Restrictive covenants often rise or fall at the preliminary injunction stage. A Pennsylvania appellate decision shows how two common drafting mistakes can derail an employer’s attempt to enforce a nonsolicitation agreement. TL;DR: The Pennsylvania Superior Court affirmed denial of a preliminary injunction against departing wealth advisors where the trial court…
Some employment cases hinge on timing, comparators, or complicated workplace dynamics. This one was simpler. A resident skipped work for a job interview and then sent what his supervisors viewed as a contemptuous email when asked about it. TL;DR: The Sixth Circuit affirmed summary judgment for a medical residency program…
Some employment cases turn on close calls, messy comparators, or shaky documentation. This one turned on something simpler: an employee who admitted to a string of workplace misconduct and still tried to turn the termination into a discrimination, retaliation, and hostile-work-environment case. TL;DR: An Illinois federal court granted summary judgment…
Employers that rely on arbitration agreements should pay attention to a recent Sixth Circuit decision. One plausible sexual-harassment claim can keep an entire lawsuit in court—even claims that would otherwise go to arbitration. TL;DR: The Sixth Circuit held that when a complaint plausibly alleges a sexual-harassment dispute, the Ending…
For nearly a decade, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said denying a transgender employee access to the restroom matching that employee’s gender identity violated Title VII. Last month, the agency reversed course. Private employers should read the fine print before changing anything. TL;DR: Last month, the EEOC ruled that…
That escalated quickly. A university fired its HR director and asked him to return his work laptop. He refused for months. Campus police eventually obtained a felony arrest warrant. When the former employee finally showed up with the laptop, officers arrested him. He then sued for retaliation. TL;DR: The U.S.…
Sometimes the accommodation request itself tells the whole story. In a recent Fourth Circuit Rehabilitation Act decision, a federal air marshal asked to stay in a ground-based role permanently after medical conditions prevented her from flying. But in doing so, she also acknowledged that she could not perform the…
One employee tried exactly that. The Seventh Circuit explained why it didn’t work. TL;DR: An employee failed to return to work after her approved leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) expired. After the employer terminated her for failing to return, she attempted to retroactively report several…
Can an employee secretly rack up overtime and sue for it later? The Fifth Circuit says not without proof that the employer knew or should have known about those hours. TL;DR: The Fifth Circuit affirmed a defense verdict in a Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) overtime case because the employee…
Some employers try. The Fourth Circuit just explained why that trick doesn’t work for these federal discrimination claims. TL;DR: The Fourth Circuit held that employers cannot contractually shorten the time employees have to file discrimination lawsuits under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) or the…