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Penn State Faces Harassment Claims Based On Anti-Racism Initiatives

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
01/22/2024
Employment Discrimination, First Amendment Protections, Hostile Work Environment, Race Discrimination, Retaliation
Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives have grown more prevalent in recent years (yes, this is stating the obvious).  These efforts have their detractors.  A Google search of DEI will reveal sample DEI initiatives, anti-racism trainings, and the efforts some have taken to criticize and stop such efforts.  Penn State University’s Abington campus, for example, is being sued by a former faculty member who alleges that he was subjected...
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Virginia Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Teacher Who Was Fired Over Pronouns

Vincent Jackson
Vincent Jackson
12/26/2023
Employment Discrimination, First Amendment Protections, Gender Identity, Religious Discrimination, Sexual Orientation, Virginia Employment Law
The Virginia Supreme Court recently issued an opinion in favor of a public school teacher who was terminated after refusing to use the preferred pronouns of a transgendered student.  The case provides an interesting study into the continuing conflicts between LBGTQ rights under federal law and a renewed push for religious freedom. The plaintiff was a French teacher who had worked at the school for six years.  Near the end of the 2017-18 school...
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‘Captive Audience’ Memo from NLRB General Counsel Survives First Legal Battle

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
08/17/2023
First Amendment Protections, Labor Law, NLRB
Since the decision in Babcock v. Wilcox Co., 77 NLRB 577 (1948), the NLRB has permitted captive audience meetings. Under the captive audience doctrine and Section 8(c) of the NLRA, employers may hold mandatory employee meetings and speak to their employees about unionization so long as the employer does not threaten, punish, or promise benefits to the employees. Captive audience meetings are one of the few remaining arrows in management’s quiver...
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“Preserve” Your Constitutional Rights, But Not Against A Private Employer

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
03/27/2023
COVID-19, First Amendment Protections, Religious Discrimination
The world is seemingly going back to pre-Covid normalcy.  Masks, while still present some places, no longer litter the trashcans outside grocery stores and restaurants.  People are taking a big breath of fresh air, and not just six feet from someone. Nevertheless, litigation concerning Covid and company policies regarding the vaccine linger in courts around the U.S.  One such case has seemingly come to an end and the company is out of a...
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Sixth Circuit Strikes Down Workers’ Compensation Claimant Solicitation Law

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
07/09/2019
First Amendment Protections, Workers' Compensation
I read frequently about legal opinions interpreting various laws governing the employer-employee relationship.  Less often, I encounter one concerning the employment lawyer-client relationship.  So when I came across a recent case, Bevan & Associates, LPA, Inc., et al. v Yost, et al., No. 18-3262 (6th Cir. 7/8/19), in which the Sixth Circuit discussed the constitutionality of a state law banning solicitation of workers’ compensation...
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Marital Association Claim Nixed By Eighth Circuit

Darrell VanDeusen
Darrell VanDeusen
03/20/2019
First Amendment Protections, Political Appointments, Sexual Harassment
As most of us know, the First Amendment protects “freedom of association,” among the various protections it offers.   And, what could be much more associational than marriage?  Courts refer to that as “intimate association.”   The constitutional right to intimate association protects the formation and preservation of certain kinds of highly personal relationships, thereby restricting governmental intrusion and interference. A recent...
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Baltimore Prosecutor Who Opposed Mosby’s Election Loses First Amendment Challenge

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
10/23/2017
First Amendment Protections, Political Appointments, Public Sector Employment Law
Keri Borzilleri, a former high-ranking Assistant State’s Attorney (ASA) who worked for nine years in the Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s office, was fired without cause just four days after Marilyn Mosby took office as the newly elected lead prosecutor in 2015. Though no explanation was publicly given, Borzilleri was likely terminated for having supported Mosby’s political opponent, Gregg Bernstein, during the election cycle. According to...
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