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Rite Aid’s Full-Day Unpaid Leave Policy Valid under FLSA

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
12/20/2012
Litigation, Wage & Hour
Three former Rite Aid pharmacists filed a class action suit against the national retain drugstore chain, seeking overtime pay under state and federal laws.  The professionals contended that Rite Aid’s unpaid personal leave policy disqualified them from exempt status under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), and impermissibly reduced their salaries.  Maryland’s federal district court granted summary judgment for Rite Aid, finding that the...
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Employer Not Liable for Failing to Do Background Check on Employee Who Raped Coworker

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
12/18/2012
Litigation, State Law, Workplace Safety
A federal appellate court has ruled that the employer of a woman raped by a co-worker is not liable for negligent hiring when it failed to conduct a background check on the co-worker, even though the employee had prior convictions for sexual crimes.  Keen v. Miller Environmental Group, _F. 3d. _ (5th Cir. 12/10/12). The court held that Mississippi law did not impose a generalized duty to conduct background checks, regardless of whether the employer...
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Timeliness of Title VII Action to be Decided by the Jury

Darrell VanDeusen
Darrell VanDeusen
12/03/2012
Employment Discrimination, Litigation
I love to read Judge Richard Posner’s opinions and agree with most of them.  He is probably the most significant non-Supreme Court Justice in the country. But a recent decision of his from the Seventh Circuit leaves me contemplating the potential for abuse by crafty plaintiffs.   In Begolli v Home Depot, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 24546 (7th Cir. November 29, 2012), the court returned a pro se plaintiff’s case to the district court for a trial on...
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Supreme Court to Revisit Faragher/Ellerth Defense to Harassment Claims

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
11/21/2012
Employment Discrimination, Litigation, Sexual Harassment
Soon after Thanksgiving, next Monday in fact, the Supreme Court will hear oral argument on a case of immense importance to employers, employees, and the employment law community.  In Vance v. Ball State University, the Court will address the question of who is a “supervisor” in the context of harassment cases under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Like the debate at Thanksgiving dinner over whose stuffing is better, there is a circuit...
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Virginia Supreme Court Holds That Supervisors May Be Personally Liable for Wrongful Discharge

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
11/02/2012
Litigation, Sexual Harassment, State Law
On November 1, 2012, the Supreme Court of Virginia held that a supervisor may be subject to tort liability for wrongful discharge in violation of public policy where the individual participated in the wrongful firing and was the violator of public policy. VanBuren v. Grubb, 120348 (Va. Nov. 1, 2012) (Millette, J.).  The Court addressed the issue upon certification from the Fourth Circuit. Angela VanBuren was a nurse at Virginia Highlands Orthopedic...
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Court Dismisses Employee Claims to Ownership of Linkedin Account

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
10/10/2012
Litigation, Social Media
Readers of this blog are well aware of the increased role that social media tools are playing in workplace lawsuits. While many of our recent posts have focused on NLRB decisions limiting employer social media policies, a recent federal court decision out of Pennsylvania emphasizes the importance of having a social media policy in place.  In Eagle v. Morgan, No. 2:11-cv-04303-RB (E.D. Pa. 10/4/12), the former president of a financial services...
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90 Day Right to Sue Requirement Runs from Time Lawyer Got Notice, First Circuit Says

Darrell VanDeusen
Darrell VanDeusen
09/26/2012
Employment Discrimination, Litigation
It’s pretty well recognized that a plaintiff needs to file a lawsuit within 90 days of her receipt of a notice of right to sue from the EEOC.  The timing requirement applies even if the recipient was not the plaintiff, but the plaintiff’s lawyer, according to the First Circuit.   Affirming summary judgment to Fondo del Seguro del Estado, Puerto Rico’s State Insurance Fund, the court held that Advilda Loubriel did not present sufficient...
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Another Facebook Case - Employee Claim of Invasion of Privacy This Time

Clifford Geiger
Clifford Geiger
08/17/2012
Litigation, Social Media
In Ehling v. Monmouth-Ocean Hospital Service Corp., the U.S. District Court for New Jersey permitted a former employee’s claim for invasion of privacy after a supervisor allegedly gained unauthorized access to her Facebook account to proceed for discovery. The plaintiff, a registered nurse and paramedic, alleged that her employer accessed private postings on her Facebook account in retaliation for her union activity.  A supervisor allegedly...
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New Lactation Law May Provide Basis for Retaliation Claim

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
07/25/2012
Litigation, Wage & Hour
By Eric Paltell One of the more obscure provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (a/k/a “Obamacare”) amends the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) to require employers to provide break time and a private place for employees to express breast milk for nursing children.  Although the amendments did not expressly give employees a right to sue employers who do not comply with the law, a recent federal court decision holds...
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