News & Analysis as of

Termination Summary Judgment Employment Litigation

Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP

Adverse employment actions require a decision maker. Make sure you have one.

Among the first questions I ask when investigating a lawsuit accusing my client of discriminatory conduct is, “Who made the decision?” The reasons are simple. First, an adverse employment action – like termination,...more

Littler

Littler Lightbulb – March 2025 Employment Appellate Roundup

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Fourth Circuit Stays Injunction Barring Enforcement of DEI Executive Orders On March 14, 2025, the Fourth Circuit issued an order in National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education v. Donald Trump, No. 25-1189...more

Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP

Judge nixes termination of NLRB member

The Board has a quorum again . . . for now. In one of his first acts after taking office, President Trump fired Gwynne Wilcox, a Democratic member of the National Labor Relations Board and former Chairman....more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

Detail Matters: Recent Court Decision Finds Insufficient Information Limits Employer Reliance on WARN Exceptions

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A federal bankruptcy court held that an employer cannot rely on the “unforeseeable business circumstances” or “faltering company” exceptions to the federal Worker Adjustment Retraining Notification (WARN) Act’s 60-day advance...more

Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP

7 strikes, and this employer is OUT!

Employer going to trial in age discrimination case. We had a blizzard last Friday (in North Carolina, 2 inches is a blizzard), and we still have ice and snow on the ground a week later. Anyway, I've had enough of winter now...more

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

Fifth Circuit Finds That Employee Failed to Provide Adequate Notice of Needing FMLA Leave

On March 19, 2024, in Cerda v. Blue Cube Operations, LLC, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed a district court’s grant of summary judgment for an employer, finding that the employee’s acts of informing...more

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

Connecticut Appellate Court Rules Employer Could Discharge Medical Marijuana User Impaired on the Job

On March 19, 2024, the Connecticut Appellate Court upheld an employer’s right to discharge an employee for being impaired on the job from medical marijuana under a state law that provides employment protections for qualified...more

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

Eleventh Circuit Upholds Ruling for Employer on ADA Claims Where Employee Submitted Noncompliant Return-to-Work Letter

On February 7, 2024, in Jones v. Georgia Ports Authority, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed a district court’s grant of summary judgment for an employer where a former employee who requested an...more

Genova Burns LLC

With Great Caution and Deference New Jersey Courts Leave Decisions Resulting From Internal Grievance Proceedings of Universities...

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On February 16, 2024, in a published decision in Chee Ng, PH.D., v. Fairleigh Dickinson University, the New Jersey Appellate Division granted summary judgment in favor of the University against a former tenured professor who...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Admission That Business Unit Was Closed Due to Employee's Disability Precludes Dismissal of ADA Claim

When advising employers about the legal risks associated with a business reorganization, we generally advise that discrimination claims are less likely when a company closes an entire facility or department as compared to...more

Perkins Coie

Arizona Court of Appeals Reinstates Retaliatory Discharge Claim Under Fair Wages and Healthy Family Act

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The Arizona Court of Appeals recently held in Papias v. Parker Fasteners LLC, No. 1 CA-CV 22-0775 (Ariz. Ct. App. Oct. 17, 2023), that a discharged employee could proceed with his retaliation claim against his former...more

Genova Burns LLC

New Jersey Appellate Division Rules Termination Of An Older Employee Is Not Always Age Discrimination

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On May 26, 2023, the New Jersey Appellate Division in Kalloo v. New York New Jersey Rail, LLC affirmed summary judgment in favor of the employer finding there was no evidence that age played any role in the termination of the...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Federal Court Rejects Claims by Employees Allegedly Fired for Wearing BLM Masks

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

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

Seventh Circuit Says Summary Judgment Stands: Evidence Does Not Support FCA Retaliation

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Yesterday, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a summary judgment decision dismissing a former employee’s False Claims Act (“FCA”) retaliation suit. Lam v. Springs Window Fashions, LLC, No. 21-2665, 2022 U.S. App....more

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

Federal Court: Employee’s Self-Serving Testimony and Discovery Responses Did Not Satisfy Burden of Proof on Summary Judgment

In Buckmaster v. The National Railroad Passenger Corp. d/b/a Amtrak, the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland addressed whether an employee had offered any evidence of discrimination or retaliation beyond his own...more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Don’t Fire Me! I’m Drug Free! It Was CBD! Indiana Court Examines Termination for Use of Hemp Oil

In our modern world of a booming CBD industry and an increasing number of states that have legalized marijuana, can you terminate an employee for a positive drug test for marijuana? What if the test shows marijuana...more

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

Employee’s Poor Performance Trumps FMLA Claim

On March 9, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit issued an employer-friendly decision in Anderson v. Nations Lending Corporation. Despite some facially bad facts - including that the employee was discharged...more

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

Consistently Inconsistent: An Example of Shifting Reasons for Employment Termination Precluding Summary Judgment

The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas recently denied an employer’s motion for summary judgment when its alleged shifting reasons for terminating the plaintiff’s employment contract raised genuine issues...more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Plaintiff’s “Paramour Preference” Plan Panned: 9th Circuit Finds Romantic Relationship Not Enough to Show Discrimination Against...

In another chapter in litigation alliteration, in Maner v. Dignity Health, f/k/a Catholic Healthcare West, the Ninth Circuit held that a male employee’s theory that his supervisor’s long-term romantic relationship with a...more

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

Notice Requirements Under the FMLA: Federal Court Reinforces Employees’ Obligations to Follow Established Notification Procedures

On June 17, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon issued an opinion and order in Munger v. Cascade Steel Rolling Mills, Inc., addressing an employee’s claims under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)...more

Saiber LLC

Court Upholds Employee’s Termination for Violating Employer’s Social Media Policy

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On March 4, 2021, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit affirmed a decision of the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania which ruled in Ellis v. Bank of New York Mellon Corp....more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Nuclear Power Company Avoids ADA Discrimination Claim Meltdown

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Seyfarth Synopsis: In Flaherty v. Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc., ___ F.3d ___, No. 18-1759, 2019 WL 7046367, at *1 (1st Cir. Dec. 23, 2019), the First Circuit struck a terminated nuclear plant security officer’s...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Sixth Circuit “Regarded As” ADA case — When Reality and Perception Collide

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Seyfarth Synopsis: The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) not only provides protection to individuals who have physical or mental impairments, but to individuals an employer may perceive to have such impairments. These...more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Stick to Your Story: Employer’s Shifting Termination Justifications Can Cause Employer to Have to Explain Its Discharge Decision...

If you want to avoid potential liability from a former employee, remember a key maxim: Stick to your story about why you made the employment decision. If an employer shifts rationales for its decision or tries to pile on by...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Fourth Circuit Sets Low Bar for Discrimination Claim to Survive

An African-American employee comes into work early one day, with plans to leave earlier than originally scheduled. When he is informed that his vehicle is being serviced and is not immediately available, he blows up at the...more

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