Vance v. Ball State University, U.S. Supreme Court, No. 11-556, Decided 6/24/13 Title VII- Definition of Supervisor– Supreme Court ruled that, under the federal Title VII discrimination statute, an employer can be held vicariously liable for an employee’s unlawful harassment only where that particular employee has been empowered with the authority “to take tangible employment… Read More

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled in EEOC v. Houston Funding II, Ltd. that the plaintiff should receive a jury trial on whether the company violated the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) and Title VII, when she requested the right to use a breast milk express pump at work and was fired. The plaintiff… Read More

The Texas Supreme Court is once again “tinkering” with the proof necessary to recover mental anguish damages.  Although the case involved defamation, in  Hancock v. Variyam, the court revisted  the necessary amount of proof to support damages for mental anguish.  This is important to employment cases because they frequently involve an attempt to recover mental… Read More

Being wronged by a corporation is painful enough, but just try getting your day in court. Most Americans don’t realize it, but our Seventh Amendment right to a fair jury trial against corporate wrongdoers has quietly been stripped from us. Instead, we are now shunted into a stacked-deck game called “Binding Mandatory Arbitration.” Proponents of… Read More

Americans with Disabilities Act Disability (as amended by ADAAA) means- A Physical or Mental Impairment that Substantially Limits one or more of the Major Life Activities (MLA) or being Regarded As having such an impairment or A Record Of such an impairment Definitions/explanations of the above terms: Physical or Mental Impairment means a physiological or… Read More

The Department of Labor released a new interpretation and clarification of the definition of “son or daughter” under Section 101(12) of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) as it applies to an individual 18 years or older and incapable of self-care because of a mental or physical disability.  The FMLA entitles an eligible employee… Read More

A jury fact question is what a judge looks for in determining whether a case should be allowed to go to a jury trial or should be dismissed on a motion for summary judgment.  In the federal 4th circuit  case of  EEOC v. Thompson Contracting, Grading, Paving, and Utilities, Inc., No. 11-1897, http://bit.ly/UzoJst, the employee’s… Read More

The federal Tenth Court of Appeals handed down an opinion which is illustrative of the difficulty plaintiffs have in federal court to clear the ever increasing height of the summary judgment hurdle. Many of the judges in the federal system are clearly usurping the role of a jury and deciding fact issues by simply stating… Read More

El Apple I, Ltd. v. Olivas, 370 S.W.3d 757 (Tex. 2012) Attorney Fees- Proper Lodestar Calculation– This was a suit for employment discrimination and retaliation under the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act.  After a trial, the employee prevailed only on the retaliation claim.  After the trial, the employee’s attorney submitted an application for attorney’s… Read More