Justia Labor & Employment Law Opinion Summaries

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgments of the trial court and court of appeals that summary judgment was proper in this whistleblower case, holding that Plaintiff's allegations related to a University of Kentucky (UK) internal administrative regulation and did not constitute a disclosure protected by the Kentucky Whistleblower Act (KWA).Plaintiff, a trauma surgeon and tenured professor of surgery, initiated this action against UK alleging claims under the KWA. The trial court granted summary judgment for UK, concluding that Plaintiff failed to qualify for whistleblower protection under Ky. Rev. Stat. 61.102. The court of appeals affirmed. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that Plaintiff's allegations related to UK's administrative regulation AR 3:14 was not a disclosure protected by the KWA, and Plaintiff's other identified communications did not meet the KWA's requirements. View "Kearney v. University of Kentucky" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the order of the Board vacating an order of the administrative law judge (ALJ) and remanding the claim back to him to enter an award terminating Michael O'Bryan's benefits at age seventy, holding that the court of appeals did not err.O'Bryan received a work-related injury at age sixty-five, leading to his disability. The ALJ found O'Bryan to be permanently totally disabled and awarded him benefits that would continue as long as he remained disabled. On appeal, the Board held that newly-amended version of Ky. Rev. Stat. 342.730(4) applied to O'Bryan's benefits and that they should terminate when he reached the age of seventy. The court of appeals affirmed, holding that the statute was constitutional. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that O'Bryan's challenges to the amendment to section 342.730(4) were unavailing. View "O'Bryan v. Zip Express" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the court of appeals' decision affirming the opinion, workers' compensation award, and order of the administrative law judge (ALJ) determining that Appellee was permanently and totally disabled, holding that there was no error.Appellee was injured during the course and scope of his employment. An ALJ determined that Appellee was permanently, totally disabled. The Workers' Compensation Board affirmed. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) Appellee's testimony regarding his psychological medical conditions was competent evidence; (2) the ALJ did not rely solely upon psychological testimony to find Appellee was permanently, totally disabled; and (3) there was substantial evidence in the record to sustain the ALJ's opinion and award. View "Time Warner Cable, Inc. v. Smith" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals affirming the circuit court's determination that the Board of Trustees of the Kentucky Retirement Systems' (Board) investment authority with respect to the County Employees Retirement System (CERS) was governed by Ky. Rev. Stat. 61.650, holding that there was no error.The Cities of Fort Wright, Covington, Taylor Mill, and Independence (the Cities) brought this action alleging improper investments by the Board in its management of CERS. The trial court granted the Board's motion for declaratory judgment, determining that the Board had broad discretion in making investments, see Ky. Rev. Stat. 61.650 and 61.545(21), and therefore, its investments were lawful. The court of appeals affirmed. At issue on appeal was whether the Board's authorized investments were controlled broadly by section 61.650, as argued by the Board, or more restrictively by Ky. Rev. Stat. 78.790, as argued by the Cities. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the circuit court correctly determined that the Board's investment authority was governed by section 61.650 and not by section 78.790. View "City of Fort Wright v. Board of Trustees of Kentucky Retirement Systems" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed the court of appeals' decision that invalidated Ky. Rev. Stat. 341.470(3) on constitutional grounds, holding that Appellant lacked standing to question the validity of the statute.After he was discharged from his employment with a corporation for misconduct related to his work Appellant made a claim for unemployment insurance (UI) benefits. A referee denied benefits, and the Kentucky Unemployment Insurance Commission affirmed. On appeal, Appellant argued that a non-attorney employee appearing on behalf of the corporation at the UI referee hearings, as authorized by section 341.470(3), was impermissibly engaging in the practice of law. The court of appeals reversed, concluding that corporations must be represented by counsel at UI referee hearings. The Supreme Court remanded the case, holding that Appellant lacked standing to contest the constitutional validity of section 341.470(3) because he failed to show an injury in fact or that he suffered any harm from the corporation's lack of legal representation. View "Kentucky Unemployment Insurance Commission v. Nichols" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed in part and remanded in part the judgment of the trial court upholding the decision of the Retirement Systems's Administrative Review Board affirming the decision of the Kentucky Retirement Systems applying the Ky. Rev. Stat. 61.598, the pension-spiking statute, to assess actuarial costs to the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office (JCSO), holding that the Retirement Systems erred in part.The Kentucky Retirement Systems assessed the costs because it found a JCSO employee took unpaid leave for two months, causing a temporary decrease in gross compensation in that year, but then returned to his earlier pay. The circuit court agreement with the Retirement Systems, finding that section 61.598 as applied was not arbitrary. The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part, holding (1) the Retirement Systems improperly applied section 61.598 to the pay spikes to the extent the changes in compensation were caused by an isolated transition in JCSO's new accounting method but properly assessed the increased actuarial costs to the extent it was caused by regular overtime work; and (2) different aspects of the circuit court's decision were erroneous. View "Kentucky Retirement Systems v. Jefferson County Sheriff's Office" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the decision of the Workers' Compensation Board reversing the decision of the administrative law judge (ALJ) granting permanent partial disability benefits (PPD) to Richard Russell but finding that certain medical expenses were submitted untimely and were therefore non-compensable, holding that there was no error.Russell sustained a work-related injury to his right arm and sought workers' compensation benefits. The ALJ found that Russell did not timely submit his medical bills, so they were not compensable, but otherwise granted PPD benefits. The Board reversed, concluding that the medical bills were not submitted untimely. The court of appeals affirmed. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that Russell timely submitted his medical expenses. View "Wonderfoil, Inc. v. Russell" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals upholding the constitutionality of the 2018 amendment to Ky. Rev. Stat. 342.730(4), which terminates workers' compensation income benefits when the recipient reaches the age of seventy or four years from the date of injury or last injurious exposure, holding that the statute is constitutional.Plaintiffs brought separate appeals arguing that the amendment (1) was unconstitutional under the state and federal Equal Protection Clauses because it discriminates based on the income-benefit recipient's age, and (2) was unconstitutional special legislation because it applied only to older income-benefits recipients. The court of appeals upheld the constitutionality of the statute's age classification. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the court of appeals correctly rejected the constitutional challenges to the statute. View "Cates v. Kroger" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals upholding the 2018 amendment to Ky. Rev. Stat. 342.730(4), holding that the statutory amendment did not violate the Contracts Clause of the federal and state constitutions.The statutory amendment at issue terminates workers' compensation income benefits when the recipient of the benefits reaches the age of seventy or four years from the date of injury or last injurious exposure, whoever occurs last. Plaintiffs challenged the constitutionality of the amendment. The court of appeals held that the amendment did not violate the Contracts Clause of the state and federal constitutions and that the statute was reasonable. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the 2018 amendment did not violate the Contracts Clause of the Federal or Kentucky Constitutions. View "Dowell v. Matthews Contracting" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the judgment of the circuit court holding that substantial evidence supported the $200,000 assessment of Kentucky Retirement Systems in actuarial costs against the City of Villa Hills following the retirement of one of its employees, holding that the court of appeals properly resolved all of the City's issues in favor of the Retirement Systems.The Retirement Systems found that increases in the employee's compensation over the five years preceding his retirement was not the direct result of a bona fide promotion or career advancement and so shifted the added actual cost of the retired employee's pension benefits to the City. The circuit court and court of appeals affirmed. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that none of the City's arguments on appeal warranted reversal. View "City of Villa Hills v. Kentucky Retirement Systems" on Justia Law