The Chartwell Chronicles: Employment Law
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The Tennessee Supreme Court has recently held that there is no legal claim for wrongful discharge where an employer terminates an employee because the employee exercised a right set forth in the state Constitution. The...more
On August 14, 2024, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals issued an opinion reversing a prior decision of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina regarding wrongful discharge under North Carolina law....more
North Carolina is an at-will employment state, but recognizes a limited exception from that rule for terminations that violate the state’s public policy. Courts have wrestled for years over the meaning of public policy and...more
In Michigan, various state employment laws prohibit employers from retaliating against employees. But can an employee pursue a public policy retaliation claim against the employer in addition to a statutory retaliation claim?...more
In a case of first impression in Colorado, the Colorado Court of Appeals adopts a test for evaluating a claim of actual discharge under Colorado law. In this Colorado employment law case, Plaintiff ex-employee, Ms. Potts,...more
On Tuesday, March 21, 2023, the Connecticut Supreme Court announced a significant new decision concerning lawsuits by employees alleging “wrongful discharge in violation of public policy.” Most employers in Connecticut are...more
On July 15, 2022, the Michigan Supreme Court clarified and, arguably, expanded the public-policy exception to the well-established at-will employment presumption in Michigan. Although the case may conclude differently after...more
In its 1989 Coman v. Thomas Mfg. Co., Inc. decision, the North Carolina Supreme Court recognized a limited exception to the state’s employment-at-will doctrine. That exception allows employees to sue for wrongful discharge if...more
A statute of limitations can end a case before it begins. But which limitations period applies? In its recent opinion in Woody v. Accuquest Hearing Center, LLC, COA21-563 (2022), the North Carolina Court of Appeals tackled...more
Under some circumstances, Oklahoma law recognizes that terminated employees may pursue a public policy wrongful discharge claim against a former employer. These claims allow a narrow exception to the employment at-will status...more
A recent decision by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (the “SJC”) significantly expanded the Massachusetts common-law public policy exception to termination of at-will employees. This decision, Meehan v. Med. Info....more
On December 17, 2021, Meehan v. Medical Information Technology, Inc., the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts (“SJC”) held that an employee’s filing a rebuttal to information placed in their personnel file that could...more
On December 17, 2021, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) ruled that an employee discharged for submitting a written rebuttal to his employer in response to the placement of negative information in his personnel...more
In a case of first impression, the Superior Court of Pennsylvania has determined that employees can sue their employers for claims under the Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana Act (MMA). Palmiter v. Commonwealth Health Sys.,...more
On August 5, 2021, the Superior Court of Pennsylvania held for the first time that Pennsylvania’s Medical Marijuana Act (MMA) allows an employee to sue his or her employer for taking an adverse employment action based on the...more
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
On January 26, 2021, a computer programmer and coder named Leah Snyder filed a lawsuit against her former employer (Snyder v. Alight Solutions LLC (8:21-cv-00187)), alleging she was wrongfully terminated after she posted...more
On January 20, 2021, an expanded five-judge panel of the Massachusetts Appeals Court issued its opinion in Terence Meehan v. Medical Information Technology, Inc., No. 19-P-1412, and affirmed a lower court decision granting...more
The Massachusetts Appeals Court, in a slip op opinion issued on January 20, 2021, decided that at-will employees can be terminated for submitting rebuttal letters pursuant to G.L.c. 149, §52C (“Section 52C”), and cannot avail...more
On December 24, 2020, the Illinois Appellate Court First District ruled that it is the public policy of the State of Illinois that police officers are to be honest and truthful in conducting their police duties. In City of...more
On February 26, 2020, in the case of Schmitz v. Alamance-Burlington Board of Education, the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina granted in part and denied in part a motion to dismiss claims...more
In a recent decision, Palmiter v. Commonwealth Health Systems, the Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas held that: (a) the Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana Act (“MMA”) creates a private right of action for wrongful termination;...more
Ferra v. Loews Hollywood Hotel, LLC, 40 Cal. App. 5th 1239, 253 Cal. Rptr. 3d 798 (2019) - Summary: Term “regular rate of compensation” for calculating meal or rest break premium payments is not synonymous with term...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Does Pennsylvania’s public policy preclude a nuclear power plant from terminating an employee for being drunk on the job? “No,” the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania...more