[WEBINAR] Preparing for Changes in the “Vested Rights Doctrine” - Understanding Plan Design Options
[VIDEO] Legal Update: Is the California Rule in Flux?
[VIDEO] Pension Liability by the Numbers
[VIDEO] Perspectives: The Practical Effects of Today's Pension Programs
Deivert v. Zartman and Borough of Northumberland, 2025 WL 83747 (M.D.Pa. 2025) - (Neither a municipality nor a municipal manager had immunity under the Pennsylvania Political Subdivision Tort Claims Act (“PPSTCA”) for the...more
A public-school teacher wears a MAGA hat at a training session on cultural sensitivity (Dodge v. Evergreen School District #114, 56 F.4th 767 (9th Cir. 2022)), an actress in a mega-million-dollar film posts controversial...more
By Executive Order dated March 27, 2025, entitled, “Exclusions from Federal Labor-Management Relations Programs,” President Trump moved to end collective bargaining with unions at 18 federal agencies and urged them to void...more
The Trump administration imposes additional wide-ranging tariffs as legal challenges to the administration’s actions continue....more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has ruled that the waiver of a State's immunity under Title V of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is unconstitutional. This ruling permits a State to defend a Title V...more
On April 17, 2024, the Oregon Court of Appeals recognized a government employee’s whistleblower claim under state law against a city that employed him under an intergovernmental agreement with another city. ...more
For decades, courts in the Fifth Circuit have followed a particularly strict rule limiting when employees can sue under Title VII for workplace discrimination. That changed last Friday....more
On August 18, 2023, in Hamilton v. Dallas County, the full Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upended a longstanding precedent, significantly broadening the types of adverse employment actions that could give rise to an...more
Technology. It is the proverbial blessing and curse that has resulted in an increasing amount of litigation in the courts. One such lawsuit presented the issue of whether the First Amendment provides police officers and their...more
In 2019, we reported on the case of Kennedy v. Bremerton School District involving a football coach at Bremerton High School in Washington state who was placed on administrative leave by his public school district for praying...more
On October 6, 2020, in Bennett v. Metropolitan Government of Nashville, No. 19-5818, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit reversed a district court’s decision in favor of a public employee who claimed that the city...more
On August 19, 2020, in Marquardt v. Carlton, et al., No. 19-4223, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit reversed summary judgment for the City of Cleveland on a former employee’s claim that the city had terminated...more
(Public) employers rejoice! In a unanimous decision, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court just ruled that PennDOT did not violate an ex-employee’s free speech rights by firing her over a Facebook rant in which the ex-employee said...more
The New Jersey Appellate Division recently affirmed a decision of the Civil Service Commission imposing a ten-day suspension on a Mercer County Correction Center (MCCC) Officer for failure to attend mandatory harassment...more
The Supreme Court of Ohio recently confirmed that public employees in their probationary periods are not entitled to the same protections with regard to employment termination that tenured civil servants enjoy. In Miracle v....more
On April 4, 2019, the Colorado Court of Appeals issued its decision in Houchin v. Denver Health and Hospital Authority, holding that under 2013 amendments to the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act (CADA), state employees may...more
In a recent EmployNews article, we reported on a federal appellate circuit split over how courts should dispose of employment discrimination suits where the plaintiff fails to file an EEOC charge within the required statutory...more
It’s hard to keep up with all the recent changes to labor and employment law. While the law always seems to evolve at a rapid pace, there have been an unprecedented number of changes for the past few years—and this past month...more
On November 6, 2018, the Supreme Court of the United States decided Mount Lemon Fire District v. Guido, No. 17-587, holding that the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) applies to States and political...more
In spite of all the controversy swirling around Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to take Justice Kennedy's seat, it’s business as usual at the United States Supreme Court as the Justices kicked off a new term on October 1....more
The Third Circuit Court of Appeals, the appeals court that has jurisdiction over federal cases in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and the U. S. Virgin Islands, recently held that a public employer violates the First...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Although back pay has been awarded in Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) cases for quite some time, few courts have specifically addressed whether these damages are discretionary or mandatory. In...more
A city employee’s comments at a public event were not protected under the First Amendment because she spoke as a public employee, not a private citizen, a federal appeals court held in Barone v. City of Springfield. However,...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Fourth Circuit revived the retaliation case of a former city employee who was terminated one day after expressing an intent to file a formal grievance against her supervisor for race-based harassment,...more
While the National Hockey League’s Capitals are in Washington D.C. celebrating their Stanley Cup win, a Prosecutor’s Office in New Jersey may be in hot water for putting an employee in the penalty box following complaints...more