The U.S. Supreme Court issued an important decision yesterday, clarifying that employees who report discrimination in response to an employer’s internal investigation are protected by the anti-retaliation provisions of Title VII.  Click here to download the case:  Crawford v. Metropolitan Government of Nashville

In Crawford, the plaintiff was interviewed as part of her employer’s investigation

Federal contractors take note:  the rule requring mandatory use of the E-Verify system has been suspended until at least February 20, 2009.  

As previously reported in the Stoel Rives World of Employment, President Bush’s executive order would make using E-Verify mandatory starting January 15, 2009 for federal contractors with projects exceeding $100,000 and for sub-contractors

Today’s New York Times is reporting that President-Elect Barack Obama will nominate California Representative Hilda Solis as his administration’s Secretary of Labor, the cabinet-level position that oversees the Department of Labor.

John Sweeney, head of the AFL-CIO (a coalition of labor unions) praised the appointment of Solis to the position.  And not without good reason: 

Earlier this month, Starbucks scored an important procedural victory from the California Court of Appeals, which ruled that a class of employees lacked standing to sue over questions the coffee chain asked on its employment applications about prior marijuana convictions.  Click here to read the opinion in Starbucks v. Superior Court

Despite the apparent

The U.S. Congress is currently considering legislation that would impose significant penalties on employers who improperly classify employees as "independent contractors" to avoid paying for benefits. 

The Employee Misclassification Prevention Act (S. 3648) was introduced in the Senate on September 29, and is sponsored by Senators Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and John Kerry (D-Mass.).