By Jeremy J. Gray of Zuber & Taillieu LLP
In a 9-0 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court has resolved a split among Circuit courts and has held that an ERISA claimant need not be the “prevailing party” in a lawsuit to receive an award of attorneys fees under 29 U.S.C. section 1132(g)(1). In Hardt v. Reliance Standard Life Insurance… More...
The U.S. Supreme Court recently expanded the range of circumstances in which disparate impact cases can be filed, finding that an employment practice that has a disparate impact can be challenged both at the adoption of the practice and upon its application. In Lewis v. City of Chicago, 130 S.Ct. More...
In a sharply divided 6-5 en banc opinion, the Ninth Circuit certified what many are calling the biggest class action, in the biggest employment discrimination case in U.S. history, with ultimate damages likely in the billions of dollars. In Dukes v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 603 F.3d 571 (9th Cir. More...
The Sixth Circuit recently issued a notable non-published decision that breaks from the prevailing judicial trend favoring arbitration by striking down certain provisions of an employment application because the employees had not knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily waived their rights. In More...
In a case of first impression, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has ruled that an employee’s self-serving lay testimony, in combination with medical evidence, can be sufficient to establish a “serious medical condition” under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The case, More...
As discussed here on LawUpdates.com last year, in Quon v. City of Ontario , the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals held that a City of Ontario SWAT officer named Jeff Quon possessed a privacy right in the personal text messages he sent and received from his city issued communication device. Some of More...
In a case of first impression, the Sixth Circuit has ruled that a grade school teacher at a religious school who taught primarily secular topics falls outside of the “ministerial exception” to the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). In EEOC v. Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church More...
Exacerbating a current split among federal courts on the issue, a federal court in Pennsylvania has held that any individual, not just corporate officers, can be held liable under the FMLA’s individual liability provisions. In Narodetsky v. Cardone Industries Inc., 2010 WL 678288, NO. 09-4734 More...
The California Supreme Court has held that the “kin care” provision of California Labor Code Section 233 does not apply to unlimited sick leave policies. In McCarther v. Pacific Telesis Group, ____ Cal. Rptr. 3d ____, 48 Cal. 4th 104, 2010 WL 547321 (Cal. 2010), the California Supreme Court More...
The New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, has held that an LLC can be criminally liable for willfully violating health laws and falsifying business records in the operation of a nursing home. In People v. Highgate LTC Management LLC, 69 A.D.3d 185, 887 N.Y.S.2d 298 (2009), the Appellate More...
The Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has held that two provisions of the Railway Labor Act (“RLA”), 45 U.S.C. section 152, do not provide a private cause of action that would enable unhappy employees to overturn reworked agreements entered into by their union. In Lindsay v. Association of More...
