Showing 4 posts in Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.

State Common Law Claims May Be Preempted By The Fair Labor Standards Act

A District Court Judge in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania recently ruled that the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) preempted a plaintiff’s attempt to add state common law counts for breach of contract and unjust enrichment onto his statutory wage and hour claims. Formica v. US Environmental, Inc., (No. 18-459; July 11, 2018).  The plaintiff alleged FLSA, Pennsylvania Minimum Wage Act, and Pennsylvania Wage Payment and Collection Law claims.  More ›

In a Win for Employees, Fourth Circuit Finds That Two Racial Slurs May Support Harassment Claim

The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals recently made two noteworthy rulings in a single case concerning sexual harassment and retaliation under Title VII. First, as it relates to sexual harassment, the Court found that two racial epithets – even if viewed as an isolated incident – may be sufficiently severe to support the existence of a hostile work environment. Second, the Court held that an employee possesses a reasonable belief of the existence of a hostile work environment – a prerequisite for a retaliation claim – if an isolated incident of harassment is physically threatening or humiliating, such as the two racial epithets at issue in this case. More ›

“Insomnia” Insufficient Basis for ADA and FMLA Claims

In this case, the attorney claimed that her employer's denial of her reduced-work-schedule request constituted both an unlawful failure-to-accommodate under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and unlawful interference with her right to take leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).   More ›

Employer not Required to hire Independent Contractors to Accommodate Employee’s Religious Observance

The Fourth Circuit recently held that an employer did not have to hire independent contractors or take other action which would have been detrimental to other employees in order to accommodate the religious beliefs of one of its drivers. More ›