Justia Labor & Employment Law Opinion Summaries

Plaintiff, a former agent of the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation brought this action alleging wrongful discharge in violation of public policy. The Supreme Court dismissed the common-law wrongful discharge claim. Plaintiff filed a motion to amend findings and conclusions under Iowa R. Civ. P. 1.904(2), which the district court denied. Plaintiff appealed. Plaintiff’s application for leave to appeal was filed more than thirty days after the district court’s order but within thirty days of the court’s denial of Plaintiff’s Rule 1.904(2) motion. The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal, holding that Plaintiff’s appeal was untimely. View "Hedlund v. State" on Justia Law

Tina Lee filed suit against the State, alleging a violation of her rights under the self-care provision of the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). In October 2007, the district court entered judgment in favor of Lee and awarded her money damages and attorney fees and costs. In March 2008, the district court ordered the State to pay Lee attorney fees and costs she incurred between October 2007 and February 2008. The Supreme Court reversed. On remand, the district court ordered the State to reinstate Lee and pay her lost wages and benefits from the date of the October 2007 judgment. The district court then ordered the State to pay Lee the attorney fees and costs she was entitled to in its October 2007 and March 2008 orders and to cover the attorney fees and costs Lee incurred between February 2008 and June 2014. The Supreme Court reversed, holding (1) sovereign immunity bars awards of attorney fees and costs incurred in seeking retroactive monetary relief in actions brought against state officials under Ex parte Young to remedy violations of the self-care provision of the FMLA; but (2) state sovereign immunity does not bar awards of attorney fees and costs incurred in seeking prospective relief in such actions. View "Lee v. State" on Justia Law

Plaintiff, who was employed as an engineer and paramedic for the City of Clinton fire department, requested light-duty assignments when she became pregnant. The fire chief denied Plaintiff’s request, determining that she was not entitled to light duty under the city administrative policy because she did not have a disabling injury that occurred on the job. When Plaintiff’s pregnancy had advanced, she took a leave of absence by using accrued vacation and sick leave time. Once she exhausted the vacation and sick leave, her leave of absence was unpaid. After Plaintiff gave birth, she brought a lawsuit against the City of Clinton and three of its employees, alleging pregnancy discrimination under Iowa Code 216.6(2) and violations of her equal protection and due process rights under the Iowa Constitution. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of Defendants. The Supreme Court affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded, holding (1) the Court’s test for the evaluation of pregnancy discrimination claims is hereby adapted in this opinion; and (2) the material facts of this case do not support equal protection and due process claims under the Iowa Constitution. Remanded for consideration of the statutory civil rights claim under the new standard. View "McQuistion v. City of Clinton" on Justia Law

Employee strained his back while working for Employer. Two years later, Employer notified Employee that it would no longer pay for his medical care, believing that the two-year statute of limitations for workers’ compensation benefits had expired. Employee sought benefits from the Iowa Workers’ Compensation Commission. The deputy commissioner ruled that the two-year statute of limitations in Iowa Code 85.26 barred Employee’s claim and that, even though Employee filed a workers’ compensation proceeding within thirty days after receiving the notice from Employer, the discovery rule did not apply in this case. The district court reversed. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the discovery rule applied under the circumstances presented in this case. View "Baker v. Bridgestone/Firestone" on Justia Law

Dennis Smith was formerly employed by the College of Engineering at Iowa State University (ISU), where he was “subjected to wrongful conduct for an extended period of time in a job he had held for nearly a decade.” Smith filed suit against ISU and the State, alleging, inter alia, that he suffered retaliation for reporting managerial misconduct to ISU’s president. After a jury trial, Smith recovered $500,000 for intentional infliction of emotional distress and $784,027 under a whistleblowing statute. The court of appeals affirmed the intentional infliction of emotional distress award but set aside the statutory whistleblowing award, finding that Smith had failed to prove a causal relationship between his disclosures to the president and any actions of reprisal taken against him. The Supreme Court (1) affirmed the jury’s emotional distress award, holding that Defendants’ conduct toward Smith was outrageous and that the verdict was not excessive; and (2) reduced, but did not set aside, the district court’s award of damages under the whistleblowing statute, where the evidence supported the finding that Smith suffered retaliation for reporting managerial misconduct but where Smith’s loss of his job was not causally linked to his discussion with ISU’s president. View "Smith v. Iowa State Univ. of Sci. & Tech." on Justia Law

