Employers in the Ninth Circuit (which includes Washington, Oregon, California, Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Arizona, and Hawai’i) can no longer justify pay differentials between male and female employees based upon employees’ prior compensation. In an April 9, 2018 decision, Rizo v. Yovino, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals overruled prior Circuit law to hold that … Continue Reading
We are confident that employers already take employee reports of potentially unlawful activity seriously. Such internal reports can help employers investigate and eliminate unlawful conduct in the workplace. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that retaliating against an employee for making an internal report of potentially unlawful activity—not a report to an external … Continue Reading
Meghan M. Kelly also contributed to this post. In an unpublished opinion in Conitz v. Teck Alaska Inc. the Ninth Circuit held that an Alaska Native corporation’s shareholder employment preference was not facially discriminatory because it was based on shareholder status, not racial status. Teck employee Gregg Conitz works at the Red Dog Mine, … Continue Reading
A Ninth Circuit panel ruled yesterday in Sanders v. City of Newport that when an employer opts to not restore an employee who was on FMLA leave to her former position, that the burden falls on the employer to demonstrate that such action was justified. In Sanders, the plaintiff, a billing clerk, started feeling ill … Continue Reading
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday held in Lopez v. Pacific Maritime Association that an employer’s one-strike drug testing policy for applicants does not violate the Americans With Disabilities Act (“ADA”). The one-strike policy in question stated that the company would never hire any applicant who tested positive on a pre-employment drug screening. All applicants were … Continue Reading
In Collins v. Gee West Seattle, LLC, a three member Ninth Circuit panel held 2-1 that employees who receive notice of a plant closing, but stop returning to work before the plant closing takes effect, have not “voluntarily departed” under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN). In Collins, the employer announced to its employees in … Continue Reading
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled recently that an independent contractor may assert a disability claim against an employer under the Rehabilitation Act. Click the link to read the opinion on Fleming v. Yuma Regional Medical Center. The Rehabilitation Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in programs conducted by Federal agencies, in programs receiving … Continue Reading
Yesterday the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision that allows the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to continue investigating allegations of employment discrimination, and even to issue subpoenas to employers, after issuing a right-to-sue letter to the employee who filed the initial complaint. Click here to read the Ninth Circuit decision in … Continue Reading
A recent case should strike fear into the hearts of all upper-level managers and human resources professionals: in Boucher v. Shaw, the Ninth Circuit ruled that individual managers were liable for their subordinates’ unpaid wages, even though the employer company filed for bankruptcy. In Boucher, a group of former casino employees sued the CEO, CFO and … Continue Reading
Do California wage and hour laws – including their daily and weekly overtime provisions – apply to non-residents who occasionally perform work in California? Yes, according to a decision from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals earlier this month. Click here to read the court’s decision in Sullivan v. Oracle Corp. In Sullivan, Oracle sent employees … Continue Reading
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals earlier this week certified a question to the Washington Supreme Court, seeking that court’s help in defining "disability" under the Washington Law Against Discrimination (WLAD). Two years ago, in McClarty v. Totem Electric, 137 P.3d 844 (2006), the Washington Supreme Court significantly narrowed the definition of "disability" under the WLAD. In 2007, … Continue Reading
Plaintiffs suing their employers under the Family and Medical Leave Act ("FMLA") may recover lost wages, but they may not recover emotional distress damages. What if an employee misses work because of emotional distress that is caused by a wrongful denial of FMLA leave? The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled that such damages … Continue Reading
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled that a Spokane hospital could not lawfully prohibit nurses from wearing union buttons in areas where they only "might" encounter patients or family members. Health care employers should review their uniform policies to make sure union insignia and other political buttons and stickers are only prohibited in … Continue Reading
