The Second Circuit has long held that supervisors cannot be sued in their individual capacity under Title VII. But can an employee do an end run around that by arguing that the supervisor is the “alter ego” of the company? Well a few federal courts outside Connecticut have said that under the “alter ego” doctrine,… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Litigation
Subscribe to Litigation RSS FeedConnecticut Supreme Court Hears Arguments on Hostile Work Environment and CTFMLA Cases
Posted in Discrimination & Harassment, Highlight, Laws and Regulations, Litigation, Wage & HourIt’s not very often that the Connecticut Supreme Court considers employment law issues. But today, two notable cases are being argued in front of the court. Both could have an impact on employers in the state. In Patino v. Birken Manufacturing, the court is being asked to consider whether a hostile work environment harassment claim… Continue Reading
Employee’s Speech Against Employer May Be Protected by First Amendment
Posted in LitigationEver since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Garcetti v. Ceballos that an employee’s speech pursuant to the employee’s official job duties was not protected by the First Amendment, employers have attempted to use that case as a shield against free speech lawsuits by employees. But a decision by a federal court in Connecticut late… Continue Reading
Judge Peter Dorsey, Federal Judge, Dies at 80
Posted in LitigationThe bench lost another notable judge this past week. Judge Peter Dorsey — who was the former chief judge of the District of Connecticut and who continued to serve despite taking “senior” status — died Friday at the age of 80. I last appeared before Judge Dorsey very late last year. He had a wonderful… Continue Reading
Conn. Supreme Court: Alleged Knowing and Deliberate Discovery Misconduct Not Enough to Warrant New Trial
Posted in Discrimination & Harassment, LitigationIt’s so rare nowadays that the Connecticut Supreme Court rules on discrimination cases that, when I first took a look at its new decision in Duart v. Department of Corrections (download here) — officially released next week — I got excited. After all, the case is based on a claims of gender, race and sexual… Continue Reading
Quick Hits: Ban On Cell Phones; NLRB & Social Media; Nursing Mothers; Retaliation, LinkedIn
Posted in Labor Law & NRLB, Laws and Regulations, Litigation, Social Media, Wage & HourAs another week passes by (seriously, where did January go already?), here are a few odds and ends that are worth a mention: Earlier this month, new rules regarding limits on the use of mobile phones went into effet by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. The rule covers ”both, drivers of CMVs in interstate commerce,… Continue Reading
No Fiduciary Relationship Created Between Medical Resident and Program Director
Posted in LitigationThe Appellate Court, in a decision that will be officially released next week, rejected the claims of a former medical resident that his program director owed a “fiduciary duty” to protect that resident’s interests. In Golek v. Saint Mary’s Hospital, Inc. (download here), the court was asked to review the propriety of a decision by… Continue Reading
Why Judges Like Robert Satter Still Matter
Posted in LitigationConnecticut lost a fine trial judge this week. Judge Robert Satter died Monday at the age of 92. Most employers have probably never heard of him. That’s a shame because they probably would’ve liked him. (There was a great interview conducted with him from the Rutgers Oral History Archive. Read it. I’ll wait.) I only… Continue Reading
BREAKING: U.S. Supreme Court Supports Fairly Broad “Ministerial Exception” to Anti-Discrimination Laws
Posted in CHRO & EEOC, Discrimination & Harassment, Featured, Highlight, LitigationIn a unanimous decision, the U.S. Supreme Court today gave some teeth to the “ministerial exception” that, in essence, precludes some employees of religious institutions from suing them under federal discrimination laws. I’ve discussed the exception in various posts over the years here and here. Its been supported in the Second Circuit and by the… Continue Reading
A Look Back at 2011 Prediction … and a Sneak Peek at 2012
Posted in Laws and Regulations, Legislative Developments, LitigationIt’s easy to make predictions about the future. It’s far harder to look back at them and see if you were right. Fortunately or unfortunately for me, my predictions are in print — there for a looking. So how did my prediction go for 2011? Well, in my main article, I predicted that on a… Continue Reading
Are Any Cases Getting Thrown Out as “Frivolous” at the CHRO Anymore?
