The Chartwell Chronicles: Employment Law
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#WorkforceWednesday: OSHA ETS on Hold, Retaliation Claims Increase, "Vaccination Ambassadors" - Employment Law This Week®
Renee Vines filed an action against his former employer alleging discrimination and harassment under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”) based on his race and age; that he was retaliated against when he was...more
A California appellate court recently denied enforcement of an arbitration agreement because (1) it contained provisions the court found problematic, and (2) the employer presented the agreement to the employee for electronic...more
A newly enacted, under-the-radar statute in California could undermine efforts by employers to challenge the expert opinion testimony regarding alleged emotional distress offered by employees at trial. In many if not most...more
Allen v. Staples, Inc., 84 Cal. App. 5th 188 (2022) - Joyce Allen worked at Staples as a field sales director (FSD) reporting to area sales vice president Bruce Trahey; FSD Charles R. Narlock also reported to Trahey. As...more
On March 3, 2021, in Rohrer v. Oswego Cove, LLC, the Oregon Court of Appeals reversed the lower court’s dismissal of an employee’s common-law wrongful discharge claim for seeking legal advice about her employment....more
There's a new sheriff in town . . . . . . so y'all better straighten up. You probably know by now that the Biden Administration fired Sharon Fast Gustafson, the Trump-appointed General Counsel of the Equal Employment...more
Prevention of occupational hazards and management of matters related to safety and the protection of health at work are major concerns for all those involved in labor law. This newsletter reviews five notable court...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
Prior to the advent of social media and especially the #MeToo movement, employers were generally comfortable drawing a bright line between what employees did on their own time and workplace misconduct. ...more
Hospital Supervisors Refused Accommodation for Deaf Employee, Federal Agency Charges - SANTA FE, N.M. - Christus Health, doing business as Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center in Santa Fe, N.M., violated federal...more
Employers may be liable to their employees for harassment by non-employees under Title VII. Courts have found liability for this so-called “third-party harassment” in some of the following fact-specific contexts: waitresses...more
This month’s key California employment law cases involve disability discrimination claims and procedural issues related to workers’ compensation proceedings....more
WASHINGTON - The Justice Department announced today that it has moved to intervene in Savage et al. v. Pocomoke City et al., a private lawsuit alleging race discrimination and retaliation under Title VII of the Civil Rights...more
Employer Permitted Racist Slurs and Graffiti, Then Fired Employees Who Complained - BUFFALO, N.Y. - A Buffalo provider of metal coating violated federal law when it permitted race-based harassment of black employees by...more
Restaurant Chain Subjected Transgender Employee to Sex Harassment, Then Fired Her for Complaining, Federal Agency Charges - FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. - Bojangles Restaurants, Inc., a North Carolina corporation operating a chain...more
New York-Based Real Estate Management Company Fired Employees In Retaliation For Complaining About Racial Harassment, Federal Agency Charges - GREENVILLE, S.C. - DHD Ventures Management Company, Inc., a New York-based...more
In Jabari Jumaane v. City of Los Angeles (Ct. of Appeal B255763), published November 10, 2015, the Court of Appeal for the Second Appellate District ended 12 years of see-saw litigation, ruling that the racial discrimination...more
Last week, Ellen Pao withdrew the appeal in her sex discrimination lawsuit against Kleiner Perkins. The Pao v. Kleiner Perkins trial captivated Silicon Valley as it sought to spotlight all-male company ski trips and double...more
Who's The Boss? - In Butler v. Drive Auto. Indus. of Am., Inc., the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (which has jurisdiction over North and South Carolina) joined the majority of federal appellate courts in holding that...more
See Chart below for more information. ...more
On July 22, 2015, in Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Peters’ Bakery, Case No. 13-CV-045107 (N.D. Cal. July 22, 2015), Judge Beth Labson Freeman of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California,...more
Following are two recent federal court rulings related to arbitration. Acknowledgement of Dispute Resolution Policy Sufficient to Compel Arbitration of Retaliation Claim - Ashbey v. Archstone Property Management,...more
Last month, in Boyer-Liberto v. Fontainebleau Corp., No. 13-1473 (4th Cir. May 7, 2015), the federal Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, which includes North and South Carolina, articulated a new standard for analyzing...more
Federal law and most state laws protect employees who complain about discrimination and harassment from retaliatory adverse employment actions (such as demotion or termination). Because retaliation claims can succeed even...more
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals recently made two noteworthy rulings in a single case concerning sexual harassment and retaliation under Title VII. First, as it relates to sexual harassment, the Court found that two...more