In Frye v. Baptist Memorial Hospital, Inc., the United States District Court for the Sixth Circuit handed down not one, but two favorable rulings for employers in an FLSA collective action.
Continue Reading The Sixth Circuit Gives Employers a “Twofer”: An Employer’s Automatic Pay Deduction Policy Does Not Automatically Violate the FLSA and a Class Plaintiff Must “Commence” Suit
Sixth Circuit Orders Reinstatement and Overturns $4.4 Million Front Pay Award In Vet’s Disability Discrimination Case
By Porter Wright on
The recent Sixth Circuit case of McKelvey v. Secretary of United States Army highlights the plight of many disabled veterans returning to the civilian work force and presents a lesson for employers on how not to address those issues.
Continue Reading Sixth Circuit Orders Reinstatement and Overturns $4.4 Million Front Pay Award In Vet’s Disability Discrimination Case
Lessons Learned for Performance Appraisals and RIFs from the Sixth Circuit in Cutcher v. Kmart
By Porter Wright on
Even in the face of an undisputed national workforce reduction, in a recent decision (Cutcher v. Kmart), the Sixth Circuit found an issue of disputed fact existed as to whether Kmart’s termination of an hourly associate as part of a reduction in force interfered with and was in retaliation for that associate’s recent exercise of her FMLA rights.
Continue Reading Lessons Learned for Performance Appraisals and RIFs from the Sixth Circuit in Cutcher v. Kmart
Sixth Circuit Applies Balancing Test In Retaliation Case Involving an Employee’s Disclosure of Confidential Documents
By Porter Wright on
A recent Sixth Circuit decision addressed the issue of whether the disclosure of confidential, proprietary documents by an employee to her attorneys constitutes a protected activity for which the employee cannot be terminated or otherwise disciplined. In 2000, numerous individuals filed a class action against the Cincinnati Insurance Company (CIC), alleging that CIC had discriminated against women in violation of the Equal Pay Act (EPA). Kathy Niswander, a claims manager at CIC, was one of the plaintiffs in the class action.
In order to respond to CIC’s discovery requests, the plaintiffs’ attorneys asked each of the plaintiffs, including Ms. Niswander, to send them any documents in their possession that related to the case or that might support their discrimination claims. In response, Ms. Niswander sent the attorneys any documents she had that could potentially be relevant, but she also submitted confidential claim-file documents that did not contain any information relevant to the alleged discrimination.Continue Reading Sixth Circuit Applies Balancing Test In Retaliation Case Involving an Employee’s Disclosure of Confidential Documents