Plaintiffs, fourteen African-Americans, brought a class action suit against the State, including thirty-seven different executive branch departments, under the Federal Civil Rights Act and the Iowa Civil Rights Act. In their complaint, Plaintiffs alleged that the State unlawfully discriminates against African Americans in employment. The district court entered judgment in favor of the State. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that Plaintiffs did not meet their burden of establishing that the underlying documents did not provide sufficient information to allow employment practices to be separated for meaningful statistical analysis, and therefore, Defendant was entitled to summary judgment under the Iowa Civil Rights Act.View "Pippen v. State" on Justia Law

John Goodpaster worked as a customer service manager for Schwan’s Home Service, Inc., the largest home delivery frozen foods company in the nation, at Schwan’s Des Moines location. Goodpaster’s duty was to sell and deliver company products, and a basic requirement of Goodpaster’s job was that he drive a commercial vehicle. When Goodpaster began experiencing medical problems, his sales began to decrease, and he was eventually terminated. Goodpaster sued Schwan’s under the Iowa Civil Rights Act (ICRA) for disability discrimination and retaliation, claiming his employment was terminated because he had multiple sclerosis. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of Schwan’s. The Supreme Court reversed, holding (1) multiple sclerosis is a disability contemplated by the ICRA; and (2) a genuine issue of material fact existed regarding whether Goodpaster was qualified to perform the essential functions of his position. Remanded. View "Goodpaster v. Schwan's Home Serv., Inc." on Justia Law

AFSCME Iowa Council 61, which represents certain State employees in collective bargaining, entered into negotiations with the State regarding its 2013-2015 collective bargaining agreement. The State proposed deleting certain contract provisions from the existing contract that addressed outsourcing of work performed by public employees. AFCME disputed the State’s classification of this provision as a permissive bargaining subject, arguing that the provision was a procedure for staff reduction and therefore a mandatory subject of bargaining. The Iowa Public Employment Relations Board (“PERB”) concluded that the predominate purpose of the proposal was to designate a process for implementing a staff reduction due to outsourcing, and therefore, the proposal was subject to mandatory bargaining. The district court reversed. The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part, holding (1) to the extent the primary purpose of the proposal was to preclude the State from reducing staff in response to outsourcing, it was a permissive rather than a mandatory subject of bargaining; but (2) if, on remand, PERB determined that the State was permitted to reduce employment resulting from outsourcing, then the proposal may be found to be a mandatory subject of bargaining. View "AFSCME Iowa Council 61 v. State, Dep't of Admin. Servs." on Justia Law

After taking self-care leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), Plaintiff was terminated from her employment with the State. A jury found the State terminated Plaintiff in violation of her rights under the FMLA. The district court awarded Plaintiff money damages and ordered the State to reinstate Plaintiff to her former position. The State appealed and successfully requested a stay of Plaintiff’s reinstatement pending the outcome of the appeal. The Supreme Court subsequently held that sovereign immunity precluded Plaintiff’s judgment for money damages against the State. On remand, the district court once again ordered Plaintiff reinstated and awarded lost wages and benefits from the date of the original reinstatement order, concluding that the State had waived its sovereign immunity by seeking a stay of the reinstatement order and promising to pay Plaintiff’s interim wages and benefits if the Court affirmed the original order. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) Plaintiff’s pleadings were sufficient to preserve her right to Ex parte Young remedies, and the parties litigated the reinstatement remedy by consent; and (2) the Eleventh Amendment to the U.S. Constitution does not bar an award of wages and benefits for the period during which a reinstatement order was stayed. View "Lee v. State" on Justia Law

In 2005, James House began working as a commercial truck driver for Mike Brooks, Inc. In 2007, House slipped and fell in any icy parking lot while retrieving cargo and injured his back. House returned to work but experienced regular back pain after doing so. In 2008, House pushed open a heavy door and experienced an increase in pain and a burning sensation in the area of his 2007 back injury. House filed a petition for workers’ compensation benefits. A deputy commissioner found House had sustained a permanent total disability (PTD) and rejected Brooks’ contention that the 2008 incident resulted in an injury distinct from the 2007 injury. The commissioner affirmed the award of PTD benefits, including the finding that House’s injury and resulting PTD were caused by the 2007 incident. The district court affirmed. The court of appeals reversed, concluding that the commissioner’s finding of causation was not supported by substantial evidence. The Supreme Court vacated the court of appeals and affirmed the district court’s decision, holding that substantial evidence supported the causation finding made by the commissioner. View "Mike Brooks, Inc. v. House" on Justia Law