In Spears v. Louisiana College, No. 20-30522, 2023 WL 2810057 (5th Cir. 4/6/2023), the appellate court addressed the situation in which an employee’s duties are are assigned to various employees. Some courts refer to this practice as “fractioning.” Carolyn Spears taught at Louisiana College for many years. She contracted cancer in 2012 and again
Lawyers can be sanctioned by the court for “unreasonably and vexatiously” multiplying a lawsuit. That means the lawyer can be sanctioned for creating unnecessary work. In the lawsuit Vaughan v. Lewisville ISD, the plaintiff claimed his vote as a white voter was diluted by some measure taken by the Lewisville ISD. The judge sanctioned
There are folks with disabilities who test public accommodations like a hobby. They do this testing across the country, often from great distances. They justifiably want to see stores, hotels, banks and more satisfy the Americans with Disabilities Act requirement to make their places of business open to persons with disabilities. But, can a tester
When an appellate decision starts with a quote from the Federalist papers about despotism, you know this decision presents a bumpy ride. In Community Financial Services Assoc. of Ame. v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, No. 21-50826 (5th Cir. 10/19/2022), the Fifth Circuit quotes from the Federalist papers six different times. The Federalist papers have
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
I previously wrote about Judge Sam Kent here and here. He was a Federal Judge in Galveston, Texas. Even before the allegations arose, he was known as a bullying sort of judge and one who was generally opposed to discrimination lawsuits. Allegations arose that he was harassing female members of his staff. He attacked
Proving discrimination is never easy. Discrimination requires proof of intent. The plaintiff must prove or show what some manager was thinking. In Thompson v. Zinke, 795 Fed. Appdx. 294 (5th Cir. 2/27/2020), the plaintiff alleged he was discriminated against when he was passed over for promotion. Mr. Thompson noted that a white applicant with
In a recent unpublished decision, the Fifth Circuit reversed the grant of summary judgment in favor of the employer. Monica Hague formerly worked for the University of Texas Health Science Center t San Antonio. Ms. Hague worked in the Emergency Health Services Department. She worked on a contract basis for a set time period. Her contract
People like to joke about a "hostile work environment." But, what is an actual hostile work environment? Essentially, hostile work environment means the discrimination is perpetrated by co-workers, not by supervisors. A finding of a hostile work environment requires that 1) the employee belong to a protected group, 2) s/he was subjected to unwelcome harassment
I have talked here about how a judge’s personal background will affect his/her judicial opinions. Now, it seems one judge’s personal beliefs may reveal her own motivations. Judge Edith Jones, once considered for appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court, has regularly affirmed dismissals and summary judgments in discrimination cases. She has expressed some impatience with