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®
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
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
On June 17, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued Kean v. Brinker International, Inc., an opinion that reverses summary judgment for the employer and sends a former Chili’s general manager’s Age...more
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
Plaintiff brought action in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia after being terminated by Defendant without receiving pre-adverse notice, in violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)....more
At an emergency hearing this morning in National Treasury Employees Union v. Vought, Judge Amy Berman Jackson once again halted the layoffs of over 1,000 employees at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The judge...more
It was reported last night that the CFPB had laid off about 90% of its staff. This came on the heels of the CFPB providing each of its employees with its 2025 Supervisory and Enforcement Priorities which calls for a much...more
The Tennessee Supreme Court has recently held that there is no legal claim for wrongful discharge where an employer terminates an employee because the employee exercised a right set forth in the state Constitution. The...more
A Performance Improvement Plan (“PIP”) is a long-standing HR tool for managing underperforming employees. Employers often use a PIP to document deficiencies and outline specific goals the underperforming employee must reach...more
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
In December 2024, the Court of Appeal for Ontario released its highly anticipated decision in Dufault v. Ignace (Township). The three-judge panel determined that the “for cause” termination clause contained in the employee’s...more
The Family and Medical Leave Act provides unpaid job-protected leave for a qualified employee to care for a spouse, parent, or child with a serious health condition. This means that FMLA protections do not extend to employee...more
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals recently issued a significant decision regarding the interpretation of the mysterious “in loco parentis” relationships under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Chapman v. Brentlinger...more
Wilds v. 1959612 Ontario Inc., 2024 ONSC 3452, involves a wrongful dismissal action in which the employee brought a motion for summary judgment. The court found the termination provisions in her employment agreement were...more
The Court of Appeal for Ontario found that settlement documents signed after an employee separated from employment prevented him from suing for the value of vested stock options....more
The arbitration award stemmed from the pro se complaint of Joseph Ruzindana for wrongful termination against his former employer, FCA US. In the arbitration, Ruzindana claimed that he was harassed and discriminated against by...more
Marshall v. Mercantile Exchange Corporation, 2024 CanLII 71128 (ONSC), is an action for wrongful dismissal where the employee claimed he could not mitigate his damages by seeking alternative employment indefinitely because...more
In De Castro v. Arista Homes Limited, 2024 ONSC 1035, Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice (Court) held the termination provision in an employment contract was unenforceable because it defined “cause” more broadly than does...more
Last month, we reported on a decision from the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals (which includes Tennessee) concluding that an employee’s asthma did not constitute a protected disability under the Americans with Disabilities...more
Last week’s decision by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, Morgan v. Allison Crane & Rigging LLC, stands as a reminder to employers to exercise caution in how they navigate accommodating employees with temporary medical...more
North Carolina is an at-will employment state, but recognizes a limited exception from that rule for terminations that violate the state’s public policy. Courts have wrestled for years over the meaning of public policy and...more
In Croke v. VuPoint System Ltd., 2024 ONCA 354, the Court of Appeal for Ontario (OCA) upheld the Superior Court of Justice – Ontario (SCJ)’s summary judgment decision that an employee’s refusal to comply with their employer’s...more
The Court of Appeal for Ontario (OCA) recently held that an employee may be awarded aggravated damages for an employer’s bad-faith conduct during the employee’s dismissal even in the absence of medical evidence identifying a...more
In Egan v. Harbour Air Seaplanes LLP, 2024 BCCA 222, the British Columbia Court of Appeal (BCCA) upheld a lower court’s decision that a termination clause in an employment agreement was enforceable because it was neither...more
The Ontario Court of Appeal recently held that an employee’s failure to meet COVID-19 vaccination requirements imposed by a third party amounted to frustration of the employment contract. As a result, there was no obligation...more