Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it. – Ferris Bueller Well, did you miss it? Just as people were settling down to the NLRB’s new speedy election rules this month, events over the last two days have completedly upended that. First was the Court action…. Continue Reading
Tag Archives: district court
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
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
Court Approves Expedited Appeal for Decision Mandating Exotic Dancers Arbitrate
Posted in Class Actions, Litigation, Wage & HourLast month, I discussed a very notable decision in D’Antuono v. Service Road Corp. in which the federal court — relying in part on the Supreme Court’s decision in AT&T Mobility — ordered two exotic dancers to arbitrate their employment-related claims. A few days ago, the same district court allowed the dancers to take an… Continue Reading
Impairments That Merely Affect Major Life Activities Not Covered by ADA, Says Federal Court
Posted in Discrimination & Harassment, LitigationToday, my colleague Jonathan Orleans makes a return engagement to the blog, updating us on a decision released by the District Court of Connecticut yesterday that has relevance to various ADA cases in the state. The Defendant was successfully represented by another colleague of mine here at the firm, Marcy Stovall. A decision issued yesterday… Continue Reading
First Amendment Retaliation Claims by Town Facilities Manager Tossed by District Court
Posted in Discrimination & Harassment, LitigationA former Branford Facilities Manager’s claims that his employment was terminated due to protected speech and his political affiliation were effectively dismissed on Friday, February 25th when a federal court granted the employer’s motion for summary judgment. The 40-page opinion provides good roadmap for employers (and their attorneys) to understanding such claims and what is… Continue Reading
Who’s a “Successor” for FLSA Purposes? District Court Outlines Three Tests…And Punts
Posted in Wage & HourWhen faced with an unpaid wage claim (such as one brought under the Fair Labor Standards Act — FLSA, for short), an employer has one option that is often off the table, an option nicknamed the "nuclear option". What is it? It is to close the business, either through a bankruptcy or just an… Continue Reading
Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress Claims in Connecticut Get Dismissed Yet Again
Posted in LitigationWhen the Connecticut Supreme Court came out with a decision nearly ten years ago that said that negligent infliction of emotional distress claims in the workplace were only viable when they occur during the termination process itself, it was the beginning of the end for these types of amorphous claims. The case, Perodeau v…. Continue Reading
Motions to Dismiss in Discrimination Cases Have a Pulse
Posted in Discrimination & Harassment, LitigationFor many years, motions to dismiss in discrimination cases were becoming a rarity, mainly because courts were loath to grant them. But the U.S. Supreme Court in the last few years has given the motions new life and recent District Court decisions are now showing the effects. Latest case in point: Barker v. UBS AG (download… Continue Reading
Quitters Rarely Win…In Constructive Discharge Claims
Posted in LitigationWhile fans of the long running television reality show Survivor may suggest the timing of this post is geared to the events of last night’s episode that featured two players who quit, there are actually two recent and noteworthy cases in Connecticut that show that employees who quit their jobs rare win discrimination claims that… Continue Reading
Don’t Cry for Me Connecticut: Court Says Mere Factual Disagreements Not Necessarily Probative of Age Discrimination
Posted in Discrimination & Harassment, LitigationIn employment discrimination cases, some of the day-to-day details of a person’s employment are sometimes disputed. Did an employee "continually" cry at work or only "occasionally" cry? And does it matter? A recent Connecticut district court decision clarified that such trivial disputes about an employee’s background — without more — are not enough to be… Continue Reading
Black Firefighters Move to Intervene in Ricci v. DeStefano
Posted in CHRO & EEOC, Discrimination & Harassment, LitigationYesterday, a group of black firefighters filed a motion to intervene in the Ricci v. DeStefano case claiming their rights will be "irrevocably impaired " if they aren’t allowed to join in the case. You can download the motion and the accompanying memorandum of law here. The motion was not unexpected though I’m not sure… 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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