Court Revives Suit Against Employer that Allegedly Denied Woman Promotion for Not Being Korean
Posted on Jun 11, 2018 in Employment Law and Employee Benefits | Comments Off on Court Revives Suit Against Employer that Allegedly Denied Woman Promotion for Not Being Korean
The Eleventh Circuit recently gave new life to a plaintiff’s claims of employment discrimination in Jefferson v. Sewon America, Inc., 2018 WL 2449228 (11th Cir. June 1, 2018). Jerberee Jefferson, an African-American woman, filed suit against her former employer, Sewon America, Inc., for racial discrimination and retaliatory termination. Although Jefferson began her career at Sewon...
FLSA Opt-Ins Become Party Plaintiffs Upon Filing Written Consents
Posted on Apr 23, 2018 in Employment Law and Employee Benefits | Comments Off on FLSA Opt-Ins Become Party Plaintiffs Upon Filing Written Consents
In Mickles v. Country Club Inc., 2018 WL 1835316 (11th Cir. Apr. 18, 2018), the Eleventh Circuit held, considering a question of first impression in any circuit, that filing a written consent to proceed as a party plaintiff in an FLSA collective action confers party plaintiff status on the filer, even if no collective action is certified. Mickles filed her complaint in April 2014,...
Eleventh Circuit Declines to Revisit Dreadlocks Discrimination Case En Banc
Posted on Dec 18, 2017 in Employment Law and Employee Benefits | Comments Off on Eleventh Circuit Declines to Revisit Dreadlocks Discrimination Case En Banc
Nearly a full year after issuing a revised opinion supporting an initial holding that hairstyles and other “cultural characteristics”—like dreadlocks—cannot form the basis for a Title VII claim of intentional racial discrimination, the Eleventh Circuit denied the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s petition for rehearing en banc in EEOC v. Catastrophe Management Solutions (CMS),...
Government Official Entitled to Qualified Immunity—No Clearly Established First Amendment Violation in Not Promoting Employee Based on Father’s Speech
Posted on Sep 23, 2017 in Employment Law and Employee Benefits | Comments Off on Government Official Entitled to Qualified Immunity—No Clearly Established First Amendment Violation in Not Promoting Employee Based on Father’s Speech
In last term’s decision in White v. Pauly, the Supreme Court observed that it has “issued a number of opinions reversing federal courts in qualified immunity cases” in recent years. 137 S. Ct. 548, 551 (2017). In other words, lower courts have been too quick to conclude that challenged conduct violates “clearly established federal statutory or constitutional rights” (and therefore is...
Court Rejects Plaintiff’s Claims for FLSA and Rehabilitation Act Violations
Posted on Aug 11, 2017 in Employment Law and Employee Benefits | Comments Off on Court Rejects Plaintiff’s Claims for FLSA and Rehabilitation Act Violations
This week the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the lower court’s (N.D. Ala.) decision to reject a city employee’s claims for violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), 29 U.S.C. §§ 201-219, and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (“Rehabilitation Act”), 29 U.S.C. § 794. Boyle v. City of Pell City, 2017 WL 3429383 (11th Cir. Aug. 10, 2017). Judge Fay, writing for the three- judge panel,...
“Gateway” Issue Delegation to an Arbitrator is Enforceable, Without Qualifications; Circuit Split Noted
Posted on Aug 8, 2017 in Arbitration, Class Actions, Employment Law and Employee Benefits | Comments Off on “Gateway” Issue Delegation to an Arbitrator is Enforceable, Without Qualifications; Circuit Split Noted
The Eleventh Circuit enforced an employment-related arbitration agreement’s provision delegating to the arbitrator “gateway” questions of arbitrability in Jones v. Waffle House, Inc., 866 F3d 1257 (11th Cir. Aug. 7, 2017). The opinion, written by Judge Marcus and joined by Judge Hull and Judge Clevenger visiting from the Federal Circuit, also rejects the notion, adopted by the Fifth,...