary judgment for Harvard University as to a female professor’s...more

Payne & Fears

Key California Employment Law Cases: June 2019

Payne & Fears on

This month's key California employment law cases involve EEOC charges, disability discrimination, and meal breaks....more

Proskauer - Whistleblower Defense

Alabama Federal Court Denies Motion for Summary Judgement on SOX Whistleblower Claim

On April 2, 2019, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama denied a defendant-employer’s motion for summary judgment on a SOX whistleblower retaliation claim, finding genuine issues of material fact...more

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

Fifth Circuit Affirms: Res Judicata Bars FCA Retaliation Suit

Dorsey & Whitney LLP on

Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit considered an appeal from the Eastern District of Louisiana, which dismissed appellants’ FCA retaliation claims based on res judicata. Res judicata, or “claim...more

Proskauer - Whistleblower Defense

SDNY Grants Summary Judgment Against Plaintiff in SOX Blacklisting Suit

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York recently granted a motion for summary judgment against a Plaintiff claiming retaliatory blacklisting under SOX, holding that a former employer’s policy of refusing...more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Sixth Circuit to Employers: No ‘Magic Words’ Make a Sex Discrimination Complaint Title VII Protected Activity

Employers beware: An employee does not have to use “magic words” to complain about discrimination for it to lay the basis for a retaliation claim. The Sixth Circuit made this point in a unanimous opinion in the case of Mumm...more

Proskauer - Whistleblower Defense

10th Circuit Reverses Grant of Summary Judgment on SOX Whistleblower Claim

On February 22, 2018, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a district court’s grant of summary judgment against a Plaintiff who claimed that his employment was terminated in violation of the SOX whistleblower...more

Proskauer - Whistleblower Defense

Mississippi Federal Court Denies Summary Judgment on SOX Whistleblower Claim

On February 12, 2018, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi recently denied a motion for summary judgment in a SOX whistleblower claim where the defendant company alleged that it terminated...more

Fisher Phillips

Third Circuit Confirms “But-For” Standard for Retaliation Claims Under the False Claims Act

Fisher Phillips on

Last month, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals held that an employee’s protected activity must be the “but for” cause of an adverse action to support a claim for retaliation under the False Claims Act (“FCA”). The Court...more

Proskauer - Whistleblower Defense

UPDATE: California Federal Court Permits Former Bank Internal Auditor’s Whistleblower Claims to Proceed

A California federal court—in Erhart v. BofI Holding, Inc., 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14755, Case No. 15-cv-02287 (S.D. Cal. Sept. 11, 2017)—recently denied BofI Federal Bank’s (“BofI’s”) motion to dismiss the Sarbanes-Oxley...more

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

For Any Lawful Reason: Firing an at-will employee under dubious circumstances need not lead to liability if the reason for the...

Dorsey & Whitney LLP on

A recent decision from the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals highlights the distinction between firing an employee for personal or politically expedient reasons (which may be entirely legal) and firing an employee because of his...more

Proskauer - Whistleblower Defense

Florida Private Sector Whistleblower Must Show Actual Violation of Law

The Southern District of Florida recently held that to establish a prima facie case under the Florida Private Whistleblower Act (FWA), § 448.102(3), Fla. Stat., a plaintiff must show an actual violation of a law, rule or...more

Proskauer - Whistleblower Defense

California District Court Addresses Whistleblower’s Self-Help

In Erhart v. BofI Holding, Inc., Case No. 15-cv-02287, (S.D. Cal. Feb. 14, 2017), a bank’s internal auditor reported alleged misconduct to federal agencies, engaged in self-help discovery by appropriating the bank’s...more

FordHarrison

Finally! Something That's Not "Protected Activity" in California

FordHarrison on

It turns out that “protected activity” sufficient to make out a retaliation claim in California is not as broad as it may sometimes seem. On November 9, 2016, the Court of Appeal affirmed summary judgment for the employer in...more

Proskauer - Whistleblower Defense

E.D. Pennsylvania Limits Protected Activity Under SOX

In Westawski v. Merck & Co., No. 14-cv-3239 (E.D. Pa. Oct. 18, 2016), the Eastern District of Pennsylvania granted Defendant Merck & Co. (Company) summary judgment on Plaintiff Joni Westawski’s (Plaintiff) SOX whistleblower...more

Proskauer - Whistleblower Defense

Seventh Circuit Issues Ruling Interpreting False Claim Act Whistleblower Amendments

The Seventh Circuit recently issued a decision interpreting the anti-retaliation provisions of the False Claims Act (FCA). The decision provides important clarifications about how courts may interpret recent amendments to...more

Proskauer - Whistleblower Defense

E.D. Wisconsin: SOX Does Not Protect Whistleblower Complaints Based On Immaterial, Routine Events

On August 25, 2016, the Eastern District of Wisconsin granted the Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment on its former CEO’s SOX whistleblower claim. The court ruled that Plaintiff’s complaint to the Board of Directors did...more

FordHarrison

Does New Jersey's Conscientious "Everyone" Protection Act Trump the NLRB's Exclusive Jurisdiction? State Supreme Court says "Yes"...

FordHarrison on

Executive Summary: Just when employers thought New Jersey's Supreme Court could not expand the state's whistleblower law further (as we reported last summer), the Conscientious Employee Protection Act (CEPA) once again has...more

Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr LLP

Third Circuit Clarifies Prima Facie Burden of Whistleblowers for SOX Retaliation Claims

On February 2, 2016 the Third Circuit addressed Weist v. Tyco Electronics Corp., for a second time and, on this occasion, affirmed an Eastern District of Pennsylvania order granting summary judgment to Tyco. This second...more

Proskauer - Whistleblowing & Retaliation

3rd Circuit Affirms Dismissal in Long-Running Weist SOX Whistleblower Case

On February 2, 2016, the Third Circuit affirmed the dismissal of the SOX whistleblower retaliation claim in the closely watched case of Weist v. Tyco Electronics Corp., No. 15-2034. We have posted on key events during the...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Court Allows EEOC’s Discrimination Suit Over Religious Garb To Proceed To Jury

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on

In an order recently issued in EEOC v Jetstream Ground Services, Inc., Case No. 13-CV-02340 (D. Colo. Sept. 29, 2015), Judge Christine Arguello of the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado ruled that the EEOC had...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

Second Circuit Emphasizes That Inconsistent Reasons For Employee Termination Can Be Sufficient To Overcome Summary Judgment

Kwan v. The Andalex Group LLC, No. 12-2493 (2d Cir. Dec. 16, 2013): A recent decision by the Second Circuit not only revived a former employee’s retaliation claims but further highlighted the litigation risk when an...more

Proskauer - Whistleblowing & Retaliation

The Fourth Circuit Upholds Entry of Summary Judgment in Favor of CIED Manufacturers, Finding that Complaints Concerning...

Plaintiff, former engineer for defendant Impact Science & Technology, Inc. (IST), brought suit against IST and related entities under the whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act (FCA) in 2007. A federal district...more

26 Results
 / 
View per page
Page: of 2

"My best business intelligence, in one easy email…"

Your first step to building a free, personalized, morning email brief covering pertinent authors and topics on JD Supra:
*By using the service, you signify your acceptance of JD Supra's Privacy Policy.
- hide
- hide