The Employment Brief | Employment Law | Kollman & Saucier, P.A.

EEOC May Sue State Court for Discrimination in Federal Court

Kollman & Saucier

10/16/2014

Age Discrimination, Public Sector Employment Law

A federal court ruled that a Pennsylvania state court that allegedly fired an employee because of her age does not have 11th Amendment immunity to avoid a lawsuit on the fired employee's behalf brought by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. EEOC v. Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny Cnty., No. 14-899 (W.D. Pa., Oct. 15, 2014). In February 2012, a staffing agency assigned 70 year old Carolyn...

Kollman & Saucier

10/13/2014

Employment Discrimination

An allegedly sexually harassed terminated employee completed her EEOC questionnaire in April 2011, but did not file a charge of discrimination under the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act (“TCHRA”) until she was fired in October 2011. Because the last alleged harassment incident occurred in December 2010, she failed to file the charge within the TCHRA’s 180-day deadline. Lawson v. Parker Hannifin Corp., 4:13-cv-00923 (N.D. Tex., Oct. 19,...

Kollman & Saucier

10/10/2014

Employment Discrimination, Race Discrimination

A federal district court in Texas has permitted a former African American sales representative to take her race and color discrimination claims to trial after she presented evidence that her supervisor made multiple comments about having too many black employees on his staff. Turner v. The Hershey Co., No. 4:12-cv-03365 (S.D. Tex., Oct. 3, 2014). Yolanda Turner began working for The Hershey Company in 1998, most recently as a Houston-area retail...

Kollman & Saucier

10/08/2014

Public Sector Employment Law

Government officials are entitled to qualified immunity from liability under Section 1983 when their discretionary acts do not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known. In Chadwell v. Brewer, No. 2:14-CV-00003 (W.D. Va. Oct. 1, 2014), a federal district court concluded that qualified immunity insulated from liability school district employees who hid a video camera in a teddy bear in...

Darrell VanDeusen

10/06/2014

Supreme Court Decisions

It’s the first Monday in October and, apart from the most important thing happening this week – the Baltimore Orioles are going to the ALCS – the Supreme Court starts its 2014-15 term. There are, for now, eight labor and employment law cases on the docket. Integrity Staffing Solutions, Inc. v. Busk (No. 13-433): In the first case of the term to be argued, the Court will decide whether the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) may require employers...

Kollman & Saucier

10/03/2014

Employment Discrimination, Religious Discrimination

The United States Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether Abercrombrie & Fitch's refusal to hire a Muslim job applicant who wore a religious head scarf to a job interview violated Title VII. EEOC v. Abercrombie & Fitch Stores, Inc., U.S., No. 14-86, 10/2/14. The case arose after a 17 year old applicant wore a hijab - a religious head scarf - to an interview for a position in Abercrombie's Tulsa, Oklahoma store. During the interview, the...

Kollman & Saucier

09/30/2014

Agency Activity, Labor Law

For the past six months, legal prognosticators (myself included) have told readers that when the NLRB issues a ruling in the Purple Communications case, we'd have a new standard for what restrictions, if any, employers may place on employee use of company email systems. On September 24, 2014, the Board issued its ruling. And the answer is ..... "check back with us later (probably after the November election)." Purple Communications provides sign...

Darrell VanDeusen

09/29/2014

Disability & Leave, FMLA, Retaliation

Lest any employer need reminding that workplace disability issues (and the ADA/FMLA interplay) are nearly always tricky, a recent decision by Judge Russell proves the point well. In Williams v. Balt. City Cmty. College, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 133144 (D. Md. Sept. 23, 2014), the court denied the College’s motion for summary judgment on the plaintiff’s “regarded as” disabled and retaliation claims, while granting the motion on plaintiff’s...

Darrell VanDeusen

09/25/2014

Disability & Leave, FMLA

The Seventh Circuit has held that two air carriers that supplied regional air service for United Airlines are joint employers for purposes of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Cuff v. Trans States Holdings, Inc., 2014 U.S.App. LEXIS 18901 (7th Cir. September 19, 2014). In so doing, the court held that an employee who was on the Trans States payroll was covered by the FMLA. United contracts with firms for regional air service as “United...

Darrell VanDeusen

09/23/2014

Agency Activity, Employment Discrimination

Any lawyer who has defended an employer sued by the EEOC knows that sometimes – not always – it can be a real challenge, facing an unrelenting assault by a government agency that seems bent on destruction. Sure, you might run into a private practice plaintiff’s lawyer who is uncivil, who is unwilling to discuss reasonable settlement terms, and whose mission in life is to ratchet up attorneys’ fees and/or drive the employer into bankruptcy....

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Email Updates

EEOC May Sue State Court for Discrimination in Federal Court

Texas Court Rules That Completing EEOC Questionnaire Does Not Count as Filing a Charge

Black Supervisor Remarks He Has “Too Many Black” Employees; Employer Loses Motion For Summary Judgment

Video Camera Hidden in Teddy Bear Does Not Violate Rights of Drinking School Teacher

Employment Cases on the Supreme Court’s 2014-15 Docket

Supreme Court Will Decide Head Scarf Case

NLRB Defers Ruling on Legality of Employer Email Policies

College Employee’s ADA and Retaliation Claims Get Past Summary Judgment

Regional Air Carriers are “Joint Employers” Under FMLA

Congress Considering Bills for a More “Transparent” EEOC

Email Updates