Retaliation

Whistleblower? Not without whistleblowing

03/28/2016

Energy workers are protected from retaliation for reporting safety problems if their workplace is covered by the federal Energy Reorganization Act.

Sometimes, employee gets 2 shots at lawsuit

03/11/2016

An employee who had a state interference-with-contract claim dismissed—the court said he had been legitimately fired for insubordination—can still file a federal whistleblower retaliation lawsuit based on the same facts.

EEOC issues fresh guidance on anti-retaliation compliance

03/09/2016

The EEOC has updated its enforcement guidance on retaliation for the first time since 1998.

Poor review isn’t infliction of emotional distress

03/09/2016

Sometimes, unhappy employees quit and sue, making claims that may never stick but that still have to be defended. A favorite tactic is to sue supervisors, claiming they intentionally inflicted emotional distress.

Not all government employees’ free speech is protected

02/29/2016

Public employees have limited First Amendment rights to speak out on matters of public importance. But when that speech is actually part of the employee’s job, it’s not considered “speaking out” in the Constitutional sense. It doesn’t come with job protection.

Discrimination claims rise in 2015, disability cases see biggest jump

02/20/2016

The EEOC handled 89,385 charges of workplace discrimination in fiscal year 2015.

6-year deadline to file whistleblower suit

02/12/2016

The Minnesota Supreme Court has ruled that a whistleblower who reports alleged violations of the law has a full six years to file a lawsuit. The more common two-year limitation does not apply.

New EEOC guidance would redefine retaliation

02/11/2016

The EEOC has issued a proposed revision to its guidance on workplace retaliation—the first since 1998—that could radically change how enforcement authorities and courts define retaliation and its causes.

Pennsylvania Whistleblower Act requires verdict from judge, not jury

01/29/2016

Here’s a bit of good news that may prevent a big jury verdict: An employment-related whistleblower claim must be heard and decided by a judge, not a jury.

Don’t punish employee for deposition testimony

01/15/2016

If you decide to punish an employee for testifying against you in a legal deposition, be prepared for even more litigation.