Justia Labor & Employment Law Opinion Summaries

The Maine Supreme Judicial Court ruled in favor of the University of Maine System (UMS) in a case involving Robert Bocko, who claimed that UMS failed to pay him wages on time as mandated by Maine law. Bocko, who was employed by UMS to teach law courses, argued that UMS violated the state's wage payment laws by not paying him at intervals not exceeding 16 days. UMS countered that Bocko was exempt from these requirements as he was a salaried employee. The court agreed with UMS, ruling that Bocko was indeed exempt from the wage payment requirements as he was compensated on a fee basis for teaching each course, rather than on a regular salary basis. The court found that the payment Bocko received for teaching each course met the salary-basis requirement when converted to an annual rate. Therefore, the court affirmed the Superior Court's judgment in favor of UMS. View "Bocko v. University of Maine System" on Justia Law

The case involves a dispute between Onecimo Sierra Suarez, an employee, and his employer, Rudolph & Sletten, Inc. (R&S), concerning the payment of arbitration fees. Suarez had initially sued his employer for alleged wage and hour violations. R&S successfully moved to have the case resolved through arbitration, as provided in their employment agreement. However, R&S delayed in paying its share of the initial arbitration fee, leading Suarez to argue that R&S has waived its right to arbitration. The Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District Division One, State of California held that the employer's delay in paying the arbitration fees constituted a material breach of the arbitration agreement, thereby waiving its right to arbitration. The court concluded that R&S's payment was late, even if certain provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure could potentially extend the deadline. The court also held that R&S's argument -- that the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) preempted California's arbitration-specific procedural rules for fee payment -- was incorrect. The court found that such rules neither prohibited nor discouraged the formation of arbitration agreements, and therefore, were not preempted by the FAA. The court granted Suarez's petition and ruled that the case should proceed in court. View "Suarez v. Super. Ct." on Justia Law

Dennis Erb was discharged from his position as an Intelligence Research Specialist with the Department of Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) for repeatedly providing false information on his timecard and failing to abide by his supervisor's instructions. The Merit Systems Protection Board (Board) upheld Treasury's decision to remove Mr. Erb. The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the Board's decision, finding that substantial evidence supported the Board's determination that Mr. Erb intentionally falsified his timecard and that the Board correctly upheld the charges of both falsification and failure to follow instructions. The court also found no error with the Board's decision to uphold Treasury's selected penalty of removal. The court reasoned that Mr. Erb's misconduct was repetitive and serious, undermining the efficiency and discipline of the service. Therefore, the court found that the penalty of removal was not unreasonable. View "ERB v. TREASURY " on Justia Law

Maria Blanco, the plaintiff, worked as a nanny and housekeeper for Anand Samuel and Dr. Lindsey Finch (the defendants), for three years, working for 79 hours each week. Blanco filed a lawsuit to collect overtime wages for 39 hours of the 79 hours she worked each week. The defendants disputed Blanco’s claim for overtime pay, arguing that she fell under a provision of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) that exempts “any employee who is employed in domestic service in a household and who resides in such household” from receiving overtime compensation. The district court agreed with the defendants, ruling that Blanco “resided” in their house, and hence was exempted from overtime compensation.The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, however, disagreed with the lower court's decision. The court of appeals concluded that Blanco did not “reside” in the defendants’ house, as she maintained a separate residence and left the defendants’ house after each of her shifts. Therefore, Blanco was not exempted from overtime pay under the FLSA. The court of appeals also concluded that there was a genuine dispute of material fact as to whether the defendants were Blanco’s employer, which the lower court needed to resolve on remand. Thus, the court of appeals vacated the district court’s decision in part and remanded the case for further proceedings. View "Blanco v. Samuel" on Justia Law

The United States Court of Appeals affirmed a district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of Adroit Medical Systems, Inc., Grazyna Gammons, Kelley Patten, and Gene Gammons. The plaintiff, Scott Gammons, alleged that his father and stepfamily, who controlled the family business, Adroit, were diverting company funds for personal use without accounting for tax consequences. He claimed that after he reported their financial misdeeds to the IRS, they fired him. Scott brought an action under federal and state whistleblower statutes and state common law.The court found that while Scott’s reporting of alleged financial malfeasance to the IRS was protected conduct and may have contributed to his termination, the defendants had clear and convincing evidence that they would have fired Scott due to his attempted hostile takeover of the company, irrespective of his whistleblowing. Scott had obtained an emergency conservatorship over his father, Gene, which he used to control the family business. When the conservatorship was dissolved, the defendants regained control and promptly fired Scott.Scott also brought claims under the Tennessee Public Protection Act (TPPA) and state common law. The court found that Scott failed to show that the defendants’ legitimate reason for terminating him was pretextual. The court also rejected Scott’s state common law claims, holding that the individual defendants were immune from tortious interference claims as they were acting within their corporate capacities and did not personally benefit from Scott’s termination. View "Gammons v. Adroit Medical Systems, Inc." on Justia Law

