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 But on October 19, 2018, through an unpublished per curium opinion, it affirmed summary judgment in an employment case — Nzabandora v. Rectors and Visitors of the University of Virginia; Commonwealth of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 […]
By Nina Pirrotti, Will Oden and Grant Osborne In our second episode of “Works For Me,” our team dives into a crucial understanding of employment law: the difference between independent contractors and employees. We’ll take on three questions: What is an employee? What is an independent contractor? Why does it matter? Please tune in and […]
By Tara Muller Employment litigators see a broad range of legal disputes, from sexual harassment to discrimination to breach of contract. They valiantly fight for their clients, gain subject matter expertise, and ultimately become trusted advocates in the fight to achieve justice. But even more importantly? From the trenches, they gain invaluable insight into the […]
By Andrew Henson In the recent opinion Strothers v. City of Laurel, Maryland, 895 F.3d 317, (4th Cir. 2018), the Fourth Circuit gave further articulation to the type of facts which can permit a retaliation claim under Title VII to survive summary judgment, particularly what can pass under the “severe or pervasive” prong of a […]