Posted in CHRO & EEOC, Discrimination & Harassment, Laws and Regulations, LitigationAs I’ve noted before, the CHRO procedures were changed effective October 1, 2011. One question that we had at the time was whether the CHRO would be retaining more discrimination claims by employees for investigation — getting past the Merit Assessment Review stage. Previously, employers have had at least a little luck getting plainly… Continue Reading
Quick Hits: FLSA & Arbitration Agreements, Initial Discovery Protocols, Dating Policies, EEOC Charges, Ledbetter
Posted in CHRO & EEOC, Class Actions, Discrimination & Harassment, Litigation, Wage & HourThere are lots of items I had hoped to write about but, as many of you have observed, there’s only so much time in the week. So, it’s time to bring back the recurring “Quick Hits” feature to highlight some tidbits worthy of your consideration: Are arbitration agreements that waive FLSA collective actions enforceable? No,… Continue Reading
Court Rules Plaintiffs’ Attorneys Entitled to More Than Just Contingency Fee After Jury Awards Nominal Damages
Posted in Discrimination & Harassment, LitigationSuppose you just defended against a discrimination and harassment lawsuit by two former female employees. The jury found that discrimination and harassment had occurred. But the jury awarded one employee only $1600 in economic damages and nothing for emotional distress. For the other employee, the jury did not award any damages. Most employers would take… Continue Reading
From the Archives: Request Doomed to Fail Like Attack on Pearl Harbor
Posted in LitigationOn this 70th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, I can’t help but revisit one of the more memorable blog posts that I did four years ago. In it, a federal judge references the day that will live in infamy in reference to an attack on a protective order. AT&T’s attack on the December… Continue Reading
Hybrid Wage-and-Hour Class Actions Blessed by Second Circuit
Posted in Class Actions, Litigation, Wage & HourOk, bear with me for a second. If your employees want to bring a class action against your company claiming that they should’ve been paid overtime, there are typically two ways to do so: Bring a claim under state law, or bring a claim under federal law (Fair Labor Standards Act). There’s a big difference:… Continue Reading
Second Circuit Affirms Large USERRA Judgment Against Conn. Employer
Posted in Discrimination & Harassment, LitigationBack in 2009, I reported on a large verdict in favor of a reservist who was fired after he was called to duty after the 9/11 attacks. This month, the Second Circuit affirmed the verdict — making it one of the largest verdicts upheld under USERRA (the- Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act). The… Continue Reading
What Does it Take to Survive a Motion to Dismiss? Facts, Not Conclusions
Posted in Discrimination & Harassment, LitigationBack in February, I noted that a motion to dismiss in federal court – while still difficult to achieve — still had a pulse. That’s important for employers because it provides a mechanism for getting rid of frivolous claims early on with lower costs than federal lawsuits typically cost. A new district court case gives… Continue Reading
Court Not “Up In the Air”: Travel for Work Does Not Violate “Familial Association” Right
Posted in Discrimination & Harassment, LitigationGeorge Clooney famously made business travel look (somewhat) cool in the movie, Up in the Air. Clooney’s character was single (really, would you expect otherwise?) and business travel was a bit glamorous (though a bit tedious as well). Perhaps not surprisingly, absent from the movie was a discussion of whether business travel could be the… Continue Reading
Court: Pregnancy Discrimination Act Covers Maternity Leave Too
Posted in Discrimination & Harassment, Highlight, LitigationHere’s an interesting question: Does the Pregnancy Discrimination Act protect an employee who is no longer pregnant? A federal court decision in Connecticut yesterday says, yes. The case, Canales v. Schick Manufacturing, Inc. can be downloaded here. The Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) is part of Title VII and states that “women affected by pregnancy, childbirth,… Continue Reading
The “Standard” Provisions in an Employment Settlement Agreement
Posted in Highlight, Human Resources (HR) Compliance, Litigation, Manager & HR Pro’s Resource CenterThe title of this post is, of course, a bit misleading. Any lawyer will tell you that each employment case you may have is unique and that any settlement must take into account the facts and circumstances of the particular case. All true. And, if your company is negotiating a settlement, you ought to have… Continue Reading
Summary Judgment For Tunxis Community College On Claims of Gender Discrimination
Posted in Discrimination & Harassment, LitigationAs I’ve lamented from my very first post, too often the press focuses on new cases that are brought without placing them in context. Yet every month, federal and state courts in Connecticut consider dozens of employment law cases that never make the headlines. One such case is Jacobs v. Connecticut Community Technical Colleges, decided… Continue Reading
BREAKING: Second Circuit Allows Black Firefighter’s Suit Against New Haven To Proceed
Posted in Class Actions, Discrimination & Harassment, LitigationThe Second Circuit today reinstated claims brought by a black firefighter against the City of New Haven alleging that he was unfairly denied promotion to the position of lieutenant because of the city’s scoring of a 2003 promotional exam. (I covered the original lawsuit back in 2009 here.) The decision in Briscoe v. City of… Continue Reading
Court: No Injury by Employer = No Standing = No Case
Posted in Discrimination & Harassment, LitigationThe running joke by employment lawyers is that even though Connecticut is an at-will employment state, employees can sue their employers at any time for any reason or no reason at all. (I’ll wait while you laugh groan.) The joke touches on the perception by employers that employees can seemingly file the most frivolous of… Continue Reading
BREAKING: Ricci v. DeStefano Plaintiffs Accept Offers Of Judgment
Posted in Discrimination & Harassment, LitigationNews outlets this morning reported that the plaintiffs (a group of firefighters in New Haven) in the Ricci v. DeStefano reverse discrimination case were awarded damages of about $2 million (plus attorneys fees of $3 million). What the reports don’t really get into, however, is exactly how that has come about. Turns out that the… Continue Reading
About Daniel Schwartz
Trusted advisor. Experienced employment law attorney. Bar leader. Award-winning author. Noted Speaker. "Legal Rebel". All can be said to be apt descriptions of Daniel Schwartz, a member of Pullman & Comley. More +
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