Illinois Appeals Court Rules Installment Leave Payouts Can't Boost State Pensions
The First District upheld cuts to the pensions of retired state education board employees whose unused leave was paid out through payroll before they retired.
Practice area · Employment
California Court Rules Police Bill of Rights Does Not Cover Vaccine-Mandate Firing
A Hermosa Beach officer fired for failing the city's COVID-19 vaccination requirement had no right to a POBRA administrative appeal, a state appeals court held.
Divided Alabama Supreme Court Upholds Envoy Air Retaliation Verdict
A 5-4 court found enough evidence that the airline fired a Mobile worker for seeking workers' compensation, but sent the $675,000 award back for the trial judge to explain.
Appeals Court Gives Ex-Mount Sinai IT Manager Win on Disability Dialogue Claim
The First Department held Mount Sinai liable under the city's Human Rights Law for never discussing accommodations with a disabled manager.
Illinois Appeals Court Lets Cities Sue to Recoup Disability Pay From Moonlighting Workers
The Fourth District held that Monmouth may sue under the Public Employee Disability Act to recover $55,370.66 paid to an employee who allegedly took a second job.
Illinois Court Says Son's Health Care Power Let Him Bind Mother to Arbitration
The Second District reversed a McHenry County judge's refusal to send an assisted-living death suit to arbitration but left unconscionability for the trial court.
N.Y. Appeals Court Applies California Law to Toss Ex-Worker's Claim Against Grubmarket
A New York appellate panel dismissed a fired employee's implied-covenant counterclaim under his contract's California-law clause but let his contract counterclaim proceed.
Oklahoma Supreme Court Rules State Workers Lack Property Interest in Jobs
The court reversed a judge who struck down the 2021 law's hearing process and reinstated an order upholding a Grand River Dam Authority technician's firing.
California Appeals Court Says Fair Chance Act Doesn't Let Juries Second-Guess Employers
The Second District affirmed a judgment for the UC Regents, holding the law governs an employer's process, not its judgment that a conviction relates to the job.
Second Circuit Revives Lidl Wage Suit Over Time Spent Waiting Outside Locked Stores
A divided panel held that Lidl workers ordered to report 15 minutes early and left outside locked stores were "engaged to wait" and may seek pay for that time.
En Banc 11th Circuit Ends Mandatory ERISA Exhaustion for Statutory Claims, Revives ESOP Overpayment Suit
The full Eleventh Circuit overruled its 1985 Mason decision, holding that ERISA does not require workers to exhaust plan remedies before suing over fiduciary breaches.
Washington Appeals Court Lets Class Reps File Wage Liens, Rejects Liens Naming No Guard Who Worked the Properties
Class representatives may record wage liens for absent workers, Division One held, but liens on two apartment properties failed because they named none of the guards who worked there.
Arizona Supreme Court Says Police Bill of Rights Change Spares Older At-Will Deals
A unanimous court told the Ninth Circuit that a 2022 ban on officers waiving just-cause protection does not void a Gilbert police commander's 2021 at-will agreement.
Fourth Department Lets Fired BOCES Employee File Late Discrimination Claim
A unanimous panel held that her grievance gave Erie 1 BOCES timely knowledge of the claim, though she had no reasonable excuse for missing the 90-day deadline.
N.Y. Appeals Court Upholds Union Clause Requiring Dues Until Annual Opt-Out Window
The Fourth Department unanimously declared that a teacher who quit his union in March could be charged dues until the August revocation window opened.
Eighth Circuit Upholds Dismissal of Fired Remington Plant Worker's Bias Suit
A federal appeals panel held that a Black woman fired from Remington Ammunition's Arkansas plant lacked evidence to take her discrimination and retaliation claims to a jury.
California Court Says Unpaid Leave Accommodated Teacher Who Refused COVID Vaccine
An appeals panel affirmed summary judgment for Burbank Unified, holding indefinite unpaid leave was a reasonable FEHA accommodation of a teacher's religious vaccine exemption.
N.Y. Appeals Court Sends Equinox Membership-Fee Class Action to Arbitration
The Second Department held that a claim Equinox's membership contract violated the Health Club Services Act does not void the agreement's arbitration clause.
