MHRA Retaliation Protections are More Limited than the Federal ADA
On January 14, 2020, in a case where our firm represented the employer, the Missouri Supreme Court held that the Missouri Human Rights Act (“MHRA”) does not create a cause of action where an employer allegedly retaliated against an employee for requesting an accommodation for a disability. Lin v. Ellis, SC97641.
Missouri Supreme Court Limits Application of MHRA to Injuries in State
In two December 24, 2019 decisions, the Missouri Supreme Court clarified and limited the application of the Missouri Human Rights Act (“MHRA”) to employers that are located in Missouri but have out of state employees.
The two cases, Tuttle v. Dobbs Tire & Auto Centers, Inc., SC97721, and State ex rel....
Department of Labor’s Final FLSA Rule re: White-Collar Overtime Exemptions
On September 24, 2019, the United States Department of Labor released its final revised overtime rule under the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. § 201 et. seq. (“FLSA”).
Prior to the rule, the longstanding overtime exemption requirements...
Plaintiff’s Divorce Proceeding Statement that He Can’t Work May Preclude Disability Discrimination Damages Claim against Employer
On March 19, 2019, the Missouri Supreme Court held that an employee/plaintiff’s inconsistent positions regarding his ability to work in separate judicial proceedings may prevent his claim for damages for disability discrimination. The case illustrates the difficulty even sophisticated parties have in navigating state and federal employment discrimination laws.
Plaintiff, who suffered from muscular dystrophy,...
EEOC Supposed to Provide Information for Paid Data Collection on April 3, 2019
On March 4, 2018 the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in National Women’s Law Center et al. v. Office of Management and Budget, No. 17-CV-2458, held that the Office of Management and Budget’s stay of the 2017 EEOC requirement that compensation be provided in the Revised EEO-1 report [required for...
New Proposed Overtime Regulations would Make More than 1 Million More American Employees Eligible for Overtime
On March 7, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) released proposed changes to the overtime regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. § 201 et. seq. (“FLSA”). Currently, the salary threshold for certain “white collar” employees to be exempt from overtime wages is $23,660 ($455 per week). The proposed rule would...
Supreme Court Holding Hurts Public Sector Unions
In Janus v. AFSCME, Council 31 et al., 585 U.S. ___ (June 27, 2018) the Supreme Court of the United States, in a 5-4 decision, overruled its 1977 precedent and held that states cannot compel non-members of Unions representing public employees to pay agency (sometimes called fair share) fees, which presumably relate...
Employers can Enforce Agreements in which Employees Waive Class Action Relief in Favor of Individualized Arbitration
This week, with a holding helpful to employers, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that clauses in employment agreements requiring individualized arbitration of employment disputes are valid and enforceable. EPIC Systems Corp. v. Lewis, No. 16-285 (U.S. May 21, 2018). This decision allows employers to obtain a valid waiver of...
Title VII Held to Prohibit Discrimination Against Gay Skydiving Instructor and Transgender Funeral Director
We previously wrote (see our post on the Hively decision, here) about the Seventh Circuit’s 2017 holding that the prohibition of sex discrimination in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”) also prohibits sexual orientation discrimination. Two new cases further support an expansive definition of “sex” under Title...
EEOC Statistics Fiscal Year 2017 – Retaliation Again is #1
It’s that time of year - on January 25, 2018, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) released its Fiscal Year 2017 statistics summarizing the data collected from its year ending September 30, 2017. The full report and access to the data tables can be found here.
The...