The Employment Brief | Employment Law | Kollman & Saucier, P.A.

NLRB Sends Northwestern Players Union to the Bench

Kollman & Saucier

08/19/2015

The highly publicized effort by Northwestern University's football players to form a union was thrown for a big loss this week when the NLRB unanimously dismissed the union's representation petition. Northwestern Univ., 362 N.L.R.B. No. 167 (8/17/15). Reversing the March 2014 decision of the NLRB Regional Director in Chicago, the full Board found that the control the NCAA and athletic conferences such as the Big 10 exerts over...

Kollman & Saucier

08/14/2015

Disability & Leave

The Eighth Circuit has held that factual disputes require a damages award in an FMLA case be reviewed by a jury. Wages v. Stuart Mgmt Co., 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 13942 (8th Cir. Aug. 10, 2015). Ena Wages was a caretaker at Woodridge Apartment Homes a property owned by Stuart Management Corporation (StuartCo.). Her positon involved daily tasks such as “vacuuming, cleaning, mopping, washing windows, and dusting.” Wages had been working since...

Kollman & Saucier

08/14/2015

Employment Discrimination

The Third Circuit has held that a suspension with pay does not constitute an adverse employment action. Jones v. SEPTA, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 14094 (3rd Cir. August 12, 2015). A common solution for an employer who is investigating an employee for misconduct in the workplace is to place the employee on a temporary paid suspension. This was the case for former administrative assistant Michelle Jones of the Revenue Operations at Southeastern...

Darrell VanDeusen

08/12/2015

Employment Discrimination

Neil DeMasters was an employee assistance program (EAP) consultant for the Carilion Clinic’s behavioral health unit. His job was to listen to an employee’s concerns and suggest ways in which the employee might try to resolve them. After five years in this job, DeMasters was fired in the aftermath of advising (and supporting) an employee who complained about sexual harassment by another employee. DeMasters sued, claiming that he was fired in...

Kollman & Saucier

08/10/2015

Medical/Legal Marijuana

Augustine Stanley filed a lawsuit in New Mexico state court alleging that his employer discriminated against him when it fired him as a detention officer because of his state-authorized used of medical marijuana. Stanley’s original complaint, based only on state law, alleged that the New Mexico Human Rights Act required his employer to accommodate his medical marijuana use. Medical marijuana use is illegal under federal law, which the U.S....

Kollman & Saucier

08/09/2015

Disability & Leave, Employment Discrimination, Reasonable Accommodations/Undue Burden

Christopher Schaffhauser, a white male, sued United Parcel Services (UPS) after he was demoted from manager to supervisor for saying he would hit an African-American coworker so hard it would "knock the black off him." Schaffhauser’s lawsuit asserted race discrimination and a failure to accommodate his medical condition. This note focuses on the ADA failure to accommodate claim. The Court described the circumstances leading to Schaffhauser’s...

Kollman & Saucier

07/31/2015

Employment Discrimination

In litigation, as in many other parts of life, timing is everything. In a post earlier this week, we discussed the issues surrounding lawsuits filed after the resolution of EEOC and state agency charges. A similar issue came before a New York federal court recently and was met with a similar outcome: a plaintiff who files a claim too late has nobody but him or herself to blame. The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 (“Ledbetter Act”) was...

Kollman & Saucier

07/29/2015

Agency Activity, Employment Discrimination

An individual who files a charge of discrimination with the EEOC or similar state agency is required to provide the agency with his or her contact information, including a mailing address and phone number, so that the agency can notify him or her of any developments, including the outcome of the charge. Current regulations require the individual to notify the agency “of any change in address and . . . any prolonged absence from that current address...

Kollman & Saucier

07/24/2015

Disability & Leave

It was a victory for employers this week when Maryland’s federal district court determined that an employer is not obligated to accommodate a disabled employee who cannot perform the essential functions of his job by reassigning the employee to a new position that eliminates the essential functions of the former position. Raiford v. Md. Dep't of Juvenile Servs., No. 8:12-cv-03795, D. Md. (7/21/15). Plaintiff Raiford was a Resident Advisor (RA)...

Kollman & Saucier

07/23/2015

Agency Activity, Employment Discrimination

An employee alleges a claim for discrimination based on sexual orientation but sexual orientation isn’t mentioned under Title VII. Does the employee have a viable Title VII claim? According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) recent opinion in Complainant v. Foxx, E.E.O.C., Appeal No. 0120133080 (7/16/15), the answer is “Yes.” In the view of the EEOC, “allegations of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation...

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Email Updates

NLRB Sends Northwestern Players Union to the Bench

Eighth Circuit Remands Damages Decision to Jury in FMLA Case

Third Circuit Holds Suspension with Pay Not Adverse Action

Fourth Circuit Rejects FLSA’s “Manager Rule” in Title VII Cases

New Mexico State Courts Should Decide How To Interpret State Employment and Marijuana Laws

UPS Manager’s Disability Does Not Excuse Perceived Racist Comment

Ledbetter Act Does Not Extend Time to Bring Demotion Claims

Plaintiff Bears Burden of Maintaining Correct Address with EEOC

Maryland District Court Holds Employer's Failure to Reassign Disabled Employee to a New Position Was Not Disability Discrimination

EEOC Rules Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation Violates Title VII

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