Eighth Circuit Rejects Fire Department Manager's Age Bias Suit Over Demotion
A unanimous panel held that a demotion carrying a nearly $12,000 pay cut did not force a 60-year-old Rochester, Minn., fire department manager into retirement.
California Appeals Court Limits FEHA Strict Liability to Harassment by Victim's Own Supervisor
The Second District held that an employer faces strict liability only when the harasser supervises the plaintiff, not when the harasser supervises other employees.
California Appeals Court Says DoorDash Worker Waived EFAA by Withholding Harassment Claim
A divided Second District panel reversed trial court orders that had invalidated an arbitration agreement, holding that strategic delay in asserting a sexual harassment claim forfeited the federal statute's protections.
Third Circuit Denies Amazon's Bid to Treat N.J. Labor Suit as Class Action
The appeals court held that a state enforcement statute lacks Rule 23's defining features, so CAFA jurisdiction never attached.
Sixth Circuit Says Employer's Bonus-Clawback Counterclaim Isn't FLSA Retaliation
A nurse failed to plausibly allege her employer's counterclaims seeking repayment of a sign-on bonus were objectively baseless, the appeals court held.
Ninth Circuit Grants Qualified Immunity to Hospital Officials Who Denied Nurse's Vaccine Exemption
A divided panel ruled that no clearly established law in 2021 gave a healthcare worker a Free Exercise right to a religious exemption from a COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
10th Circuit Revives Boilermakers' Pension Claims, Says Missing Deadline Notice Bars Defense
The appeals court ruled that plan administrators who fail to tell claimants how long they have to sue cannot later invoke that deadline against them.
First Circuit Affirms Arbitration Award Adding Psychology PhD Students to Harvard Union
The court refused to vacate an award that placed graduate students in a bargaining unit without prior NLRB classification, calling arbitration awards 'nearly impervious to judicial oversight.'
Seventh Circuit Affirms Hospital's COVID Vaccine Firing, Maps Post-Groff Hardship Evidence
Split panel holds Cook County's CDC-grounded affidavits overcame pharmacist's religious challenge where she offered no evidence masking was a reasonable alternative.
Fourth Circuit Holds Hospital Not Joint Employer of CRNAs, Affirms Dismissal of Vaccine-Mandate Suits
Staffing-agency claims also fail due to unexhausted EEOC process, providing a roadmap for hospitals and vendors to defeat discrimination suits by contracted clinicians.
Eleventh Circuit Enforces Cayman Arbitration Clause for Seaman’s Core Maritime Claims
The court held that the New York Convention reaches a seaman’s employment agreement despite the FAA’s seaman exclusion, while limiting when nonsignatories can use equitable estoppel to compel a Jones Act claim.
Fourth Circuit Grants Rhino Energy Petition in Black Lung Operator Dispute
The Fourth Circuit held that 125 working days can establish a year of coal-mine employment and that the absence of a required coverage statement supports a presumption of financial capability. The court remanded for further action directing payment from the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund.
First Circuit Requires District Court to Decide Motion to Compel Arbitration, Vacates Administrative Closure
The panel held that the FAA's mandatory language does not permit a district court to avoid ruling on a motion to compel arbitration by administratively closing the case.
Eighth Circuit Upholds Iowa Trespass-Surveillance Law Against First Amendment Challenge
Court rejects as-applied challenge by activists who recorded on private property after being told to leave.
Third Circuit Says MPPAA Notice-Timeliness Challenge Was Not Waived by Failure to Arbitrate
The court affirmed judgment for RTI Restoration Technologies and Industrial Maintenance Industries, holding that a pension fund’s duty to issue a withdrawal-liability notice and demand “as soon as practicable” is an element of its claim that a court may decide without prior arbitration.
Seventh Circuit rejects First Amendment claim for access to Indiana executions
The Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed the denial of a preliminary injunction sought by the Associated Press and other media plaintiffs challenging Indiana’s execution-witness policy.
Ninth Circuit Affirms Seattle's Gig-Worker Deactivation Law, Rejects First Amendment Challenge
Panel holds that ordinance requiring platforms to disclose deactivation policies regulates nonexpressive conduct or, alternatively, commercial speech subject to lower scrutiny.
