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Under the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1975 Weingarten rule, employees have the right to have a union representative present at any investigatory meeting they reasonably believe could result in disciplinary action. In a 2001 case, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) further clarified employees’ Weingarten rights by ruling that employees have the right to a representative […]
Nearly two years ago, we began reporting on a lawsuit involving Hughes Missile Systems’ decision not to rehire an employee terminated for reporting to work under the influence. The question of whether the decision violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) went to the U.S. Supreme Court, which sent the case back to the Ninth […]
The U.S. Supreme Court has clarified that employees have four years rather than two to file bias claims under the Civil Rights Act of 1866, 42 U.S.C. Section 1981, which prohibits race bias in employment relationships. The decision makes it easier for employees to file such claims. The case involved a group of African-American […]
Many small-business owners both administer and participate in pension plans covered by the Employee Retirement and Income Security Act (ERISA). But the courts have been split as to whether business owners qualify as participants under ERISA and are entitled to the same legal protections as employees, including protection from creditors in the event of bankruptcy. […]
The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to review a Ninth Circuit ruling upholding a San Francisco ordinance requiring contractors to provide domestic partner benefits. The case involved S.D. Myers Inc., an Ohio company that was denied a city contract because it refused to provide its employees with domestic partner benefits. The company unsuccessfully charged that […]
The U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether age-neutral policies violate the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) if they adversely impact older workers. The federal appeal courts are split as to whether “disparate impact” claims—which allege that a neutral policy or practice had an adverse, although unintentional, impact on a protected group—are permitted under the […]
Courts have long acknowledged the validity of reverse discrimination cases when gender or race is concerned. But the validity of a reverse age bias claim has been less clear. In particular, could a worker in the over-40 protected class bring an age discrimination lawsuit if an older employee was favored at work? According to a […]
The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to review two recent rulings from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal regarding mandatory arbitration agreements used by Circuit City Stores Inc. And here in California yet another new arbitration ruling has recently been issued.
We reported in September on a federal appeal court ruling that Xerox Corp.’s pension plan improperly calculated lump-sum distributions from cash balance retirement accounts, resulting in lower benefits for certain employees who left the company between 1990 and 1999. Now Xerox has agreed to pay $239 million to settle the lawsuit, ending speculation over whether […]
By agreeing to review the case of Pennsylvania State Police v. Nancy Drew Suders, the Supreme Court will now determine whether employers will face the same liability in these situations as they do for supervisor harassment. We’ll keep an eye on the court and give you a thorough analysis of its decision when it becomes […]