Showing 115 posts from 2012.

Employee Failed to State Valid First Amendment Claim Because she was Speaking Pursuant to her Official Duties

September 14, 2012 by Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP

A former school payroll employee reported incidences of fiscal irregularities to the superintendent, and later reported the same concerns to an outside consultant. Thereafter, she was suspended when it was discovered she falsified her employment application. In response, the employee wrote a personal letter to individual board members expressing frustration with how the superintendent responded to fiscal concerns, and that her suspension was in retaliation for reporting fiscal malfeasance. The superintendent recommended the employee’s termination, which the board approved, and the termination was later made official following a disciplinary hearing. More ›

Compensation System Found to be Race-Neutral and not in Violation of Title VII

September 12, 2012 by Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP

A group of brokers filed suit against their employer firm claiming race discrimination under Title VII and 42 U.S.C. §1981 on the grounds that the firm’s “teaming” and account-distribution policies prevented black brokers from obtaining lucrative assignments and earning greater compensation. Thereafter, the firm was acquired by a bank, and the companies commenced a “retention-incentive program” which was designed to compensate brokers based upon their previous levels of production. A second lawsuit was filed against both the bank and the firm, alleging that the new program was similarly violative of Title VII because the new plan incorporated policies which were derivative of the prior firm’s discriminatory practices. More ›

Physicians Allowed to Proceed with Discrimination Claims Against Health System, Despite Being Employed by Physician Service

September 11, 2012 by Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP

A recent decision out of a federal court in Pennsylvania demonstrates that large corporate health systems who rely on the use of subsidiaries to limit liability for employee misconduct do so at their own peril. In Ginsburg v. Aria Health Physician Services, E.D. Pa., No. 2:12-cv-1140 (Aug. 31, 2012), the federal judge found that a health system qualified as an “employer” for purposes of state and federal discrimination laws —— even though the plaintiffs' direct employment relationship was with a subsidiary of the health system — because the health system exerted control over the plaintiffs through work rules and discipline. More ›

Seventh Circuit: ADA Requires Employer to Reassign Disabled Employee to Vacant Position

September 10, 2012 by Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP

On September 7, 2012, in Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. United Airlines, Inc., No. 1101774 (Sept. 7, 2012), the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals adopted a new standard for determining when a disabled employee must be reassigned to a vacant position pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq. (ADA) More ›

Employee’s Spouse’s loss of Consortium Claim Barred by Workers’ Compensation Exclusivity Rule

August 30, 2012 by Olga Simanovsky

The California Supreme Court recently found that an employee's spouse could not recover for loss of consortium in his civil employment action, even considering the "power press" exception to the Labor Code.  More ›

Rotational Employee Unsuccessful on FMLA Interference Claim Based upon Leave Calculations

August 29, 2012 by Linda K. Horras

Where employees do not work traditional work schedules, calculating leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) can be tricky.   More ›

Seventh Circuit Upholds Arbitrator’s Reduction of Withdrawal Liability

August 28, 2012 by Anthony E. Antognoli

An arbitrator's decision to significantly reduce the amount of withdrawal liability assessed against an employer that had withdrawn from a multiemployer pension plan was affirmed in a recent opinion from the Seventh Circuit. More ›

Sixth Circuit: Mine Operator not Required to Provide Temporary Reinstatement for Miner Pending Outcome of Individual Action

August 27, 2012 by Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals recently provided insight on a matter of first impression in North Fork Coal Corporation v. Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission. The issue considered was whether the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (the “Mine Act”), as amended, 30 U.S.C. §§ 801–965, mandates that an employee's temporary reinstatement continue after the Secretary of Labor (“Secretary”) determines that his complaint lacks merit. More ›

Sixth Circuit Considers what Constitutes a “Medical Examination” Under ADA

August 23, 2012 by David Ian Dalby

In a matter of first impression before the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, the Court considered what the meaning of  “medical examination” is under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). More ›

Ohio Court: Sensitivity to Perfume Gives Rise to ADA Claim

August 10, 2012 by Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP

An employee complains that co-workers' perfume use is exacerbating her asthma. She asks that a policy be enacted to restrict perfume usage in the office, or alternatively, to permit her to work from home. What do you do?  More ›

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