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Labor & Employment Law

Washington Labor, Employment & Employee Benefits Law

Current Events in Labor, Employment, and Employee Benefits Law in Seattle, Washington and across the United States.
By Donald W. Heyrich

Post Frequency: 1.8/day

Last Entry: June 18, 2009 at 17:37:06

Eighth Circuit Enforces ?But For? Burden of Proof in ADEA Case

Posted on June 18, 2009
In an Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) action claiming a wrongful demotion, the lower court had instructed the jury to enter a verdict for the plaintiff if he proved, by a preponderance of the evidence, that he was demoted...

FMLA Protection for Part-timers?

Posted on May 22, 2009
This week the Indiana Supreme Court held that an employee f illing multiple positions with the same employer is eligible for leave under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act if that employee?s total service is sufficient to qualify -...

Jurors? Use of the Web Causing Problems at Trial

Posted on March 31, 2009
A major rise in the use of handheld devices such as the Blackberry and iPhone is becoming a problem in courtrooms across the country. A mistrial was recently declared in a major criminal drug trial in federal district court in...

Surge in Age Discrimination Claims

Posted on March 12, 2009
The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (?EEOC?) is set to release information shortly that will reveal a sharp rise in the number of age-discrimination claims filed with the agency. According to the EEOC, the number of age-discrimination allegations made by...

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Supreme Court Affirms Primacy of ERISA Plan Documents

Posted on January 30, 2009
In a unanimous decision, the U.S. Supreme Court that an ERISA plan???s specific procedure for designating beneficiaries controls over other instruments that may conflict with it. In the case, Kennedy v. Plan Administrator for the DuPont Savings & Investment Plan,...

CONGRESS NULLIFIES SUPREME COURT RULING BY EXTENDING TIME TO SUE FOR EQUAL PAY

Posted on January 29, 2009
President Barack Obama signed an equal-pay bill into law Thursday before cheering labor and women leaders who fought hard for it and the woman whose history-making lawsuit gave impetus to the cause. Obama, choosing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act...

Supreme Court Ruling Protects Employees Against Retaliation For Assisting Internal Sexual Harassment Investigations

Posted on January 27, 2009
An employee is protected from being fired in retaliation for answering questions during an employer's investigation of suspected sexual harassment, the Supreme Court ruled on Monday, January 26, 2009. The unanimous court ruled the federal civil rights law's anti-retaliation provision...

Court Hears Breach of Contract Case

Posted on January 16, 2009
In Duncan v. Alaska USA Federal Credit Union, Inc., Division I of the Washington Court of Appeals reversed the lower court???s granting of summary judgment and ruled that genuine issues of material fact existed regarding Duncan???s breach of contract and...

The Employee Free Choice Act

Posted on January 15, 2009
With the Obama administration set to take office, the most significant change in employment law on the horizon is the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), a bill that passed in the House of Representatives in 2007 but was filibustered in...

Legal Update: ADA Amendments Act of 2008

Posted on January 13, 2009
On September 25, 2008, new federal legislation was signed that expands the scope of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Known as the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (the ???ADAAA???), the amendments reverse or nullify several Supreme Court rulings that significantly...

Is ???Boot-Up??? Time Compensable?

Posted on January 05, 2009
Have you ever been frustrated by the length of time it takes for your computer to boot up? In light of recent lawsuits, some employers may be, as well. According to an article in the National Law Journal there has...

Is ?Boot-Up? Time Compensable?

A Primer on Unemployment Benefits

Posted on December 01, 2008
In view of the rapidly deteriorating economy, a brief primer on unemployment benefits seems timely. Unemployment insurance provides partial wage replacement to unemployed workers while they look for new work. Unemployment insurance is administered by each of the fifty states,...

Full Disclosure

Posted on November 14, 2008
The incoming administration of President-Elect Obama is exercising unprecedented???and some say unwarranted???scrutiny on job applicants. Individuals applying for jobs in the Obama administration are being asked to complete a seven-page questionnaire that asks a wide variety of questions, covering topics...

Trade Secrets in the NFL?

Posted on October 24, 2008
The intersection of law and professional athletics is often an interesting topic (e.g., why doesn???t Major League Baseball violate the Sherman Act?). Employment law is no exception. In recent days, former Green Bay Packer quarterback Brett Favre has come under...

