Blog
For No Reason At All: Wrongful Discharge in an At-Will World
We often hear of companies citing the “at-will” employment rule when terminating an employee. But what does this really mean? The most common definition of this term is that it describes an arrangement where the employer or the employee can terminate the employment relationship for no reason at all, [...]
NOTHING TO CROAK ABOUT: What it Takes to Win Age Discrimination Claims in North Carolina
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (covering North Carolina and South Carolina) recently upheld a jury verdict for plaintiff Glenda Westmoreland in Westmoreland v. TWC Admin. LLC, No. 18-1600 (4th Cir. May 22, 2019). One judge’s fiery dissent has people talking about more than the typical employment discrimination case. [...]
Greater Expectations: Moms-to-Be Need Better Job Protection
On May 9, 1914, President Woodrow Wilson signed a proclamation carving out the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day. The proclamation called upon Americans to display Old Glory on public buildings and their homes in “a public expression of our love and reverence for the mothers of our [...]
Pay ‘Em Like Beckham
International team sports have long been plagued by gender discrimination, and US soccer is no exception. The US Women’s National Soccer Team’s (“WNT”) recently-filed lawsuit gets directly at this issue and confronts some difficult questions. The US Senior Men’s National Soccer Team (“MNT”) hasn’t exactly been setting the world [...]
Good Test-Takers: Holding Drug Testing Facilities Accountable for Wrong Tests
North Carolina law imposes a detailed list of requirements on employment-related drug testing. But the courts have long held that employers who fire employees on the basis of false positive drug tests are not liable for the harm inflicted on these innocent employees. However, on Wednesday, the South Carolina [...]
To Protect and Serve . . . and Make a Living: Court Rules Moonlighting Police Officers are Employees at Second Jobs
Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit recognized that “the way we work in America is changing. The relationships between companies and their workers are more fluid and varied than in decades past.” Acosta v. Off Duty Police Services, Inc., Nos. 17-5995/6071 (6th Cir. Feb. [...]
The Sound of Silence: Another Look at Witness-Silence Agreements
By Kevin Murphy The ethical pitfalls of non-disclosure agreements have received renewed attention in the wake of the #MeToo movement. Less frequently discussed — but equally problematic for prosecuting sexual harassment and other employment law cases — are agreements that prohibit individuals from serving as witnesses in other cases. [...]
District Court Holds that Pregnancy Fits Within the NCEEPA’s Prohibition of “Sex” Discrimination
By Sean Herrmann In 2017, the North Carolina Supreme Court decided N.C Dept. of Corrections v. Gibson, 308 N.C. 131 (2017). Gibson frequently appears in wrongful discharge in violation of North Carolina public policy (“WDPP”) briefs, especially when the plaintiffs’ claims rely on the North Carolina Equal Employment Practices [...]
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