Justia Labor & Employment Law Opinion Summaries

Albemarle challenged an arbitrator's award in a labor dispute after Albemarle terminated two employees for violating its safety protocols and the employees' union, USW, filed a grievance. Albemarle first contended that the arbitrator's finding of "cause for the Employer to issue discipline," left no choice under the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) but to affirm its decision to terminate the employees. Second, Albemarle maintained that the award was unenforceable as a violation of public policy. The court concluded that because the arbitrator's award neither violated the terms of the CBA nor public policy, the court must enforce it. Accordingly, the court reversed the award of summary judgment in favor of Albermarle and rendered judgment in favor of USW. View "Albemarle Corp. v. United Steel Workers, Local 103" on Justia Law

Gallagher provided insurance-related services throughout the country. Its subsidiary, GBSI, handled Gallagher's employee-benefit insurance programs. In November 2003, GBSI purchased Babcock Consulting, a business owned by Clayton L. Babcock. In this diversity suit, Gallagher and GBSI (collectively, "plaintiffs") sought money damages for breach of restrictive employment agreements under Louisiana law. The court affirmed the district court's directed verdict on the breach of competition agreement, but set aside the damages. The court concluded that the district court abused its discretion in admitting certain evidence on the issue of damages. The court vacated the award of attorneys' fees, leaving the ultimate award to be decided on remand. View "Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., et al v. Babcock, et al" on Justia Law

Plaintiff, employed as a technician by Aerotek, appealed the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of Miller and Aerotek on her negligent hiring claim under Mississippi law. Plaintiff alleged that she was forcibly raped by an employee of Aerotek. The court held that Mississippi law did not impose a duty on employers to conduct criminal background checks, at least within the factual circumstances of this case; non-compliance with internal corporate hiring policies was probative of, but not dispositive of, evidence of negligence under Mississippi law; and there was no genuine issue of material fact as to whether Miller and Aerotek should have known of the employee's violent propensity. Accordingly, the court affirmed the judgment. View "Keen v. Robertson, et al" on Justia Law

Plaintiff filed a Title VII discrimination suit against his employer, the Department of Homeland Security. At issue on appeal was whether the parties had reached an enforceable settlement. The court concluded that the district court did not abuse its discretion by finding that plaintiff was bound by the terms of his attorney's settlement offer. Further, the court never held that the Fifth Amendment's due process guarantee was implicated by defective representation in Title VII proceedings and plaintiff had introduced no evidence to suggest that his attorney's representation was less than competent. View "Quesada v. Napolitano" on Justia Law

Plaintiff appealed the district court's grant of summary judgment on his age-discrimination claims under Tex. Lab. Code Ann. 21. After defendant investigated the allegation that plaintiff falsified his work and determined that he had, defendant terminated his employment. Because plaintiff failed to present a genuine issue of material fact that his age was a motivating factor in his termination or that defendant created a hostile work environment, the court affirmed the judgment. View "Reed v. Neopost USA, Inc." on Justia Law

Plaintiff brought a Title VII sex discrimination claim against her former employer. The district court granted summary judgment for the employer on the ground that the grievance procedure established in a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) provided the exclusive remedy for plaintiff's claim. Because the CBA did not clearly and unmistakably waive a union member's right to bring a Title VII claim in a federal judicial forum, the district court erred when it concluded that the CBA required plaintiff to submit her Title VII claim to the Article 51 grievance process. Accordingly, the court vacated the district court's grant of summary judgment for the employer and remanded for further proceedings. View "Ibarra v. United Parcel Service, Inc." on Justia Law

This case required the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals to decide whether vicarious liability principles under the Jones Act allowed a seaman's wife to recover from her husband's employer for the events that led to his death. Keith Beech died after his co-worker, Michael Cosenza, accidentally shot him aboard a Hercules Drilling Company-owned vessel. The district court determined that Cosenza was acting in the course and scope of his employment at the time of the accident, and therefore, Hercules was liable for Mr. Beech's wrongful death. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed, holding that Cosenza was not acting in the course of his employment when he accidentally shot Beech, and therefore, the district court's judgment in favor of Mrs. Beech must be reversed. View "Beech v. Hercules Drilling Co., LLC" on Justia Law

Plaintiff Rebecca Gonzalez (Relator) brought a qui tam action under the False Claims Act (FCA) against Defendants, Fresenius Medical Care N.A., Fresenius Medical Care Holdings, Inc., Bio-Medical Applications of Texas, Inc. (collectively, Fresenius), and Dr. Alfonzo Chavez. Relator also brought retaliation claims against Fresenius and her former supervisor Larry Ramirez. The district court granted in part and denied in part Defendants' motions for judgment as a matter of law, and the jury returned a verdict in favor of Defendants on the remaining claims. The district court then awarded Fresenius $15,360 in attorney's fees from Relator's counsel. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the district court's judgment in all instances, holding (1) the district court correctly granted Defendants' motion for judgment as a matter of law on Relator's FCA claims, and the court's FCA jury instructions were not in error; (2) the district court did not err in granting Defendants' motion for judgment as a matter of law on Relator's retaliation claims; and (3) the district court did not abuse its discretion in awarding sanctions under 28 U.S.C. 1927. View "Gonzalez v. Fresenius Med. Care N.A." on Justia Law

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals withdrew its previous opinion in this case filed on April 20, 2012. Because the case involved important and determinative questions of Texas law as to which there was no controlling Texas Supreme Court precedent, the Court substituted its previous opinion with the following questions to the Supreme Court of Texas: (1) whether, under Texas law, at-will employees may bring fraud claims against their employers for loss of their employment; and (2) if question number one is answered in the negative, whether employees covered under a sixty-day cancellation-upon-notice collective bargaining agreement that limits the employer's ability to discharge its employees only for just cause may bring Texas fraud claims against their employer based on allegations that the employer fraudulently induced them to terminate their employment. View "Sawyer v. E I DuPont de Nemours & Co." on Justia Law

Claimant was employed by New Orleans Depot Services, Inc. (NODSI) as a mechanic from 1996 until 2002. Prior to his employment with NODSI, Claimant was employed by New Orleans Marine Contractors (NOMC) for five months. During his employment with both NODSI and NOMC, Claimant was exposed to loud noises on a continuous basis and did not use hearing protection. Claimant sought permanent partial disability benefits under the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act for a hearing impairment. The ALJ determined that NODSI was liable for Claimants benefits as his last maritime employer. The Benefits Review Board (BRB) affirmed. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed, holding that there was substantial evidence to support the factual findings of the ALJ.