EEOC Update guidance to conform with Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments of 2008

Posted on October 22, 2008
The EEOC???s update to its guidance entitled "The Americans with Disabilities Act: Applying Performance and Conduct Standards to Employees with Disabilities" makes clear that employees with disabilities must meet job-related qualifications standards that are consistent with business necessity, and must...

New Federal Law Requires Equal Coverage for Mental Illnesses

Posted on October 16, 2008
A new law quietly passed as part of the recent economic bailout package that requires insurance coverage to be equal for mental and physical illnesses. Health plans commonly provide less, or different, coverage for mental illness and addiction disorders than...

Confusion Surrounds Government Curbs on Executive Compensation

Posted on October 14, 2008
There has been a great deal of discussion recently on the need to address the widely-perceived problem of executive overcompensation. The recent financial meltdown on Wall Street has intensified this discussion. The federal government recently indicated that banks that accept...

Aviation Company Settles Whistleblower Suit on Air Safety Concerns

Posted on October 13, 2008
A Seattle area contractor to Alaska Airlines recently settled a whistleblower case related to airline safety concerns for $30 thousand. American Power, based in Auburn, WA, settled with a former employee who was laid off after accusing the company of...

PRO SE PLAINTIFF MAY NOT PURSUE CLAIMS IN A REPRESENTATIVE CAPACITY ON BEHALF OF AN ERISA PLAN

Posted on October 10, 2008
In an ERISA case alleging breach of fiduciary duty by a plan administrator, motion to dismiss is affirmed by the Ninth Circuit where even a plan's sole beneficiary cannot, on behalf of an ERISA plan, bring a pro se action...

New Law Expands Protection Under the ADA

Posted on September 25, 2008
With his father looking on, President George W. Bush today signed into law a bill expanding protection under the Americans With Disabilities Act. The ADA was originally signed into law by the first President Bush in 1990, and he considered...

Transsexual Wins Sex Discrimination Lawsuit Against Federal Government

Posted on September 24, 2008
A former Army Special Forces commander who was denied a job as a terrorism analyst won a sex discrimination lawsuit against the federal government last week because he was in the process of changing genders. U.S. District Judge James Robinson...

Former Vice Principal at Seattle High School Prevails in Sexual Harassment Suit

Posted on September 12, 2008
A former vice principal at Ballard High School in Seattle, WA was awarded over $600 thousand in damages following a jury trial in King County Superior Court based on allegations that she was subjected to sexual harassment. The former vice...

ADEA Permits Retaliation Claims Against a Federal Employer

Posted on September 12, 2008
Terry Whitman was employed by the Federal Aviation Administration as a Flight Data Specialist. He sued the FAA for violations of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (???ADEA???), 29 U.S.C. ?? 633a et seq. when it promoted a student intern...

Ledbetter Speaks at the Democratic National Convention

Posted on August 29, 2008
Legal decisions issued by the federal courts, and particularly the U.S. Supreme Court, frequently have a political dimension. With each election, one or both major political parties frequently invoke such cases for political purposes. In this election cycle, one case...

Former Pierce County Prosecutor Wins Jury Award

Posted on August 20, 2008
A former prosecutor for Pierce County, Washington was awarded over $3 million last week, after a jury found that she had been wrongfully terminated in January 2004. The prosecutor, Barbara Corey, was a 20-year veteran of the prosecutor???s office. After...

Retaliation is not OK under FMLA

Posted on August 18, 2008
In a recent Six Circuit case, the employer-appellant???s contention that the Family Medical Leave Act does not prohibit retaliation against an employee who takes FMLA leave was rejected by the court. Plaintiff-Appellee Martha Bryant prevailed in a jury trial on...

Here is a report on recent jury verdicts in employment lawsuits

Posted on July 29, 2008
VERDICTS IN FAVOR OF EMPLOYEES A jury in Ohio awarded a whopping $47 million to an employee in an age discrimination case. The employee alleged that he was fired after he refused to fire three older workers because of concerns...

Compensatory Damages For Pain and Suffering Not Available Under ADEA

Posted on July 28, 2008
In a recent case, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals reaffirmed that damages for emotional distress are not available to an employee suing under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. In this particular case, the court held that the employee...

Washington Public Lands Commissioner Addresses Sexual Harassment Allegations

Posted on July 17, 2008
Washington???s public lands commissioner, Doug Sutherland, is in political hot water after documents recently surfaced showing that he inappropriately touched a new female employee in his own department. Public records show that in January 2005, Sutherland touched the young woman???s...

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