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Virginia Employment Law

Virginia Court Enforces Narrowly Drawn Restrictive Covenants

By on May 28, 2019 in Restrictive Covenants, Virginia Employment Law

Restrictive covenants  in employment agreements are often hotly contested, and can be difficult for employers to enforce. The Circuit Court of Fairfax County recently addressed the complexities of these agreements in ruling that a non-solicitation and non–disclosure agreement was enforceable, while a non-competition provision was not. Omnisec International Investigations, Inc., et. al. v. Slavica Stone, […]

Rumors About Sleeping With Her Boss Nets One Employee A Viable Sexual Harassment Claim

By on February 12, 2019 in Employment Discrimination, Hostile Work Environment, Sexual Harassment, Virginia Employment Law

In today’s #MeToo age, it is hard not to know that sexual harassment is wrong and illegal.  This recent case of unlawful sexual harassment comes with an admittedly unexpected lens.  Rumors that a female employee is “sleeping her way to the top” is the latest version of prohibited sexual harassment in workplace.  While endless movies, […]

Virginia Employer Defeats Retaliation Claim With Timely Documentation of Performance Issues

By on December 18, 2018 in Employment Discrimination, Virginia Employment Law

A Fourth Circuit case decided this past week is yet another example of how documenting employee performance problems– at the time they actually occur– can save an employer from a retaliation claim, even when an employee is fired immediately after a complaint of unfair treatment.  McDougald v. Quad/Graphics Mktg., No. 18-1026 (4th Cir. 12/13/18). In […]

Male Employee’s Sexual Comments to Male Coworker Sufficient to Send Harassment Claim to Jury

By on September 7, 2018 in Sexual Harassment, Virginia Employment Law

Sometimes I read cases that make me realize how boring and uneventful my worklife is compared to the workplaces we read about as employment lawyers and mediators (and that is a good thing).  A recent decision from the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia  drove that point home yet again. In […]

Virginia Federal Court Enforces Non-Compete Agreement

By on June 14, 2018 in Restrictive Covenants, Virginia Employment Law

As a general rule, Virginia courts are reluctant to enforce non-compete agreements because they are disfavored restraints on trade. However, when the agreements are narrowly tailored, restrictive covenants will be enforced. A recent decision from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia provides good guidance as to what type of agreement […]

Pharmacy Not Liable for Employee’s Defamatory Statements Made In The Workplace

By on June 12, 2018 in Supervisor Liability, Virginia Employment Law

Under the theory of vicarious liability, employers can be held responsible for an employee’s wrongful conduct provided he is acting within the scope of his employment.   But as the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals reminded us this week, not all workplace conduct which gives rise to a lawsuit against an employee, gives rise to one […]

Court Dismisses Grumpy Hospital Clerk’s Claim of Age Discrimination

By on March 13, 2018 in Age Discrimination, Employment Discrimination, Virginia Employment Law

On March 12, 2018, a Virginia federal court dismissed a claim of age discrimination brought by a 54 year old woman who had worked for Norton Community Hospital as an admissions clerk for nearly 23 years.  In Moore v. Mountain States Health Alliance, et. al., No. 2:16CV00014 (W.D. Va. 2018), Judge James Jones granted summary […]