Ever 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
Tag Archives: usdc
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
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: 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
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
Employer Who Fired Returning Reservist Did Not Violate USERRA
Posted in Laws and Regulations, LitigationUSERRA (quick, name that acronym, answer down below) is a oft-misunderstood federal statute that addresses employment issues for reservists and active duty members of the armed forces. A recent Second Circuit decision (Hart v. Family Dental Group, decided May 31, 2011), arising from a federal court filing in Connecticut demonstrates the difficulties employers may have… 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
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
Court Dismisses Discrimination Claim Based on Company’s Failure to Fill a Posted Position
Posted in Discrimination & HarassmentOn Wednesday, I posted about a recent District Court decision that held that "Paid Administrative Leave" is not an "adverse employment action.". Without such an action, an employee typically cannot raise a claim of discrimination under the legal framework for analyzing such claims. The same district court judge, The Honorable Mark Kravitz, released a decision a… 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
Court Allows First Amendment Retaliation Claim to Proceed To Trial
Posted in LitigationLast year, I talked about a First Amendment retaliation case and noted the difficulties in defending against such claims. A new case out of the federal court in Connecticut last week highlights the those difficulties even further. In Brown v. Waterbury Board of Ed. (download here), the Plaintiff, a custodian for the Waterbury Board of… Continue Reading
Plaintiffs in Ricci v. DeStefano Move to Disqualify District Court Judge
Posted in LitigationThe Ricci v. DeStefano case (now on remand from the U.S. Supreme Court) has vanished from the headlines, but the case is still kicking around as the courts and the parties attempt to fashion a remedy that fits with the judgment in favor of the plaintiffs. For some time now, however, the plaintiffs have made… Continue Reading
Progressive Discipline Policies: What They Are And Understanding Risks and Benefits to Them
Posted in Discrimination & Harassment"Progressive Discipline" is a policy or practice that, over the years, has fallen out of favor with some employers. What is it? It’s a practice — found also in some collective bargaining agreements — that typically provides a multi-step disciplinary process for many employment policy violations: a verbal warning, a written warning, a suspension, and… Continue Reading
Supervisor’s Dislike of Employees Not Proof of Retaliation or Discrimination
Posted in Discrimination & Harassment, LitigationAn employee who is passed over for promotion — time and again — may feel like the whole world is against them. Even so, the fact that supervisors and coworkers may "dislike" a particular employee is not enough to prove that the employer retaliated against the employee for participation in a discrimination claim. So… 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
The Reality of Federal Court Statistics On Wage/Hour Claims and the Perception
Posted in LitigationIn this week’s Connecticut Law Tribune, there’s a story about how the U.S. Department of Labor is hiring 250 more investigators and what this potentially means for wage/hour suits in Connecticut. The gist of the story is that employers should not surprised if there’s an increased focus on such claims. I happen to be quoted… Continue Reading
Court Dismisses Employment Claim After Concluding Employee Committed Perjury During Trial
Posted in Discrimination & Harassment, LitigationIt’s the stuff of television shows. In the middle of trial, a plaintiff (who is claiming his employment was terminated, among other reasons, in retaliation of his exercise of FMLA rights) drops a bombshell: [In the prior October], I learned that I had — have stage III prostate cancer with a metastatic brain lesion." While… Continue Reading
Update: District Court Throws Out Wrestlers’ Lawsuit Against WWE (Again)
Posted in Class Actions, Litigation, Wage & HourBack in February, a federal court in Connecticut dismissed a lawsuit brought by three former wrestlers who contended, among other things, that they were improperly classified as independent contractors. The case garnered national attention (see, for example, this post by Zach Lowe at The American Lawyer) for a variety of reasons, including the disclosure of… Continue Reading
Federal Court Denies Summary Judgment to Background Check Company Based on Alleged Violations of FCRA
Posted in Human Resources (HR) ComplianceIn a case that should send shivers through background check companies, particularly in Connecticut, a federal district court judge recently ruled that a job applicant could proceed to trial with her claims that two background check companies violated in the Fair Credit Reporting Act when they reported that she had been convicted of a crime… Continue Reading
Federal District Court of Connecticut Statistics for 2008 Show Some Surprises
Posted in LitigationTime for a few multiple-choice questions: 1. In the fiscal year ending September 30, 2008, the number of cases filed in federal court in Connecticut was: a) up significantly over 2007; b) about the same as 2007; c) markedly down from 2007. 2. Since 2003, the number of cases filed and pending in the federal… Continue Reading
Corrective Action Memorandum Not a Contract, Says District Court
Posted in Litigation, Wage & HourUPDATED 2/10/09 Sometimes, by coincidence, two unrelated decision get released in close proximity to one another that they bring some greater clarity to the law. Yesterday, I discussed a Connecticut Superior Court case that found that certain discussions did not create an employment contract and that the employee was properly classified as "at-will". Earlier this… Continue Reading
What Ever Happened To…That Ethics Case with the Anonymous Letter?
Posted in LitigationIt has been several months since my last update on the matters involving former state Ethics Chief Alan Plofsky and the strange case of the lawyer who penned an anonymous letter complaining of Mr. Plofsky. (For background on the matters, you can find my prior posts here.) The developments have been slow to occur, but… 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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