The Chartwell Chronicles: Employment Law
Managing the Size and Structure of Your Post-Pandemic Workforce
#WorkforceWednesday: OSHA ETS on Hold, Retaliation Claims Increase, "Vaccination Ambassadors" - Employment Law This Week®
Severance plans subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”) must satisfy certain compliance requirements, but federal law affords employers significant advantages in the event a...more
The Puerto Rico Supreme Court recently issued a decision reaffirming the importance of just cause for employment terminations in Puerto Rico. Méndez Ruiz v. Techno Plastics Industries, Inc., No. 2025 TSPR 68 (June 26, 2025)....more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit (covering Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Puerto Rico, and Rhode Island) recently awarded a victory to employers litigating claims “related to” certain employer-sponsored...more
Allegations of defamation and conspiracy to defame alone are insufficient to establish the crime-fraud exception and defeat the attorney-client privilege, the Illinois Appellate Court recently held. In MacDonald v....more
This month’s Friday Five explores a decision ordering an IME prior to a ruling on summary judgment motions, the extent claims reporting records can be sealed, the scope of ERISA preemption in the context of removal, and two...more
In Acuff v. Dy N Fly, LLC, four female plaintiffs sued a franchisor of hair salons (Dy N Fly), two of its franchisees, and the owner of the two franchisees for wrongful retaliatory termination and sexual harassment in the...more
In Hall v. Aetna Life Ins. Co., 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 117331 (N.D. Cal. June 23, 2021), a California district court held that an ERISA claim administrator properly terminated long-term disability (LTD) benefits after the...more
This month’s Friday Five covers recent cases addressing: (1) the validity of a judgment that includes retroactive “any occupation” benefits where no administrative determination on those benefits has been made; (2) the...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: In an unpublished yet fascinating decision, the California Court of Appeal held that ERISA § 514 preempts state law causes of action premised on wrongful disclosure of protected private health information....more
Last June I blogged about the trend of participant fee class actions moving down to smaller 401(k) Plans. Occasionally, class actions are brought based on other breaches of fiduciary duties, particularly those involving...more
A federal magistrate judge in Pennsylvania recommended that a class action complaint claiming that AlliedBarton terminated certain employees to prevent them from reaching eligibility for vacation benefits be dismissed as...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: A recent decision district court ruling affirms that in a benefit discrimination claim, just as in a typical claim of employment discrimination, to survive summary judgment a plaintiff must demonstrate that...more
A recent decision offers a not-so-friendly reminder to HR professionals and supervisory employees: you can be individually liable for FMLA violations if you review, approve, and correspond with employees regarding their FMLA...more
In Graziadio v. Culinary Institute of America, et al., 15-888-cv (2d. Cir. Mar. 17, 2016), the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reversed the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of the...more