Justia Labor & Employment Law Opinion Summaries

Quinlan petitioned for review of the Commission's final decision holding that Quinlan violated standards under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA), 29 U.S.C. 651 et seq., when two of its employees were caught working on a concrete block wall and roof platform without fall protection and using a stepladder in an unsafe manner. Upon review of the record, briefs, and the relevant case law, and with benefit of oral argument, the court held that it is appropriate to impute a supervisor's knowledge of a subordinate employee’s violative conduct to his employer under OSHA when the supervisor himself is simultaneously involved in violative conduct. Accordingly, the court denied the petition and affirmed the Commission's decision. View "Quinlan v. Secretary, U.S. Dep't of Labor" on Justia Law

The company appealed the district court's order compelling arbitration of a dispute between the Company and the Union in June 2012 and the district court's enforcement of the resulting arbitration award in favor of the Union in December 2014. Although the June 2012 order was a final decision when it was issued, the Company did not appeal it until after the district court entered the December 2014 order. The court concluded that it lacked jurisdiction to consider the appeal of the first order. In regards to the December 14 order, the court affirmed because no basis exists to vacate the arbitration award in this instance. Finally, the court concluded that the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying the Union's motion for attorney's fees. The court dismissed in part and affirmed in part. View "United Steel v. Wise Alloys, LLC" on Justia Law

Plaintiff filed suit under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), 29 U.S.C. 623(a)(2), alleging that RJ Reynolds discriminated against him on the basis of his age when it rejected his application for employment. The court held that section 4(a)(2) of the ADEA authorizes disparate impact claims by applicants for employment even though the statute is unclear. The EEOC has reasonably and consistently interpreted the statute to cover such claims and the court deferred to the agency's reading of the statute. The court concluded that, in this case, plaintiff is entitled to equitable tolling of the ADEA's limitations period where plaintiff alleges that he could not have even suspected age discrimination until shortly before he filed his charge of discrimination. Accordingly, the court reversed and remanded. View "Villarreal v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co." on Justia Law

Plaintiffs, five university employees, filed suit claiming that their grievance alleging mismanagement by their supervisor which preceded their termination is entitled to First Amendment protection. Plaintiffs claimed that they were terminated in retaliation for submitting a memorandum to university officials complaining about what they perceived to be poor leadership and mismanagement by the director of the Counseling and Testing Center of Georgia State University. The district court found that plaintiffs' memorandum constituted employee speech on an issue related to their professional duties, which is not subject to First Amendment protection. The court found that the district court correctly concluded that the speech for which plaintiffs seek First Amendment protection was made by them as employees and not as citizens, and on matters related to their employment and not public concern. Accordingly, the court affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment to defendants. View "Alves v. Board of Regents" on Justia Law

After plaintiff was terminated from his position as head football coach, plaintiff filed suit against the School District under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq., and related federal laws, alleging that the school district committed racially discriminatory employment decisions. The court concluded that, although plaintiff produced sufficient evidence that could lead a reasonable jury to infer that he was treated unfairly, he has failed to produce any evidence suggesting that his treatment was on account of his race. The school district argued that it terminated plaintiff because he committed recruiting violations that resulted in ineligible students being enrolled at the high school to play football. The court rejected plaintiff's contentions and affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment to the school district. View "Flowers v. Troup Cnty. Sch. Dist." on Justia Law

Allied suspended and discharged two of the employees who supported the campaign to elect the union after Allied employees elected the union to represent them. The Board found that Allied illegally interfered with its employees’ union activities and unlawfully retaliated against the employees. The Board ordered Allied to refrain from future violations of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), 29 U.S.C. 151 et seq., and to reinstate the employees with backpay. The court granted the petition for enforcement, concluding that the petition for enforcement is not moot and that substantial evidence supports the finding of the Board that the employees' support for the union was a motivating factor in the decision to fire them. The employees both actively supported and participated in the campaign to elect a union; Allied knew that the employees supported the union, and it suspended and discharged them only weeks after the workers voted in favor of the union; and Allied's CEO expressed antiunion animus. Substantial evidence also supports the finding that Allied would not have suspended and discharged the employees in the absence of their union activities. View "NLRB v. Allied Medical Transport, Inc." on Justia Law