In a case before the United States Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit, plaintiff Catherine Erdman, a firefighter from Janesville, Wisconsin, applied for a position with the Madison fire department. Erdman claimed that the Madison fire department's Physical Abilities Test (PAT), which she failed to pass, had a disparate impact on women, violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Erdman proposed an alternative test, the Candidate Physical Abilities Test (CPAT), licensed by the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), which she claimed would have less disparate impact on women while still effectively measuring an applicant's physical abilities.The district court found that Erdman had shown the Madison PAT had a prima facie disparate impact on women. However, it also found that the Madison PAT was job-related and served the city’s legitimate needs, and that Erdman had failed to prove that the IAFF test would adequately serve the city’s legitimate needs. Erdman appealed the decision.The appeals court affirmed the district court's ruling. It agreed that the Madison PAT as a whole, not its individual components, should be considered as the "particular employment practice" for the purpose of determining disparate impact. The court found that Erdman had established her prima facie case of disparate impact as the Madison PAT as a whole showed a statistically significant disparate impact on female applicants.However, the appeals court also agreed with the district court's finding that Erdman failed to prove that the IAFF test would serve the Madison fire department's legitimate needs as well as the Madison PAT. This was based on testimony that certain elements of the Madison PAT were specifically designed for Madison, considering the city’s characteristics, the fire department’s equipment, and safety considerations. Also, the court noted that the Madison fire department had a higher-than-average rate of hiring and retaining female firefighters compared to the national average, suggesting the effectiveness of the Madison PAT. View "Erdman v. City of Madison" on Justia Law

In this case, the plaintiff, Jason Lambro, worked as a studio technician for the Voice of America (VOA), a federal agency, under a series of contracts. Lambro alleged that he should have been classified as an employee under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and thus entitled to benefits such as overtime pay. The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held that the FLSA itself, through its definitional provisions, provides the applicable standard for recognizing an employment relationship for FLSA purposes. Therefore, the court had to evaluate whether Lambro was employed by VOA under the FLSA's own standard for being employed. The court rejected the lower court's conclusion that the FLSA does not cover a person asserting coverage as a federal government employee unless a congressional authorization outside the FLSA creates the asserted employment relationship with the federal government. The court vacated the lower court’s dismissal and remanded the case for further proceedings. View "Lambro v. United States" on Justia Law

The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit upheld a district court's decision concerning a wage dispute between an employee and his former employer. The employee, Paulo Trindade, claimed that his former employer, Grove Services, Inc., breached their contract and violated the Massachusetts Wage Act by short-changing him on his sales commission compensation. Grove Services challenged the timeliness of Trindade's Wage Act claim relating to the 2016 commission, but the court agreed with the district court that the claim related back to his original complaint, making it timely. The First Circuit also upheld the district court's damages award. Trindade was awarded $330,597 in damages, which included compensation for late and unpaid wages for the 2016 commission, subject to mandatory trebling under the Wage Act, and damages for the 2014 breach of contract. View "Trindade v. Grove Services, Inc." on Justia Law

In the case before the Supreme Court of the State of Illinois, the State of Illinois, represented by the Attorney General, alleged that Elite Staffing, Inc., Metro Staff, Inc., and Midway Staffing, Inc. (collectively, the staffing agencies) violated the Illinois Antitrust Act. The agencies, which supplied temporary workers to a company called Colony Display, were claimed to have agreed to fix wages for their employees at below-market rates and agreed not to hire each other's employees. The staffing agencies argued that the Act did not apply to the charged conduct, and the case was sent to the Supreme Court for interlocutory review.The Supreme Court held that the Illinois Antitrust Act does not exempt agreements between competitors to hold down wages and to limit employment opportunities for their employees from antitrust scrutiny. For the purposes of the Act, the court clarified that "service" does not exclude all agreements concerning labor services. It particularly noted that multiemployer agreements concerning wages they will pay their employees and whether they will hire each other's employees may violate the Act unless the agreement arises as part of the bargaining process and the affected employees, through their collective bargaining representatives, have sought to bargain with the multiemployer unit.The court vacated the appellate court’s answer to a question it had formulated and remanded the case for further proceedings. View "State ex rel. Raoul v. Elite Staffing, Inc." on Justia Law

The Court of Appeals of the State of California, Second Appellate District, Division Six, ruled in favor of the Ventura County Employees’ Retirement Association (VCERA) in a dispute over the calculation of retirement benefits for county employees. VCERA had adopted a resolution excluding compensation for accrued but unused annual leave hours exceeding a calendar year allowance from the calculation of retirement benefits, following a Supreme Court decision in a similar case (Alameda County Deputy Sheriff’s Assn. v. Alameda County Employees’ Retirement Assn.). VCERA sought a judicial declaration that its resolution was legal, which was granted by the trial court. The Criminal Justice Attorneys Association of Ventura and Ventura County Professional Peace Officers’ Association appealed this decision, arguing that the resolution was not mandated by the Supreme Court decision or the relevant statutes. The Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court's decision, concluding that VCERA was required to comply with the Supreme Court decision and the relevant statutes, which were designed to prevent pension spiking by excluding income designed to artificially inflate a pension benefit. View "Ventura County Employees' Retirement Association v. Criminal Justice Attorneys Association of Ventura County" on Justia Law