By Joseph E. Hjelt Employees who face discriminatory treatment at work are often faced with the dilemma of how to substantiate their claims, and how to guard against the risk that their employer will hide or destroy evidence. Frequently, employees choose to take possession of substantiating evidence by forwarding emails to their personal address, or […]
By William Joseph Austin Jr. There, in the very title of this article is the first and fundamental conundrum—can we, should we, call it a “Christmas party”? Boldly, I say yes. There is certainly a school of thought that, for the sake of inclusiveness and sensitivity to diversity, would rename the event generically and perhaps […]
By Sean F. Herrmann In 1983, the North Carolina Supreme Court decided N.C Dept. of Corrections v. Gibson, 308 N.C. 131 (1983). Gibson frequently appears in wrongful discharge in violation of North Carolina public policy (“WDPP”) briefs, especially when the plaintiffs’ claims rely on the North Carolina Equal Employment Practices Act (“NCEEPA”) for their underlying […]
By Robin Shea According to news reports, the U.S. Supreme Court will soon consider, and hopefully decide, whether to review lower court decisions addressing whether sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Virtually everyone agrees that in 1964, when Title VII was enacted, no one thought […]
In our third episode of “Works For Me,” our team hashes out the basics of unlawful employee termination. We’ll take on three issues, from the employer and employee sides: What is at-will employment? For what reasons can an employer fire someone? What can do you do if you believe you’ve been fired unlawfully? Please tune […]
By Zachary Anstett Last week the Supreme Court held in Mt. Lemmon Fire District v. Guido, No. 17-587, 2018 WL 5794639 (U.S. Nov. 6, 2018), that state and local governments are “employers” covered by the ADEA regardless of their size. The unanimous opinion authored by Justice Ginsburg affirmed the Ninth Circuit’s decision that 29 U.S.C. […]
By Andrew J. Henson Employees with disabilities face a dilemma when a requested accommodation for their disability is denied by management. Many employees will feel demoralized or offended at the rejection of a request for an accommodation, which they believe to be medically necessary because of their physical or mental limitations. In this space, however, […]
By Sean F. Herrmann The Fourth Circuit has been relatively quiet on the labor and employment front. But on October 19, 2018, through an unpublished per curium opinion, it affirmed summary judgment in an employment case — Nzabandora v. Rectors and Visitors of the University of Virginia; Commonwealth of Virginia, No. 17-2350 (4th Cir. Oct. […]
By Robin Shea The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recently released preliminary figures on sexual harassment activity for Fiscal Year 2018, which ended September 30. The EEOC’s figures indicate an increase in sexual harassment charges and EEOC lawsuits, and a dramatic increase in the amount paid to settle sexual harassment charges. Then, last week, the Trump […]
John Gresham is this year’s Jon Harkavy Award Winner. Last week, the Jonathan R. Harkavy Award Committee (John Doyle Jr., Michael Kornbluth, and Travis Payne) submitted this report to the Council of the Labor and Employment Section of the N.C. Bar Association: The Committee developed a process to solicit nominations for the Jonathan R. Harkavy […]