Seventh Circuit: Egan's Security-Clearance Bar Is Not Jurisdictional
In affirming dismissal of a retaliation suit against DHS, the Seventh Circuit held that Department of the Navy v. Egan's limit on reviewing security-clearance decisions goes to the merits, not the court's power to hear the case—reshaping how defense counsel must plead the defense.
Ninth Circuit Blocks California's Federal-Officer ID Mandate, Citing Supremacy Clause
A Ninth Circuit panel enjoined enforcement of the 'No Vigilantes Act' identification requirement against federal agencies, holding the United States is likely to prevail on its claim that the law directly regulates federal law enforcement operations.
Fourth Circuit: Late ERISA Appeal Decision Costs Insurer Its Deference
Affirming a disability benefits award against Reliance Standard, the court held that an untimely internal-appeal decision is not a valid exercise of fiduciary discretion—triggering de novo review even when the plan grants discretionary authority.
Fourth Circuit Bars Contractual Shortening of Title VII, ADEA Deadlines, Joining Sixth Circuit
In Thomas v. EOTech, a panel held that onboarding-paperwork limitations clauses cannot cut short the time Congress gave employees to sue under federal antidiscrimination law, though a parallel state-law claim still fell to the same clause.
Supreme Court Revives Bagram Bombing Suit, Rejects Blanket Battlefield-Preemption Shield for Contractors
The Court held that Boyle v. United Technologies does not immunize contractors from state tort claims when the military neither ordered nor authorized the challenged conduct, reversing the Fourth Circuit and reopening a wounded soldier's negligence suit against Fluor Corp.
D.C. Circ. Lets DOD Enforce Pentagon Reporter Escort Rule
A divided D.C. Circuit stayed an order blocking the Pentagon's escort requirement for credentialed reporters, finding the government likely to prevail for now against a First Amendment retaliation challenge by The New York Times and reporter Julian Barnes.
Seventh Circuit Backs VA In Pharmacist’s Bias, Retaliation Suit
The Seventh Circuit affirmed summary judgment for the Department of Veterans Affairs, finding a fired pharmacist lacked evidence that medication-error discipline masked race bias or retaliation.
Eighth Circuit Vacates Campsite-Lease Injunction In Speech-Retaliation Fight
The panel said likely success on a First Amendment retaliation claim did not eliminate the need to separately show irreparable harm.
WMATA Beats Ex-Worker's Firing Suit Over Gun Report
A D.C. federal judge dismissed a former WMATA employee's wrongful termination claim, finding the transit agency was not immune from the suit but that the worker did not fit D.C.'s narrow public-policy exception for at-will employees.
D.C. Magistrate Backs $57.9K Fee Award In Wage Suit
A former Clean the World Foundation employee should receive about half of the fees and costs he sought after only partially prevailing in his D.C. wage case, a magistrate judge recommended.
10th Circ. Revives Gay Walmart Worker’s Hostile Workplace Claim
The Tenth Circuit said a former Walmart employee presented enough evidence for a jury to hear his hostile-work-environment claim, while affirming the dismissal of his other discrimination-related theories.
D.C. Federal Judge Tosses Visa Delay Suit Over Mexico Processing
A District of Columbia federal judge dismissed a family's bid to force action on employment-based immigrant visa applications, finding the alleged delay did not state an unreasonable-delay claim under D.C. Circuit precedent.
DC Judge Trims FAA Work Bias Suit, Rejects Reconsideration Bids
A D.C. federal judge denied a former FAA engineer's attempts to revive previously dismissed claims while granting in part and denying in part the government's latest bid to end his pro se employment suit.
SBA Beats Ex-Worker's Shutdown Overtime Suit
A D.C. federal judge granted the SBA administrator summary judgment in a former employee's FLSA suit over a small overtime dispute tied to the 2018 government shutdown.
Second Circuit Revives Former Home Care Workers' State Wage Claims
The panel said 1199 SEIU and home healthcare employers could not use a 2015 arbitration agreement to bind workers who had already left their jobs without consent.
