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 Employment Law
Virginia General Assembly Considering Bills to Allow Employees to Sue for Unpaid Wages
Unlike many states, Virginia does not provide a statutory right for employees to sue their employer for unpaid wages. At present, an employee is limited to filing a complaint with the state Department of Labor & Industry or filing suit for breach of contract. However, two bills introduced by Delegates from both sides of the […]
Virginia Employer Defeats Retaliation Claim With Timely Documentation of Performance Issues
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
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 […]
Failure to Mediate Bars Claim for Unpaid Wages
The Supreme Court of Virginia has affirmed the dismissal of a suit for unpaid wages because of the plaintiff’s failure to seek mediation before filing suit. In Primov v. Serco, Inc., the Court upheld the Circuit Court of Fairfax County’s dismissal of a complaint with prejudice upon sustaining a plea in bar for failure to […]
Virginia Federal Court Enforces Non-Compete Agreement
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
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 Eric Paltell 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 […]
Virginia General Assembly Considering Legislation To Limit Liability for Disclosing Threats of Workplace Violence
On January 17, 2018, Delegate Chris Hurst of Blacksburg introduced legislation that would grant civil immunity to employers who share information about violent acts or threats made by current or former employees to prospective employers or law enforcement agencies. The proposed legislation, House Bill No. 1457, would also grant civil immunity to employers who rely […]
Richmond Court Dismisses Discrimination and Retaliation Claims
I’ve been practicing employment law for over 30 years, and one thing I have learned over those three decades is that you can generally predict how a judge will rule in your case by reading the first couple paragraphs of their decision. In Bowman v. Rescare Inc., Braley and Thompson, Civil Action No. 3:16-CV-601-JAG (10/19/17) […]
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