Tag: retaliation

Documentation, Consistency Protect Employer from FMLA Retaliation Claim

By Charlie Plumb, JD, McAfee & Taft Taking action against an employee after she returns from a Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) absence can expose an employer to claims of FMLA retaliation. But sometimes it takes an employee’s absence to learn about her performance issues. So how should an employer handle disciplining someone who is returning […]

FMLA Retaliation: Employment Action Must Cause Actual Harm, Court Rules

By Martin J. Regimbal, JD, The Kullman Firm In a recent decision, the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals (which covers Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas) addressed an employee’s claim of retaliation under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The employee alleged a litany of purported adverse actions, but she provided no evidence that the […]

Employee’s FMLA Retaliation Claim Will Go to Trial

By William D. Pandolph, JD,  Sulloway & Hollis P.L.L.C. A New Hampshire employee’s Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) retaliation claim recently survived the employer’s attempt to get it thrown out before trial. The court rejected the employer’s argument that there was a lack of evidence of retaliation on its part.

Ruling gives employees more time to file constructive discharge claims

by Tammy Binford A May 23 U.S. Supreme Court ruling clears up questions about how long employees have to file constructive discharge claims, and the decision likely means more pressure for employers potentially facing such lawsuits. In Green v. Brennan, the Court ruled 7-1 that a U.S. Postal Service employee in Englewood, Colorado, filed a […]

EEOC, OSHA issue retaliation guidance

by Whitney Brown Earlier this year, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released its Proposed Enforcement Guidance on Retaliation and Related Issues, which follows on the heels of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) November 2015 proposed guidance Protecting Whistleblowers: Recommended Practices for Employers for Preventing and Addressing Retaliation. Here’s an overview of both […]

Keep your eyes on these labor and employment Supreme Court cases

by Judith E. Kramer The first Monday in October (October 5) marked the beginning of the U.S. Supreme Court’s new term. While during the course of the 2015-2016 term the Court could agree to hear additional cases, these are the labor and employment cases currently on the docket, as well as a case involving affirmative […]

NLRB puts employees on the spot

by Burton J. Fishman In a ruling that could make workplace investigations at unionized facilities all but impossible, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) reversed a 37-year-old precedent that protected employees from retaliation.    Under the prior Anheuser-Busch standard, employers did not have to hand over witness statements, particularly from employees, to unions in discipline cases. […]