Seyfarth Synopsis: A series from our seasoned and successful Boston L&E Trial Team will explore the latest trends in jury trials in a time of explosive verdicts, Reptile tactics, polarization, and an election year. We’ll offer practical strategies on how to maximize your chance of a total defense verdict, despite these headwinds, based on our experience navigating trials in
Continue Reading Jury Trials in 2024: Seyfarth’s Employment Trial Team on Lessons from the Front Lines
By Linda C. Schoonmaker and Eron F. Reid
Seyfarth Synopsis: We previously wrote about the procuring-cause doctrine here. As a refresher, the procuring-cause doctrine provides that a salesperson or other agent who contracts for a commission becomes entitled to payment of the commission when through his efforts he produces a buyer who is ready, able, and willing to
Continue Reading Asking Again-Do You Really Want to Keep Paying Commissions to the Salesperson You Fired? (Update)
By Dawn Solowey, Lynn Kappelman, and Darien Harris
Seyfarth Synopsis: A unanimous Supreme Court has issued its decision in Groff v. Dejoy, clarifying Title VII’s undue hardship standard to mean “substantial increased costs in relation to the conduct of its particular business.” The Court effectively disavowed the long-standing de minimis standard from the seminal TWA v. Hardison
Continue Reading A Unanimous Supreme Court Rules on Undue Hardship in Religious Accommodation: De Minimis Is Out, “Substantial Increased Costs” Is In
Seyfarth Synopsis: Yesterday the Supreme Court held oral argument in Groff v. DeJoy, a case in which the Court is considering whether to overturn decades of precedent established by the seminal religious accommodation case, Trans World Airlines Inc., v. Hardison. Decided in 1977, Hardison is the seminal case establishing that an employer is
Continue Reading Takeaways From SCOTUS Oral Argument in Groff v. Dejoy: Justices Attempt to Find “Common Ground” on Religious Accommodation Test
Seyfarth Synopsis: Seyfarth announces the publication of Seyfarth Shaw’s 2023 Edition of its EEOC-Initiated Litigation Report.
It is with great excitement that we announce the publication of Seyfarth Shaw’s 2023 Edition of its EEOC-Initiated Litigation Report. 2022 was another year of great change at the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission – and 2023 promises to be a year of
Continue Reading Seyfarth’s 2023 EEOC-Initiated Litigation Report Focuses on Big Changes at the EEOC
By Michelle Shamouilian, Daniel I. Small, Courtney S. Stieber, and Robert S. Whitman
Seyfarth Synopsis: A bill pending in the New York City Council would prohibit employers from discharging employees absent just cause or a bona fide economic reason. The bill would also ban employers from relying on data collected through electronic monitoring when discharging or disciplining
Continue Reading At-Will No More? New York City Bill Would Restrict Discharge of Employees
By Danielle Kays and James Nasiri
Seyfarth Synopsis: On November 30, 2022, the Illinois Second District Appellate Court reversed the trial court’s grant of summary judgment in Defendant’s favor in a case entitled Mora v. J&M Plating, Inc. The lawsuit was initiated by a former employee of the Defendant metal finisher, alleging that Defendant violated the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy
Continue Reading Illinois Appellate Court Holds Businesses Must Implement Biometric Retention and Destruction Policies Before Collecting Biometric Data
By Linda C. Schoonmaker and Elizabeth L. Humphrey
Seyfarth Synopsis: Railroad companies spend millions of dollars and thousands of hours developing their risk management systems. When a plaintiff aims to discover risk management data, companies understandably balk at the prospect of revealing information they have gone to great lengths to collect, categorize, and assess for the purpose of mitigating
Continue Reading Does A Railroad (Or Potentially Any) Company Have To Turn Over Material Contained In Its Risk Management System In Discovery? The Alabama Supreme Court Says No
By Nick A. Lussier and Andrew M. McKinley
Seyfarth Synopsis: On October 13, 2022, the Supreme Court of Virginia analyzed whether individuals may be joint employers under Virginia’s Wage Payment Act. Answering in the negative, the Court held that the statute defined “employer” more narrowly than the FLSA, and thus extended joint employment liability only to entities, not individuals
Continue Reading Supreme Court of Virginia Refuses to Extend Joint Employer Liability to Individuals
By Danielle Kays and James Nasiri
Seyfarth Synopsis: On October 17, 2022, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington granted Microsoft’s motion for summary judgment on the plaintiffs’ unique class action claims in a case entitled Vance v. Microsoft Corp. The plaintiffs, and Illinois residents, uploaded several pictures of themselves to popular photo-sharing site Flickr, which then
Continue Reading Washington Federal Court Awards Important BIPA Win