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Supreme Court summarily rejects heightened pleading requirement for civil rights plaintiffs

In Johnson v. City of Shelby, the entire Supreme Court recently addressed what is enough for civil rights plaintiffs to state a valid claim concerning alleged violations of constitutional rights. In a unanimous per curiam decision – meaning an opin… Read More

Predatory consumer practices under scrutiny

The Federal government is now considering changes to the Military Lending Act to bring it in line with the Truth in Lending Act. This gesture toward expanding consumer protection is as welcome as it is necessary. The existing limitations of the Milit… Read More

More retaliation plaintiffs have a right to a jury trial – of course, and it is about time!

Over a decade ago, and based on Article 1 of the Minnesota Constitution, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that whistleblowers have a right to a jury trial on their retaliation claims under Minnesota whistleblower law. Abraham v. Cnty. of Hennepin, 6… Read More

Vital victories for employees, but corporate power persists

In recent years, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) has rendered a number of courageous decisions that promote workplace fairness for both union and non-union employees. For example, the NLRB ruled that employers cannot retaliate against… Read More

Escalating legal action against domestic surveillance

The ongoing revelations about spying on United States citizens here at home as well as on the nation’s key allies abroad have caused a political uproar that has triggered, for example, the abrupt expulsion of the Central Intelligence Agency(“CIA�… Read More

The straw that broke the camel’s back

After the decision by the Supreme Court, Univ. of Tex. Southwestern Med. Ctr. v. Nassar, 133 S.Ct. 2517 (2013), many employer lawyers have argued that employees will now have great difficulty prevailing as to retaliation claims. Defense lawyers base… Read More

The revolution will not be televised

Although in slow motion, a revolution has come to light with the 60th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954). In Brown, a unanimous Supreme Court struck down the separate-but-equal doctr… Read More

Open season on democracy and the rule of law

The Supreme Court received intense criticism from many quarters after it decided Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, 558 U.S. 310 (2010). In that 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court sharply reduced the restrictions on political campaign contr… Read More

Strength in diversity and multi-faceted advocacy

Many labor, employment law, civil rights, and consumer protection advocates have become concerned about the evidently growing power of well-financed interests aligned against them. The dysfunction in Congress and elsewhere in Washington, D.C. has mad… Read More

Supreme Court continues trend of ruling for employees in retaliation cases

The Supreme Court just decided a landmark case, Lawson v. FMR, concerning whether the law protecting employees of public companies also protects employees of private corporations. The law at issue is the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which Congress enacted in… Read More