Judge Scalia: Halloween Fan
I came across this and thought it was interesting, if only because it is believed to be the only time a U.S. Supreme Court Justice said “Happy Halloween” from the bench. During oral argument on October...
View ArticleSCOTUS Hears Oral Argument on Whether the Sarbanes-Oxley Act Protects...
Oral argument is scheduled in the Supreme Court today in the case of Lawson and Zang v. FMR, LLC (information here). The decision below is Lawson v. FMR, LLC, 670 F.3d 1 (1st Cir. 2012). The case...
View ArticleThe Supreme Court Tells Us What “Changing Clothes” Means
In Sandifer v. U.S. Steel Corp., the Supreme Court – in an opinion authored by Justice Scalia – considered the meaning of the term “changing clothes” as used in Section 203(o) of the Fair Labor...
View ArticleSupreme Court Holds That Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) Act Protects Employees of...
In Lawson v. FMR, the Supreme Court recently broadened the reach of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, which was enacted following the collapse of Enron Corporation. The whistleblower portion of the...
View ArticleSCOTUS Holds That Public Employee’s Sworn Testimony Was Protected by First...
In Lane v. Franks, decided June 19, 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court (per Justice Sotomayor) squarely held that the First Amendment protects a public employee who provides truthful sworn testimony,...
View ArticlePolice Need Warrant to Search Cell Phones’ Digital Contents, U.S. Supreme...
The U.S. Supreme Court recently held, in Riley v. California (decided together with U.S. v. Wurie) that the police may not conduct a warrantless search of the digital contents of a cell phone seized...
View ArticleAmazon.com Security Checks Not Compensable Time, Supreme Court Holds
The U.S. Supreme Court held, in Integrity Staffing Solutions, Inc. v. Busk (Dec. 9, 2014, Justice Thomas) that the time spent by Amazon.com warehouse workers undergoing anti-theft security screening...
View ArticleSCOTUS Interprets Pregnancy Discrimination Act
In Young v. United Parcel Service (12-1226, March 25, 2015), the U.S. Supreme Court interpreted and applied a portion of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act relating to accommodations that covered...
View ArticleU.S. Supreme Court Revives Muslim’s Bias Claim Against Abercrombie
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits “disparate treatment”, or intentional discrimination, based on religion by making it unlawful for an employer to, among other things, “fail … to hire...
View ArticleSCOTUS Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage
In Obergefell v. Hodges, No. 14-556, 2015 WL 2473451 (U.S. June 26, 2015), the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held that “a State has no...
View ArticleJustice Scalia: Civil Rights Champion?
United States Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia died on February 13, 2016. Many disagreed with the outspoken justice’s politics; some were happy to see him go. Many compilations of his...
View ArticleSCOTUS Holds That First Amendment Retaliation Case May Continue, Despite...
In Heffernan v. City of Paterson, No. 14-1280 (decided April 26, 2016), the U.S. Supreme Court reversed a circuit court decision that affirmed the dismissal of a police officer’s First Amendment...
View ArticleSCOTUS Holds That a Constructive Discharge Claim Accrues on the Resignation...
In Green v. Brennan, No. 14-613, 578 U.S. ___ (decided May 23, 2016), the Supreme Court held that the 45-day statute of limitations “clock” for purposes of a federal employee’s “constructive discharge”...
View ArticleSCOTUS Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage
In Obergefell v. Hodges, No. 14-556, 2015 WL 2473451 (U.S. June 26, 2015), the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held that “a State has no...
View ArticleJustice Scalia: Civil Rights Champion?
United States Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia died on February 13, 2016. Many disagreed with the outspoken justice’s politics; some were happy to see him go. Many compilations of his...
View ArticleSCOTUS Holds That First Amendment Retaliation Case May Continue, Despite...
In Heffernan v. City of Paterson, No. 14-1280 (decided April 26, 2016), the U.S. Supreme Court reversed a circuit court decision that affirmed the dismissal of a police officer’s First Amendment...
View ArticleSCOTUS Holds That a Constructive Discharge Claim Accrues on the Resignation...
In Green v. Brennan, No. 14-613, 578 U.S. ___ (decided May 23, 2016), the Supreme Court held that the 45-day statute of limitations “clock” for purposes of a federal employee’s “constructive discharge”...
View ArticleSCOTUS Clarifies Standard For District Court Evaluation of EEOC Subpoenas in...
In McLane Co. v. E.E.O.C., No. 15-1248, 2017 WL 1199454 (U.S. Apr. 3, 2017), as revised (Apr. 3, 2017), the U.S. Supreme Court held that a district court’s decision to enforce or quash an EEOC subpoena...
View ArticleSCOTUS Interprets Statute Relating to Timeframe For Refiling State Law Claims...
In Artis v. District of Columbia, 2018 WL 491524 (U.S. Sup. Ct. Jan. 22, 2018), the U.S. Supreme Court interpreted a federal statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1367(d), which provides the timeframe for when state...
View ArticleSCOTUS Upholds Arbitration Agreements
In a pro-employer, 5-4 decision issued today – Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis, No. 16-285, 2018 WL 2292444 (U.S. 2018) – the U.S. Supreme Court held that mandatory arbitration agreements are enforceable...
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