2nd Circ. Revives Ex-Home Care Workers' Wage Suits
The Second Circuit said former 1199 SEIU-represented home healthcare workers who left before a 2015 arbitration agreement are not bound by wage-and-hour arbitration awards confirmed in federal court.
Justices Take Up DOL Power To Order H-2A Worker Remedies
The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to review whether the Department of Labor can adjudicate monetary-remedy proceedings against employers accused of violating employment terms for H-2A and corresponding domestic workers.
D.C. Judge Lets USDA Job Applicant's Race, Sex Bias Suit Proceed
A federal judge said Paul Bishop's latest Title VII complaint cleared the low pleading bar after he alleged the Agriculture Department deemed him qualified but chose a white female candidate instead.
4th Circ. Reopens Challenge To SC Race Curriculum Proviso
A published Fourth Circuit panel revived key parts of a challenge to South Carolina's race-related curriculum budget proviso, sending standing questions and an author's book-removal claim back to the district court.
Seventh Circuit Revives Educator's First Amendment Belief-Retaliation Claim
The panel affirmed the defeat of Becky Spengler's Title VII and equal protection claims but said her public-employee compelled-belief theory was sufficiently pleaded.
Ninth Circuit Says Ex-Netflix Worker Must Arbitrate Harassment Suit
A published panel held that the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act did not reach claims and a workplace dispute that arose before the statute took effect.
Alito Pauses Third Circuit Orders In Post-Gazette NLRB Fight
Justice Samuel Alito issued an administrative stay of two Third Circuit orders while the Supreme Court awaits a response to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's application.
D.C. Judge Lets Ex-BAC Worker's Race Bias Claim Expand
A former union employee may add a Section 1981 race-discrimination claim over a COVID-19 vaccine policy rollout, but a D.C. federal judge rejected her bid to add several other theories.
Bricklayers Union Worker Can Add Race Bias Claim In Vaccine Policy Suit
A D.C. federal judge let a former International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers employee expand his race discrimination case over his firing under a COVID-19 vaccine policy, but refused to revive or add several other employment, tort and labor-law claims.
Supreme Court Stays NY Redistricting Order In Staten Island Seat Fight
The justices paused a New York trial-court order requiring a new congressional district while state appeals proceed, drawing sharp disagreement over race, jurisdiction and election timing.
First Circuit Backs DEA In Ex-Worker's Retaliation Fight
The panel said a former DEA employee failed to show that her firing for insubordination and alleged lack of candor was a pretext for retaliation.
3rd Circ. Revives Pitt Cardiologist's Defamation Suit Over Retracted Article
A Third Circuit panel said Dr. Norman Wang can press key defamation and retaliation claims over the fallout from his article criticizing race-conscious policies in medical training.
D.C. Circ. Trims IAM Pension Fund Win In M&K Truck Centers Fight
The D.C. Circuit partly reversed a $13 million pension-liability judgment, finding one delinquent-contribution theory was not properly pleaded and sending disputed personal-liability issues back for further proceedings.
FTC Requires Surgery Center Selloffs In Ascension-AmSurg Deal
The Federal Trade Commission said Ascension must divest seven ambulatory surgery centers to resolve allegations that its proposed $3.9 billion AmSurg acquisition would harm outpatient surgical services competition.
FTC Targets Rollins Noncompetes In Pest Control Labor Push
The Federal Trade Commission says Rollins must stop enforcing noncompete agreements against more than 18,000 workers and is warning other pest-control employers to review similar restrictions.
Supreme Court Lets Stand Vaccine Mandate Title VII Loss As Gorsuch Dissent Warns On State-Law Defense
Justice Neil Gorsuch, joined by Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, said the court should have reviewed whether state law can automatically create an undue-hardship defense to religious-accommodation claims under Title VII.
Third Circuit Backs BNY In Ex-Worker’s Race Bias Suit
The appeals court said Robert Lynn failed to show that Bank of New York Mellon’s stated reasons for eliminating his role masked race discrimination or retaliation.
First Circuit Revives Part Of Catholic School's Challenge To Maine Anti-Bias Rules
The First Circuit ordered Maine officials to face a preliminary injunction against one religious-expression rule while largely rejecting St. Dominic Academy's bid to block other anti-discrimination requirements tied to public tuition funding.