The Employment Brief

The Poindexter brothers – Edward and Bobby – work as journeymen linemen for the Electric Department of the City of Sallisaw, Oklahoma.  In March 2010, the brothers both requested paid leave to care for their mother who was scheduled for hip surgery.  Pursuant to City policy, the brothers each were entitled to up to 10 days of paid sick leave for the care of an immediate family member.  The paid leave runs concurrently with unpaid FMLA leave,...

It doesn't happen very often, but sometimes courts find that the EEOC has overreached so greatly in its prosecution of a claim that a win for the employer is not enough - the EEOC is required to pay the company's legal fees too.  This just happened in EEOC v. TriCore Reference Labs., No. 09-CV-956 (D. New Mexico Oct. 26, 2011), where the court found that the EEOC's decision to continue pursuing an ADA reasonable accommodation case was  "frivolous,...

In United States v. Weaver, 2011 U.S. LEXIS 21485 (4th Cir. Oct. 24 2011), the Fourth Circuit held that the Federal law prohibiting a person "employed for" a convicted felon from carrying a firearm applies to gang members.  Floyd Moore was the national vice president of the Pagans Motorcycle Club (PMC) and a convicted felon.  Weaver and others were PMC members and took orders from Moore.  As a convicted felon, Moore was prohibited from carrying a...

Last month the Seventh Circuit - the most active appellate court interpreting the FMLA - dismissed a claim by an employee who claimed that his supervisor's conduct exacerbated his pre-existing serious health condition.  Breneisen v. Motorola Inc., 2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 18301 (7th Cir. Sept. 2, 2011).  This was a case of first impression for the court, but it followed the Sixth Circuit's reasoning in Edgar v. JAC Prods. Inc., 443 F.3d 501 (6th Cir....

On October 17, 2011, the United States Supreme Court granted certiorari to decide whether the Civil Service Reform Act (“CSRA”) is the exclusive remedy for a former federal employee contending that his constitutionally rights were violated.  (Elgin v. Dep't of the Treasury, U.S., No. 11-45, cert. granted 10/17/11).  Four former federal employees, who were employed by the Treasury Department, FDIC and Department of Interior, filed a suit for...

The common law doctrine of "employment at will" permits either an employer or employee to terminate the employment relationship at any time or for any reason.   Maryland courts are reluctant to diminish employers' decision-making discretion, but the a tort claim of "wrongful discharge" has been recognized in limited circumstances.  The seminal case in Maryland is Adler v. Am. Standard Corp., 291 Md. 31 (1981).  In Adler, an employee filed a...

A federal court in New York has found that pro-youth remarks are not enough to establish that an older worker was the victim of age discrimination.   Mickelsen v. Bertelsmann Inc., No. 08-cv-10138 (S.D.N.Y., September 19, 2011). Apparently, someone had commented that startup companies did well because they are “full of young creative people who are determined to turn their ideas into products in the shortest time.”  A year later, a corporate...

In two cases recently instituted by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), two restaurants in Jacksonville, Florida agreed on August 5, 2011, to pay more than $930,000 in back pay and liquidated damages to 30 employees for violations of the FLSA.  The DOL’s investigation revealed that the restaurants failed to pay overtime wages as a result of improperly classifying kitchen employees as exempt from the overtime requirements of the FLSA.  The DOL...

Courts are reluctant to enforce non-competition agreements because they are restraints on trade and one’s ability to earn a living.  To be enforceable, a non-competition or non-solicitation agreement must be reasonable in geographic scope, time, and reasonably tailored to protect the employer’s legitimate business interests.  A federal court in Nevada recently ruled that Accelerated Care Plus Corp. (ACP), a medical equipment leasing business,...