The Chartwell Chronicles: Employment Law
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#WorkforceWednesday: OSHA ETS on Hold, Retaliation Claims Increase, "Vaccination Ambassadors" - Employment Law This Week®
In Shalagin v. Mercer Celgar Limited Partnership, 2023 BCCA 373 (“Shalagin”), the British Columbia Court of Appeal affirmed that surreptitiously recording fellow employees may constitute just cause....more
The city of Portsmouth terminated a police officer in the wake of a bequest made to the officer by a 92-year-old woman he had met while on duty. The officer had assisted the woman in finding an attorney to draft a new will...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
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
If you work in human resources, or are an executive or employment lawyer, at some point you probably have thought, heard or said words to the effect of “Juries are very unpredictable and can do some crazy things.” I admit...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: A case out of the District of Oregon recently dismissed a Plaintiff’s sexual harassment and retaliation claims where the allegations relied on manufactured text messages that Plaintiff failed to produce. ...more
As many employers know, the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA) broadened the scope of who may be considered disabled under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Indeed, through the ADAAA, Congress sought to make it...more
In light of evidence that younger employees committed similar infractions as the plaintiff, and did not suffer significant disciplinary action, an Illinois federal district court denied an employer’s summary judgment motion....more
When an employee brings a lawsuit alleging that his employer retaliated or discriminated against him, courts typically assess the claim by using a burden-shifting approach. Under this approach, after the employer offers a...more
Last week, we talked about 20 things an employer should ask itself before terminating an employee. In the interests of fairness, here are 10 things that an employee should ask before suing an employer. You should know that I...more
The California Court of Appeal held last week in Cardenas v. M. Fanaian, D.D.S., Inc. that retaliation claims under California Labor Code § 1102.5 need not be based on a report of employer wrongdoing or promote a fundamental...more
On August 20, 2015, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that a plaintiff could not prevail on a Title VII religious discrimination claim if there was no evidence the employer knew that the plaintiff refused...more