On July 25, 2025, a three-judge panel of the Fourth Circuit issued its opinion in Finley v. Kraft Heinz Inc. upending the grant of summary judgment to an employer in a retaliation case. ...more
8/1/2025
/ Appellate Courts ,
Causation ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Employment Litigation ,
FSMA ,
Heinz ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Kraft ,
Retaliation ,
Reversal ,
Summary Judgment ,
Title VII ,
Whistleblowers ,
Workplace Hazards
Part of our standard advice to nearly every client is "document, document, document." Typically, robust and timely documentation ensures that an employer has strong evidence of its legitimate rationale for making employment...more
1/24/2025
/ Best Practices ,
Documentation ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Record Retention ,
Retaliation ,
Title VII
With the election quickly approaching, we are already receiving questions from employers involving concerns over arguments and disruptions in the workplace resulting from political disagreements. We hoped that the contentious...more
In Johnson v. Global Language Center, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a district court's decision to grant summary judgment in favor of an employer in a Title VII retaliation claim, where the “protected activity”...more
In February 2021, we wrote about Kinzer, et al. v. Whole Foods Market, Inc., a case pending in Massachusetts federal court in which multiple employees alleged that they had been terminated by Whole Foods for wearing Black...more
1/30/2023
/ Black Lives Matter ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Dress Codes ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Masks ,
Retaliation ,
Summary Judgment ,
Termination ,
Title VII ,
Whole Foods ,
Workplace Attire
In a pair of notable new lawsuits, employees of both public and private employers have filed legal challenges to mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policies. First, on April 16, 2021, in the Middle District of North Carolina, a...more