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 […]
By Kevin P. Murphy The ethical pitfalls of non-disclosure agreements have received renewed attention in the wake of the #MeToo movement. Less frequently discussed — but equally problematic for prosecuting sexual harassment and other employment cases — are agreements that prohibit individuals from serving as witnesses in other cases. As Paul Simon (or, depending on […]
By Robin Shea The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission reports that it has seen only about a 3 percent increase in sexual harassment charges since the #MeToo movement began roughly a year ago. However, a more significant increase may become apparent in early 2019, after the Agency compiles its charge-filing statistics for the fiscal year that […]
By Kevin S. Joyner In an age of ever-increasing workforce transience, employers often seek ways to incentivize employees to commit to their organization through benefit programs such as relocation expenses, tuition reimbursement, sign-on and/or retention bonuses, and other monetary advances. Employers also spend a considerable amount of time and money training new employees. In an […]
By Joseph S. Murray IV Not a lot of fun cases over the past couple of months. Most of the cases presented here are about the North Carolina Human Resources Act (HRA) and turn on the minutia of the statutes and regulations. Here are the latest labor and employment cases: Hunt v. N.C. Dep’t of Pub. […]
By Andrew J. Henson Earlier this month in United States ex rel. Cody v. ManTech, Int’l, Corp., 2018 WL 3770141 (4th Cir. 2018), the Fourth Circuit determined that a “but-for” causation standard should apply to retaliation claims under the Federal False Claims Act (“FCA”). 31 U.S.C. § 3729, et seq. The Fourth Circuit’s opinion scrutinized […]
By Marc E. Gustafson We’re all familiar with the story of the Good Samaritan. Some states even have Good Samaritan laws. But did you know that a lawyer played a prominent role in the telling of the Good Samaritan parable? I will tell you, based upon first-hand experience, that hearing a reference to a lawyer […]