Showing 6 posts in Wrongful Termination.

May Employers Weed Out Medical Marijuana Patients Through Drug Testing? Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Will Weigh In

The ever-changing landscape of medical marijuana laws in states across the nation has given rise to several lawsuits regarding an employer’s right to enforce anti-drug policies against employees who hold valid state-issued medical marijuana licenses. As the Employment Law Observer has previously reported, the Colorado Supreme Court and a federal district court in New Mexico previously held that these states’ medical marijuana laws do not impose any duty on employers to accommodate medical marijuana use. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court is set to weigh in on the issue next. More ›

SCOTUS Aligns Application of Statute of Limitations in Constructive Discharge and Actual Discharge Cases

The U.S. Supreme Court held in Green v. Brennan that the statute of limitations for a constructive discharge begins to run on the date of resignation, not the date of the employer’s last discriminatory act, resolving a circuit split. As a result, in determining the deadline for filing a charge of discrimination with the EEOC, constructive discharge cases will be treated the same way as actual discharge cases. More ›

Employer’s Arbitration Agreement Passes Muster

In Peng v. First Republic Bank, the California Court of Appeal for the First Appellate District rejected an employee’s contention that a company’s standard arbitration agreement was unconscionable.

Peng stands for the proposition that most boilerplate arbitration agreements contained in employment contracts will be upheld unless the employer enforces them in bad faith. For example, an employer may not unilaterally modify an agreement after an employee has filed a claim. More ›

Why Employers need to keep Adequate Records

Here is a pattern that tends to repeat itself often in employment litigation. A disgruntled employee sues an employer for discrimination, harassment, or wrongful termination. A lawsuit is filed. And then, the attorney who files the suit includes wage and hour claims — i.e., the non-payment of overtime, meal and rest breaks. The employee may also include a claim based on the failure to reimburse the employee for expenses incurred in the course of his or her employment. More ›

California Supreme Court Splits the Baby in Mixed-Motive Employment Discrimination Case

In Wynona Harris v. City of Santa Monica, decided on February 7, 2013, the California Supreme Court addressed the following question:

In an employment discrimination case where an employer terminates an employee both for discriminatory and legitimate reasons, what showing is required for liability to attach to the employer, and what remedies are available?

In Wynona, a terminated bus driver sued the City, her employer, alleging that her termination was motivated by her pregnancy. Discrimination on the basis of pregnancy is prohibited under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). More ›

Virginia: Employees can sue Individual Supervisors for Wrongful Termination in Violation of Public Policy

A nurse who worked at an orthopedic spine center claimed that she was subjected to sexual harassment by her supervisor, a doctor who was the owner of the center. When she refused to leave her husband to be with the doctor, he allegedly fired her. She filed suit, claiming gender discrimination as well as wrongful discharge against both the center and the doctor. Both parties filed motions to dismiss, and the doctor prevailed on his motion because the district court found that wrongful discharge claims by an employee are cognizable only against the employer and not against supervisors in their individual capacity. The nurse appealed to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, which then certified the following question to the Virginia Supreme Court:  More ›