Employment Discrimination « Virginia Lawyers Weekly

No Fee Award for Winning Employer

By Deborah Elkins
Published: February 1, 2012
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Employment Discrimination, Judge Henry F. Floyd

Although an employer won a judgment on a jury verdict in this Title VII sexual harassment suit alleging complaints by a waitress, the district court did not err in denying the employer’s motion for attorney’s fees; the EEOC’s case survived dispositive motions, and the 4th Circuit upholds the district court finding that the EEOC’s position [...]

No Derivative Jurisdiction in Title VII Suit

By Deborah Elkins
Published: January 26, 2012
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Employment Discrimination, Judge Paul V. Niemeyer

The 4th Circuit upholds dismissal of this Title VII race discrimination suit filed by an African-American who was dismissed from the federal air marshal training program; the U.S. did not consent to be sued in North Carolina state court and removal of the suit to federal court, under the doctrine of derivative jurisdiction, did not [...]

Partial Waiver of Immunity on ADA Claim

By Deborah Elkins
Published: January 17, 2012
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Employment Discrimination, Judge Robert B. King

A school board employee in Maryland can sue the board under the Americans with Disabilities Act for an alleged failure to accommodate her hearing disability, as the state has waived its 11th Amendment immunity for claims of $100,000 or less; the 4th Circuit upholds the district court decision allowing the claim to go forward.
The district [...]

Rule 11 Threats Led to Higher Fees

By Deborah Elkins
Published: January 10, 2012
Tags: Employment Discrimination, Judge Dennis Dohnal, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

In this suit in which an African-American boat painter won damages for retaliation by a boatyard owner who shared with other area boatyard owners the painter’s EEOC charge, filed after the painter’s termination, the Richmond U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge who tried the case awards plaintiff attorney’s fees of $59,116.67 and costs of $3,322.59.
Earlier the [...]

No ADA Suit for Cancer Patient

By Deborah Elkins
Published: December 15, 2011
Tags: Employment Discrimination, Judge Gerald Bruce Lee, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

An account executive for a company that provided contract executive-director services for small and medium-sized associations has not alleged a prima facie case of disability discrimination against the company for its termination of her after she asked to take three weeks of accrued leave for cancer treatment, says an Alexandria U.S. District Court; the company [...]

Title VII Suit OK After § 1983 Claim

By Deborah Elkins
Published: December 13, 2011
Tags: Employment Discrimination, Judge Gerald Bruce Lee, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

A female firefighter’s Title VII claim for hostile environment and employment discrimination by the county fire department is not barred by res judicata just because the Alexandria U.S. District Court dismissed plaintiff’s earlier suit alleging sexual harassment and employment discrimination; the court denies defendant’s motion to dismiss because the transactions involved in plaintiff’s previous § [...]

Retaliation Claim Dismissed Against Company

By Deborah Elkins
Published: December 13, 2011
Tags: Employment Discrimination, Judge Leonie Brinkema, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

A former IBM employee who has filed a pro se suit alleging she was “hounded” out of subsequent employment in retaliation for her relationship with a supervisor, causing her to miscarry a pregnancy, has failed to state any allegations that can support continuation of her lawsuit, and the Alexandria U.S. District Court dismisses the suit.
Because [...]

‘Notice’ provision not triggered by draft legal complaint

By Deborah Elkins
Published: December 5, 2011
Tags: Employment Discrimination, Federal Courts, Judge Barbara Milano Keenan, Judge Norman K. Moon

An employer did not forfeit coverage for an employment discrimination suit when it waited until a legal complaint hit the court to notify the carrier.
The insurance company, Philadelphia Indemnity, refused to defend the eventual suit. It said the employer had an obligation to report the employee’s accusations after the employer had been contacted by [...]

Coworker Conflict Not ‘Hostile Environment’

By Deborah Elkins
Published: November 30, 2011
Tags: Employment Discrimination, Judge Robert G. Doumar, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

An African-American female administrative employee of the Portsmouth City Assessor’s office has not stated a claim for hostile environment under Title VII with allegations that her two African-American female coworkers referred to her skin color as “yellow” and “red” and called her a “wannabe white girl,” and the Norfolk U.S. District Court dismisses plaintiff’s discrimination [...]

No Discrimination Claim for Chemotherapy Patient

By Deborah Elkins
Published: November 30, 2011
Tags: Employment Discrimination, Judge Liam O'Grady, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Defendant federal agency and supervisors win summary judgment in this suit filed by an African-American female employee who alleges defendants violated Title VII and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 by requesting certain medical documentation during plaintiff’s nine-month work absence from her job as a wastewater treatment operator and by refusing to grant her certain accommodations [...]

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