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Adverse Employment Action Internal Investigations

Gould + Ratner LLP

Coldplay Gate: What if It Happened at Your Company?

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The internet lit up recently with viral footage from a “kiss cam” at a Coldplay concert in Boston, Massachusetts. The clip, now dubbed by some as “Coldplay Gate,” depicts the married CEO of Astronomer, Inc., having an...more

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP

NRC Board Rules on Adverse Employment Actions in Discrimination Cases

Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Atomic Safety and Licensing Board finds that investigating an employee’s discrimination complaint does not, in itself, constitute a violation under the NRC’s employee protection regulations. ...more

CDF Labor Law LLP

Investigating Employee Misconduct In The Age of “Cancel Culture”

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What is “cancel culture”? During the last few years, there has been a groundswell of cultural movements seeking to rectify transgressions against traditionally marginalized groups, including women, Black people, members of...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

France Requires Employers to Investigate Harassment Claims Even Without Evidence

French employers are now obligated to investigate any allegation of harassment, even where the employee does not produce any evidence. This is the position taken by the French Cour de Cassation in November 27, 2019, case...more

Polsinelli

Protected Activity or Terminable Misconduct? — Government Contractor Update

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It has become almost routine for employees pursuing whistleblower and other employment-related claims against their employer to engage in "self-help discovery," using their access to files and databases to collect and gather,...more

Cohen & Gresser LLP

Can Employers get a Grip on Griping? Not all Gripes are Created Equal…

Cohen & Gresser LLP on

Negative employee attitudes, chronic complaining, insubordination and gossiping are bad for the workplace.  They can impact employee morale and productivity, and if spread outside of the organization, reflect very poorly on...more

Fisher Phillips

Just (Don’t) Do It: Oregon Supreme Court Warns Against Cat’s Paw Retaliation

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The Oregon Supreme Court just revived a whistleblower retaliation claim filed against sportswear giant Nike by adopting for the first time a novel legal concept known as the “cat’s paw” theory. The July 18 opinion opens new...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Fourth Circuit Ruling Provides Cautionary Tale for Employer’s Managing Internal Harassment Complaints and Investigations

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on

Seyfarth Synopsis: The Fourth Circuit recently found that reducing a current employee’s voluntary overtime opportunities – despite the absence of a reduction in overall income – could be considered a tangible or materially...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Sixth Circuit Denies Review Of Judgment Favoring Former Employee In Retaliation Claim Under The Mine Act

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Seyfarth Synopsis: The Sixth Circuit recently upheld an administrative decision in favor of a miner’s whistleblower complaint, further underscoring the need for mine operators to implement strong anti-retaliation policies and...more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

Ambulance Service Liable for Sexting Monkey?

An ambulance service may be liable for damages arising from sexting by a monkey it employed, the Second Circuit ruled on August 29. Actually, the monkey was a man, but the court sided with a female employee who sued the...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

The Cat Is Out of the Bag: Second Circuit Rules Cat’s Paw Theory Applies to Nonmanagerial Coworkers

Rarely has the maxim “hard cases make bad law” found greater application than in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals’ recent decision to expand the “cat’s paw” doctrine adopted by the Supreme Court of the United States in...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Fifth Circuit Rejects EEOC's Position on Reasonable Belief Standard for Reactive Retaliation Claims

In 2009’s Crawford decision, the U.S. Supreme Court concluded that an employee who participates in an employer’s harassment or discrimination investigation as a third-party witness, falls within federal anti-retaliation...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Dismissal Denied For Discussing Disability: EEOC Case Against Employer Survives

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Anti-discrimination laws command that “thou shall not retaliate…” The recent ruling in EEOC v. Day & Zimmerman NPS, Inc., Case No. 15-CV-01416 (D. Conn Apr. 12, 2016), is a case study in how employers can be taken to task for...more

Foley & Lardner LLP

A Review of Recent Whistleblower Developments

Foley & Lardner LLP on

SEC Awards Bounty to Whistleblower, But Offsets Award for a Judgment Against the Whistleblower - The extent to which the SEC would reward whistleblowers, who themselves engaged in wrongdoing, has been the subject of...more

Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner

Managing FMLA Fraud: Investigate, Don’t Assume

Continuing our three-part series on managing FMLA fraud, this post addresses the importance of conducting a reasonable investigation, prior to taking adverse action, to develop a supportable “honest belief” of FMLA fraud. ...more

Arnall Golden Gregory LLP

Background Screening – When is Section 603(y) Applicable?

When a company uses commercial background checks to evaluate the suitability of job applicants, they must comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), which regulates the collection, dissemination, and use of consumer...more

Foley & Lardner LLP

“Cat’s Paw” – Or Perhaps “Tiger’s Paw” Theory Now

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For those interested in the origin, the term “cat’s paw” derives from a fable of a monkey who employs flattery to convince a cat to pull chestnuts out of a fire. Today the term commonly refers to a person used unwittingly or...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

NLRB Says Employers Cannot Ask Employees Not to Discuss Internal Investigation

When conducting an internal investigation involving possible disciplinary violations, employers often ask participants in the investigation to maintain its confidentiality pending completion. Last month, the National Labor...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

California Court of Appeal Reminds Employers About the Importance of Thorough Harassment Investigations

Dawson v. Country Club of Rancho Bernardo, No. D064654 (March 23, 2015): In an unpublished opinion, a California Court of Appeal reversed an order granting summary judgment in favor of the employer, Country Club of Rancho...more

Thomas Fox - Compliance Evangelist

King Arthur Week – The Green Knight and the Protection of Whistleblowers – Part IV

We continue our King Arthur themed week with an exploration of one of the most interesting characters in the Arthur canon, The Green Knight, so called because his skin and clothes are green. The meaning of his greenness has...more

Littler

Right to Union Representation Applies to Employer Referrals for Drug and Alcohol Tests, NLRB Rules

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The National Labor Relations Board ("Board"), in its July 31, 2014 decision in Ralph's Grocery Co., 361 NLRB No. 9 (2014), ruled that so-called "Weingarten rights" – the general right of a unionized employee to request union...more

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