Where the bankruptcy code prohibits a private employer from terminating an employee “solely because” that individual has filed for bankruptcy, and the employee alleged he was terminated after his employer decided his bankruptcy made him a liability, the claim survived ...

Tagged with: Employment Judge Thomas T. Cullen U.S. District Court - Western District

The Supreme Court of Virginia has reversed the early dismissal of a lawsuit against two church bodies accused of negligent hiring and retention of a pastor who – after his official retirement – allegedly molested a 13-year-old girl. The lawsuit ...

Tagged with: Employment Justice Stephen R. McCullough Negligence Negligent hiring Supreme Court of Virginia

If a messenger slips and falls on the sidewalk while delivering a business document to a person working at home, is the subsequent claim covered by the person’s homeowners insurance policy? With the COVID-19 pandemic causing more people to work ...

Tagged with: COVID-19 Employment Insurance Remote work

The seeds of this article were planted during a discussion about the overwhelming number of meetings via videoconferencing. To be fair, it has been impressive what businesses have done to rapidly pivot during this pandemic. For the remote worker, we’ve ...

Tagged with: Coronavirus COVID-19 Employment Remote work

Where the former Virginia Tech employee’s hostile work environment claim ultimately relied on a single instance where her male supervisor “pinched and played with his nipple in a suggestive manner” during a meeting, the alleged incident was not sufficiently severe ...

Tagged with: Civil Rights Employment Judge Thomas T. Cullen U.S. District Court - Western District

When insurgents stormed the U.S. Capitol building Jan. 6, many posted about the experience on their social media channels with some even livestreaming the event. The fallout from their actions, however, was swift. Not only were some arrested on federal ...

Tagged with: Employment Social Media

Telecommuting rose dramatically last spring as employers adapted to the COVID-19 pandemic and government guidance by directing employees to work from home if their jobs allowed. As the lengthy duration of the pandemic became clearer, some of these employees began ...

Tagged with: COVID-19 Employment Pandemic telecommuting

Where former Capital One employees agreed in their severance agreements to not file a collective action, but then did so, Capital One’s breach of contract counterclaim may proceed because it plausibly alleged it suffered damages from having to defend the ...

Tagged with: Employment Judge M. Hannah Lauck U.S. District Court - Eastern District

In a case of first impression, a private party is entitled to assert the good-faith defense to liability under § 1983. As such, unions that collected representation fees from nonunion teachers prior to the Supreme Court holding such fees were ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Employment Judge Robert B. King

Where two executives are owed money under severance agreements, they failed to show that a new company that purchased their employer’s assets is responsible for the payments because the facts showed the new entity was not a continuation of the ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Employment