Labor & Employment Law Section
EEOC v. Catastrophe Management Solutions: Title VII Does Not Prohibit Race Discrimination Based On Mutable Characteristics
Joseph S. Murray IV In the 50 years since Congress enacted Title VII, scientists, contemporary thinkers, and society in general have reassessed the concept of…
Knowing When a Bonus Must Be Included In Overtime Pay
Everyone likes a bonus, right? Employees enjoy receiving them, for obvious reasons, and employers use them as a means of rewarding employee achievements and…
Fourth Circuit Approves Legislative Prayer
Editor’s note: On Oct. 31, 2016, the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals agreed to re-hear the case en banc. Oral arguments are tentatively scheduled for Jan.…
Tully v. City of Wilmington: The Constitution Requires Public Employers To Play By Their Own Rules
The North Carolina Court of Appeals recently ruled that a police officer has a valid property and liberty interest in requiring his employer, the City of…
Arbitrability Of Arbitration: Judge Takes Backseat to Arbitrator in 9th Circuit Uber Case
Last week the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit held that whether or not a contract should be arbitrated was a question to be decided by an…
EEOC Issues Updated Retaliation Guidance
Retaliation, which finds its way into nearly 45 percent of all charges filed nationwide, remains the most prevalent bias allegation to come across the desk at…
Fourth Circuit Takes On ‘Me Too’ Evidence and ‘Mini-Trials’ In Recent Decision
Recently, in Calobrisi v. Booz Allen Hamilton, Inc, No. 15-1331 (4th Cir. Aug. 23, 2016), the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals specified certain types of…
Fourth Circuit’s RLM Communications, LLC v. Tuschen Tackles Noncompetition and Trade Secret Misappropriation Issues
Noncompetition agreements (“non-competes”) present thorny issues. In most cases, you have a former employee who has signed a black-and-white contract…
Update From the EEOC: New Charge-Handling Procedures
EEOC has implemented new procedures to be followed in all of our offices for the submission and release of position statements. The procedures apply to EEOC…
The Chair’s Comments: Big Plans For the New Year
As I was preparing my first comments as chair, this tune kept coming to my mind. “To everything – turn, turn, turn – there is a season – turn, turn,…