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Eric Paltell Presents on Collective Bargaining at Virginia Association of Counties Meeting

Kollman, Saucier, & Jackson
12/09/2021
Labor Law, Public Sector Employment Law, Virginia Employment Law
On May 1, 2021, Virginia's new law permitting local governments to enact collective bargaining legislation for employees took effect. On November 15, 2021,  K&S Partner Eric Paltell joined Virginia Senator Jennifer Boysko, Loudoun County Administrator Tim Hemstreet, and attorney Cynthia Hudson on a panel discussing the new law at the Virginia Association of Counties Annual Meeting in Norfolk.  Eric's presentation focused on steps...
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Employee’s Pandemic-Related FMLA Claims Survive Dismissal

Kollman, Saucier, & Jackson
11/11/2021
COVID-19, FMLA, Virginia Employment Law
At the risk of stating the obvious, employees and employers alike have faced challenges throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.  Many have approached these challenges with an open-mind, flexibility, compassion.  A recent decision from a federal court in Virginia provides a useful reminder of these principles in the context of a worker’s claim that his former employer interfered with his rights under the Family and Medical Leave Act...
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Jury Must Decide If Employee Required to Arbitrate

Kollman, Saucier, & Jackson
10/14/2021
Arbitration, Virginia Employment Law
One of the reasons employers sometimes require employees to enter into an arbitration agreement is that it eliminates the risk of having a jury decide the outcome.  However, a Virginia judge recently ruled that an employer must have a jury trial on the issue of whether or not the employee is even required to arbitrate his or her claims.  Davis v. Young & Associates, Inc., No. 1:20-cv-00061 (W.D. Va. 9/15/21) (Abingdon Div.) The case...
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Long Gap Not Fatal To Retaliation Claim

Kollman, Saucier, & Jackson
09/15/2021
Employment Discrimination, Retaliation, Virginia Employment Law
A retaliation claim under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) requires that there be protected activity, a materially adverse employment action, and a causal connection between the protected activity and the adverse action.  An employee engages in protected activity when, for example, he opposes an unlawful employment practice or participates in an investigation, proceeding, or hearing regarding conduct that is proscribed by...
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The COVID Cases are Coming, the COVID Cases are Coming!

Kollman, Saucier, & Jackson
08/23/2021
COVID-19, FMLA, Virginia Employment Law
And so it has begun.  Unless you just arrived from another planet, you know that we’ve been in COVID world for about 18 months.  The lawsuits involving employee behavior, and employer reactions to that behavior, during the pandemic are being filed and decided in state and federal courts.  Here’s one where a physician assistant’s (PA) unprofessional behavior in the early months of COVID led to his termination.  Unwilling or unable to accept...
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Virginia Employers Must Post Reasonable Accommodations Poster In Workplace

Kollman, Saucier, & Jackson
07/13/2021
Reasonable Accommodations/Undue Burden, Virginia Employment Law
As of July 1, 2021, covered Virginia employers are required by the Virginia Office of Civil Rights to post the newly issued poster in a conspicuous location and provide a copy of the poster to any employee who discloses they have a disability, within ten (10) days of the employee's disclosure.  This information about reasonable accommodations must also be included in their employee handbooks.   A covered employer for purposes of this requirement...
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Fourth Circuit Decision Protecting Transgender Student Rights Stands After Supreme Court Denies Review

Kollman, Saucier, & Jackson
07/07/2021
Sex Discrimination, Supreme Court Decisions, Virginia Employment Law
On June 28, 2021, the Supreme Court denied the Gloucester County, Virginia School Board’s petition to review Gloucester Co. Sch'l Bd. v. Grimm, No. 20-1163.  The denial leaves a Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals’ s ruling intact, making it unlawful in this jurisdiction (South Carolina, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia) to prohibit students from using  bathroom facilities that align with their gender identity....
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New Virginia Overtime Law Takes Effect July 1

Kollman, Saucier, & Jackson
06/21/2021
Virginia Employment Law, Wage & Hour
On July 1, 2021, Virginia’s new Overtime Wage Act will take effect.  Employers with employees  in Virginia need to review the way in which they calculate overtime for salaried non-exempt employees, as the new law makes it impermissible to use the FLSA’s “fixed salary for fluctuating workweek” methodology that allows employers to pay a half-time premium for overtime hours. The new law was signed by Governor Northam or March 30, 2021, and...
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Virginia Enacts Required Paid Sick Leave for Home-Healthcare Workers

Kollman, Saucier, & Jackson
06/09/2021
Paid Leave, Virginia Employment Law
On June 1, 2021, Gov. Ralph Northam signed into law House Bill 2137.  The law, once effective on July 1, 2021, will be codified in at Virginia Code §§ 40.1-33.3 through 40.1-33.6. Virginia employers, defined under VA Code § 40.1-2 as “an individual, partnership, association, corporation, legal representative, receiver, trustee, or trustee in bankruptcy doing business in or operating within this Commonwealth who employs another to work for...
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The Perils of Common Sense – Judge Permits Age Discrimination Suit to Go to Trial

Vincent Jackson
10/22/2020
Age Discrimination, Virginia Employment Law
A recent case from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Richmond Division,  demonstrates that employers must always choose their words carefully, especially when they’re about to fire poor-performing employees. In Granet v. Presidio, Inc.,  Civil Action No. 3:19-cv-821, the plaintiff was a 54-year old account manager who alleged that his former employer forced him to resign due to his age.  Presidio countered...
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