» retaliation

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

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

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

Pursuit of medical leave claims may become more difficult

When the Supreme Court decided Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662 (2009), lawyers representing employers and other defendants declared that Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8 had essentially been nullified. According to these employment and civil rights… Read More

Employment litigation in 2014: mostly more of the same

Much of the court caseloads in recent years has focused on class actions and collective actions prosecuted concerning wage-and-hour violations as opposed to discrimination, retaliation, harassment, or other civil rights claims. For over a decade, in… Read More

Walmart feeling the heat as winter approaches

This is typically the season to be merry for big box retailers like Walmart, which reap enormous profits at the end of each year. The world’s largest retailer, however, now faces a number of problems related to how it treats its employees. Only day… Read More

The labor movement forward

In the past year, workers and their allies in the larger communities have been coalescing around the cause for a living wage and workplace fairness generally. The organizing and related job actions by these employees across the nation have included u… Read More

Resurrection of whistleblower protection

On May 24, 2013, Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton signed into law transformative amendments that provide more protection for whistleblowers. This is an exceptional development at a time when whistleblowers are increasingly under attack. In fact, Presid… Read More

Closing the courthouse doors?

In another example of legal maneuvering, lawyers representing employers and other defendants in civil matters are seeking to change the rules of the game so that it is more difficult to have one’s day in court. These corporate agents want to change… Read More

Immigration reform: short on details, long on consequences

With the re-election of Barack Obama as President, Washington, DC and much of the country have refocused attention on the nation’s broken immigration system. The renewed attention on how we should best address the presence of approximately 12 milli… Read More