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Ex-partner’s Title VII suit against law firm fails
An attorney who resigned as an equity partner from a North Carolina law firm can’t bring a Title VII lawsuit against the firm, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled. In an apparent issue of first impression in the circuit, the court found that the attorney wasn’t an “employee” of the firm and […]
Title VII doesn’t protect illegal collection of evidence
An employee cannot break the law in order to collect evidence in support of a workplace discrimination lawsuit, a 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel unanimously ruled Nov. 15. Judge Diana Motz wrote that for an employee’s actions to be considered protected from retaliatory actions under Section 704(a) of Title VII of the Civil Rights […]
Labor & Employment – City worker’s Title VII retaliation claim revived
Fired the day after asking for grievance paperwork, a black employee reasonably believed she was subject to a hostile work environment that was attributable to her employer. The district court erred in granting summary judgment against her. Background In August 2013, the City of Laurel hired Plaintiff Felicia Strothers, a black woman, as an administrative […]
Labor & Employment – Firefighter presented triable Title VII issues
Hernandez v. Fairfax County (Lawyers Weekly No. 006-003-18, 11 pp.) (Per Curiam) No. 17-1152, Jan. 30, 2018; EDVA at Alexandria (Trenga, J.) 4th Cir. Holding: A reasonable jury could find that Defendant/Appellee Fairfax County did not adequately address a firefighter’s complaints of harassment and that it retaliated against her after she complained; thus, summary judgment for the County was [...]
‘Manager Rule’ does not apply to Title VII, 4th Circuit rules
A counselor allegedly fired for helping another employee report sexual harassment can go forward with his Title VII claim against his former employer, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently held, overruling the district court and finding that the “manager rule” has “no place in Title VII jurisprudence.” The “manager rule,” under the Fair […]
‘Isolated’ comments back hostile environment suit
Employment lawyers may be recalibrating what it takes to get into federal court on a Title VII retaliation claim in the wake of a May 7 decision by a divided 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Employers have found sanctuary in a standard that said “isolated incidents” of racial slurs would not support a “hostile […]
Labor & Employment – Civil Rights – Title VII — Sex Discrimination – Sexual Harassment – Stalking & Threats — Defamation
Dulaney v. Packaging Corp. of America A female production worker at a Roanoke packaging plant who alleges the male employee who supervised her shift sexually harassed her by stalking her, threatening her with disciplinary action if she did not have sex with him and told other employees she was a “whore” and had a sexually transmitted disease, can pursue her Title VII claim, as the 4th[...]
Labor & Employment – Civil Rights – Sex Discrimination Claim – Title VII – Independent Contractor
Laredo v. CRST Malone, Inc. Where, if defendants had hired plaintiff, she would have been an independent contractor, plaintiff does not have a failure-to-hire claim under Title VII. Defendants’ motion for summary judgment is granted as to plaintiff’s Title VII claim. Plaintiff’s state-law emotional distress claim is dismissed without prejudice. Whether a party was or would hav[...]
Labor & Employment – Civil Rights – Wrongful Discharge – Title VII – Drug Testing
Sturdivant v. City of Salisbury. (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-03-0099, 22 pp.) (L. Patrick Auld, USMJ.) M.D.N.C. Holding: In a case in which a municipal bus driver failed a drug test following an accident, a Title VII discrimination claim cannot be raised if the driver cannot point to a similarly situated employee of another race who […]
Civil Rights – Constitutional – Motion to Dismiss – Title VII – 42 U.S.C. § 1981
Prince Parker v. Miller & Long Construction Co., Inc. (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-02-0088, 4 pp.) (Dever, III, J.), USDC for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Western Division, No. 5:10-CV-282-D, Prince Parker Pro Se. Click here for the full text of the opinion. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Western […]
Civil Rights – Constitutional- Administrative – Title VII
Henry Johnson Williams v. Georgia Pacific Corporation; Rex Hiers; and Kelly Palmer. (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-02-0058, 4 pp.) (Flanagan, J.), USDC for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Southern Division, No. 7:10-CV-103-FL, December 29, 2010, Memorandum and Recommendation of Magistrate Judge Gates, November 19, 2010, Henry Johnson Williams Pro Se. Click here for the full […]
Labor & Employment – Race Discrimination – Title VII – FMLA – 11th Amendment Immunity
Coleman v. Md. Court of Appeals. (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-01-1103, 11 pp.) (Traxler, J.) No. 09-1582, Nov. 10, 2010; USDC at Baltimore, Md. (Legg, J.) 4th Cir. Click here for the full text of the opinion. Holding: An African-American male who served as procurement director for the Maryland Court of Appeals loses his suit alleging […]
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