On August 20, 2015, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that a plaintiff could not prevail on a Title VII religious discrimination claim where there was no evidence the employer knew that the reason that the plaintiff refused to complete a job duty, which led to the employee’s termination, was that she
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Erin Foley
You Can Check Out Any Time You Like… But Your Information Might Never Leave
When you check into a hotel, do you assume that the clerk asks for your license plate number to avoid accidentally towing your car? Or that guest services wants to know how many people are in your group to make sure that they’ve stocked the bathroom with enough towels? Guess again. These, and other requirements, are mandated…
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Inside Views: The Intersection Of Trade Secret Law And Social Media Privacy Legislation
Social media and privacy issues continue to pester employers. See what our colleagues who blog about Trade Secrets talked about recently.
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OSHA Updates Emphasis Program on Amputations – Cites Employer and Places It on Severe Violators List
By Brent I. Clark and Craig B. Simonsen
Last week OSHA issued its updated National Emphasis Program on Amputations (NEP). Instruction CPL 03-00-019 (June 30, 2015). Take that juxtaposed against OSHA’s citation in a recent case where on his first day on the job a 21-year-old employee suffered severe burns and the loss of four fingers.
National Emphasis Program on…
College Football Unions: The Refs Call Off the Game
By Bradford L. Livingston, Esq.
On the eve of a new college football season, the referees at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) got it right on instant replay: they called off the game. In a ruling yesterday, the NLRB’s five Members unanimously declined to assert jurisdiction over Northwestern’s scholarship football athletes. There will be no union of college…
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Workplace Violence – Putting Employers on the Horns of a Dilemma
By Mark A. Lies, II and Craig B. Simonsen
Employers today can find themselves in a seemingly untenable dilemma when they have violence threaten to invade their workplaces. Two recent cases illustrate the competing liabilities that employers face in their decision-making as to how to respond to workplace violence.
In one case, decided by the United States Court of Appeals…
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Employment Law Lookout Readers: Cast Your Vote in the ABA’s 100 Best Legal Blogs Competition!
Voting is open for the American Bar Association’s annual 100 Best Legal Blogs competition, and we hope you will cast your vote today to help Seyfarth’s Employment Law Lookout blog get on the ABA’s list for 2015.
The Employment Law Lookout Blog is a resource for employers seeking intelligent discourse and updates on the today’s most pressing workplace issues. Our…
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New Jersey Court Affirms $192,000 Fee Award Against Whistleblower Plaintiff
By Ada W. Dolph and Robert T. Szyba
Earlier this week, employers in the Garden State saw another glimmer of hope for defending against frivolous claims brought under New Jersey’s whistleblower statute, the Conscientious Employee Protection Act (“CEPA”), N.J.S.A. 34:19-1 et seq.
As you may recall, much of our CEPA reporting lately has focused on recent court decisions affirming the…
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EEOC Rules That Existing Federal Law Prohibits Employment Discrimination Based On Sexual Orientation
By Laura Maechtlen and Sam Schwartz-Fenwick
In a landmark ruling on July 15, 2015 in _____ v. Foxx, EEOC Appeal No. 2012-24738–FAA-03 (July 15, 2015), the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC’) held for the first time that Title VII extends to claims of employment discrimination based on sexual orientation.
Specifically, the EEOC held that sexual orientation discrimination is per…
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SEC Announces Third-Largest Dodd-Frank Bounty Award
By Ada W. Dolph and Craig B. Simonsen
Whistleblowers continue to reap extraordinary awards under Dodd-Frank’s “bounty” program in exchange for bringing the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) “original” information that leads to a successful enforcement action. Most recently, the SEC announced its third-highest award since Dodd-Frank was enacted — an award of “more than $3,000,000” — to one such…
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