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For fans of Southeastern Conference football (and, I mean, who isn’t, right?), the name “Eric Berry” is one you don’t easily forget. Berry made his presence known as a defensive back for the Tennessee Volunteers from 2007-2009. Even though he played only three seasons in college, he was twice named a Defensive All American by […]
A federal district court judge approved a consent decree requiring Staples to pay $275,000 for failing to notify an employee of his Family and Medical Leave Act leave rights to care for his critically ill wife over a period of two years. The U.S. Department of Labor contended that the office supply chain’s failure to […]
An employer did not engage in discrimination under the Family and Medical Leave Act when it fired an employee for performance issues, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held, at a time when the employee also was using intermittent FMLA leave. The court noted that the company never wavered from its claim that it […]
Terminator Genisys, the fifth installment in the wildly popular action film series, hits theaters this week. Over the last 30 years, the original Terminator, played by Arnold Schwarzenegger, has transformed from a soulless assassin with no regard for others to a cyborg protector with a heart of gold (actually it’s mimetic polyalloy, but you get […]
by Emily Hobbs-Wright In a nationally awaited decision, the Colorado Supreme Court has upheld an employer’s termination of an employee who tested positive for marijuana because of his off-duty, off-premises marijuana use. The court issued a narrow decision on June 15 in Coats v. Dish Network, LLC. It turned on the fact that marijuana use […]
By Katherine Pollock The Ontario Superior Court decision in Fernandes v. Peel Educational, 2014 ONSC 6506, reminds employers in Canada of how badly matters can go awry when a decision on the merits of a cause case is taken out of the hands of the parties and left in the hands of a third party […]
By Kyla Stott-Jess Over the last month, the Canadian news media has devoted significant time to covering the Jian Ghomeshi scandal. Aside from the celebrity gossip factor, the story has had such staying power because it touches on so many controversial issues—BDSM (Bondage & Discipline / Domination & Submission / Sadism & Masochism), sexual consent, […]
By Kevin O’Neill, Q.C. How the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal recently handled a retaliation complaint—where the employee was found to be not credible and unreasonable—should give employers pause.
by Mark I. Schickman The New York Times is the second largest newspaper in America, with about two million papers sold each day. It’s also the liberal beacon of American journalism, with solid-gold progressive credentials. Still, it took the paper 160 years to hire Jill Abramson as its first female executive editor in 2011. In […]
by Jane Pfeifle An employer’s failure to include a deployed servicemember on a list of employees when it sold its assets may be a violation of the benefit provisions of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA). Facts Jonathan Dorris, a floor hand for TXD Services and a member of the Arkansas National […]