A large California law firm known as Buchalter has been sued for sexual harassment. A former legal analyst in the products liability section claims her boss, Gary Wolensky, made frequent sexual jokes. Mr. Wolensky, the chair of the products liability department, used sexually harassing acronyms in emails. But, he also discarded acronyms for something more
The Fifth Circuit giveth and the Fifth Circuit taketh away. We just talked about a poorly drafted decision in Owens v. Circassia Pharmaceuticals, No. 21-10760 (5th Cir. 5/13/2022) regarding an important employment law decision. See that post here. This Owens decision turned Reeves v. Sanderson Plumbing Products, 530 U.S. 133 (2000) on
Apparently just for political points, Gov. Ron DeSantis pressured the Special Olympics to withdraw its vaccine requirement. The state of Florida threatened the Special Olympics with a $27.5 fine if the Olympics were to persist with its vaccine requirement. Special Olympics then withdrew its vaccine requirement. See Politico news report.
This is a remarkable
The Fifth Circuit has resurrected the old pretext plus formula which we had once been dispensed with in Reeves v. Sanderson Plumbing Products, 530 U.S. 133 (2000). Reeves itself over-ruled a prior decision by the same Fifth Circuit. Some lessons, it seems, are never truly learned.
In the recent case of Owens v. Circassia
Congress passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) in March, 2020 in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Soon afterward, Congress also passed the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (EPSLA). As the name suggests, the EPSLA allowed employees to take time off from work to quarantine due a possible covid19 infection. The leave requirements portion
The Western District of Texas recently denied in part and granted in part a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss in the matter of Doe v. U.T. at San Antonio, No. 20-CV-1039-DAE (W.D. Tex. 9/27/2021). The Plaintiff sued UTSA based on several theories. He also sued two administrators in addition to the school itself. The
In Lindsley v. TRT Holdings, Inc., 984 F.3d 460 (5th Cir. 1/7/2021), the Fifth Circuit reversed a grant of summary judgment regarding the plaintiff’s claim that she was paid less than her three male predecessors. Writing for the majority, Judge Ho said it was apparent that she was paid less than the men who
Million dollar verdicts in employment cases are rare. But, they do occur. In one lawsuit against Glow Networks, Inc., nine African-American employees sued the company for racial discrimination. The jury not only agreed, they awarded $70 million to the nine workers. Glow Networks, Inc. is a telecommunications firm.
Among the evidence was the experience of
Three former employees of the Lion & Rose restaurant sued their employer for violating the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act of 2020. The lawsuit came known as Summers v. Olde England’s Lion & Rose Rim, No. 20-CV-00929 (W.D.Tex.). The EPSLA ended in December, 2020. It provided for paid sick leave for persons who contracted
I previosuly wrote about the decision in Torres v. Dept. of Public Safety, 583 S.W.3d 221 (Tex.App. Corpus Christi) here. Later, after I wrote that post, the Texas Supreme Court denied Mr. Torres’ request for appeal. Now. Torres is appealing this decision to the U.S. Supreme Court. On appeal, the Office of the