» Case Commentary

Fourth Circuit Rules for Sexual Harassment Victim

The Fourth Circuit has issued another good decision in favor of employees who are sexually harassed in EEOC v. Fairbrook Medical Clinic. This case involves a family medicine practice in Hickory, North Carolina. Here’s the summary: “The Eq… Read More
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Supreme Court Rules on Arbitration Issues for Unions and Employees in Two Cases

Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court issued two decisions concerning whether particular issues had to be decided by an arbitrator or in federal court. One care arose in the traditional area of labor arbitration between companies and unions; the second a… Read More
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NC Court of Appeals Upholds Jury Verdict for Employee to Collect Earned Bonuses

Earlier this month, the North Carolina Court of Appeals issued Kornegay v. Aspen Asset Group LLC, an interesting case that raises and decides some key issues under the North Carolina Wage and Hour Act (NCWHA). At issue was whether the employee-plaint… Read More
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Supreme Court Rules on 2-Member Labor Board and Workplace Privacy

[Two labor and employment decisions were released by the U.S. Supreme Court this past week. In the first, City of Ontario v. Quon, the Court unanimously held (with Scalia concurring separately) that the government employer’s search of employee… Read More
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Ninth Circuit Rejects Tip-Pooling Claims of Servers Making More than Minimum Wage Before Tips

In a case that appears to one of first impression at the federal appellate level, the Ninth Circuit ruled in Cumbie v. Woody Woo, Inc., that there are no tip-pooling claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for restaurant employees who are pa… Read More
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NC Court of Appeals on Workplace Infliction of Emotional Distress Claims

In an unpublished decision last month, the North Carolina Court of Appeals issued Crocker v. Griffin, a case that touched on emotional distress claims in the workplace setting. In the case, four plaintiffs brought suit against their employer because… Read More
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Two Employment Decisions from the Supreme Court

On May 24, the Supreme Court issued two employment-related opinions. The first, Lewis v. Chicago, concerned the filing deadline for disparate impact discrimination cases under Title VII. The black firefighter plaintiffs in the case sought to challeng… Read More
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NC Court of Appeals Cases on REDA and Appellate Procedure

Two opinions of note were issued by the North Carolina Court of Appeals yesterday. The first, Beard v. Cumberland County Hospital System, concerns North Carolina’s Retaliatory Employment Discrimination Act (REDA). REDA prohibits discrimination… Read More
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Fourth Circuit Rules for Plaintiff in Significant Gender Discrimination Opinion

The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals recently issued a ringing opinion for employees in Merritt v. Old Dominion Freight Lines, a gender discrimination case until Title VII. The Court’s discussion of gender discrimination, sex stereotyping, and a… Read More
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NC Court of Appeals Concludes Unexpected Injury Not Covered by Workers' Compensation

The North Carolina Court of Appeals recently issued an interesting opinion in Gray v. RDU Airport Authority. In the case, the plaintiff — a traffic control officer — was directing traffic in front of the airport terminals when he stepped… Read More
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