By Joe Murray I hope y’all appreciate that I read these opinions so you don’t have to. The employment decisions over the past several months have been fairly pedestrian. Clehm v. BAE Sys. Ordnance Sys., Inc., No. 18-2010 (4th Cir. Sept. 30, 2019) (unpublished) (Title VII): Clehm was sexually assaulted by a coworker, who BAE […]
By Michael B. Cohen Among the alternatives for calculating overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act, the fluctuating workweek method is perhaps one of the least familiar and used techniques. The fluctuating workweek method enables employers to pay overtime to certain non-exempt employees at one-half their regular rate, rather than one and one-half times their […]
By Kevin Murphy Retaliation subverts the aims of anti-discrimination laws, fair pay rules, safety regulations, accounting requirements, environmental safeguards, and many other laws. Employees cannot invoke the rights provided by these laws or help the government stamp out fraud if they know they will be retaliated against for speaking up or reporting misconduct. Retaliation is […]
By Joe Murray It’s our semi-regular roundup of appellate decisions: Dawson-Murdock v. National Counseling Group, Inc., No. 18-1989 (4th Cir. July 24, 2019) (ERISA): National Counseling Group (NCG) made a nifty argument to get this case dismissed at the district court level: Despite the summary plan document stating NCG was the plan administrator and a […]
By Sean F. Herrmann “Seeking justice often involves enduring tedium.” It’s fitting that North Carolina’s first substantive legal decision on eDiscovery begins with this pithy observation. Employment litigators often lament the virtual hellscape of discovering electronically stored information (“ESI”). But the era when paper was king is long dead, and the fight is now firmly […]
By Zack Anstett In a published opinion filed August 27, 2019, U.S. Circuit Court Judge A. Marvin Quattlebaum of the Fourth Circuit affirmed the District Court’s grant of summary judgment brought under Title VII. Judge Quattlebaum’s decision in Perkins v. International Paper Company is another feather in the defense attorney’s cap and illustrates the importance […]
By Tara Muller Heads up, North Carolina hospitals and doctors! On Wednesday, September 30, the North Carolina Supreme Court will hear oral argument in Hamlet v. Hernandez. The Court’s decision may have a significant impact on the way physicians work and negotiate with hospitals in North Carolina, and could have ripple effects extending to employment […]
By Joe Murray On Aug. 6, 2019, the 5th Circuit rocked the EEOC by permanently enjoining the use of the 2012 EEOC Enforcement Guidance on the Consideration of Arrest and Conviction Records in Employment Decisions under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Conviction Guidance”) as binding in any respect. Texas v. EEOC, […]
By Sean F. Herrmann “Seeking justice often involves enduring tedium.” It’s fitting that North Carolina’s first substantive legal decision on eDiscovery begins with this pithy observation. Employment litigators often lament the virtual hellscape of discovering electronically stored information (“ESI”). But the era when paper was king is long dead, and the fight is now firmly […]
By Zachary Anstett In an order filed July 18, U.S. District Court Judge Louise Flanagan of the Eastern District of North Carolina refused to dismiss a lawsuit brought under the Americans with Disabilities Act for failure to make reasonable accommodations. Judge Flanagan’s decision in Murphy v. County of New Hanover illustrates how important it is for […]