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In an employment race discrimination case, a federal court recently held that the defendant-employer did not have “possession, custody, or control” over text messages sent or received by its employees on their personal cell phones. The court denied the plaintiff’s motion to compel the production of these text messages because there was no evidence that:

– the employer issued the cell phones to the employees;
– the employees used the cell phones for any work-related purpose; or
– the employer otherwise had any legal right to obtain employee text messages on demand.
Continue Reading Court Holds That Employer Did Not Have “Possession, Custody or Control” of Text Messages Sent or Received on its Employees’ Personal Cell Phones

A federal court has denied a defendant-employer’s request that plaintiffs sift through and turn over all their social media posts made during their work hours in an FLSA collective action in which the plaintiffs claim their employer failed to give them meal breaks. How did that happen? I thought you’d never ask.
Continue Reading Court Denies Employer’s Access to Social Media Posts in FLSA Collective Action and Sends Warning: If You Want Access to Social Media, Come with Both Barrels Loaded … Leave the Water Gun at Home

The infamous LinkedIn ownership case, Eagle v. Edcomm, is over, and for the plaintiff, Dr. Linda Eagle, it was a win and a loss. We told you about this case in the post: “In the Social Media Battle Over Who Owns a LinkedIn Account, the Greatest Threat is State Law Claims – How Employers Can Protect Themselves in Light of Eagle v. Morgan as 11 State Law Claims Proceed to Trial.” The case did go to trial, and the Eastern District of Pennsylvania decided that while Dr. Eagle proved three claims against her former employer, Edcomm, she was not entitled to any monetary damages because she failed to prove any damages with reasonable certainty.
Continue Reading Court Decides LinkedIn Ownership Case and Finds for Plaintiff But Refuses to Show Her the Money

The summary judgment decision issued on October 31st by Ohio federal district court judge David Dowd in Barnett v. Aultman Hospital contains important reminders for both private employers and their employees. For employers, there is the reminder that they are not bound by the First Amendment’s protections for free speech. And for employees: Always remember to confirm that your supervisor actually has been fired before going to Facebook to celebrate.
Continue Reading Ohio Federal District Court Rejects Public Policy Wrongful Termination Claim Against Private Employer Based On First Amendment

On June 9, 2011, the Ohio Supreme Court issued its long awaited decision in Sutton v. Tomco Machining, Inc., in which the Court expanded the scope of workers’ compensation retaliation protection to include employees who are injured on the job but have not yet filed an actual workers’ compensation claim.
Continue Reading Sutton v. Tomco Machining, Inc.: Ohio Supreme Court Expands Workers’ Compensation Retaliation Protection

Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Ricci v. DeStefano, a case in which several white and Hispanic New Haven firefighters claim that they were discriminated against when the city refused to certify promotion test results based on a concern that the test may have been flawed.
Continue Reading Reverse Race Discrimination Case Before U.S. Supreme Court Raises Burning Issues

Posted in EEO

The recent decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Pan American Grain Co. v. NLRB serves as a good reminder for unionized businesses contemplating layoffs: They may be obligated to bargain with the union that represents their employees not only over the effects of the layoff on employees but, possibly, the decision itself.
Continue Reading Reminder to Unionized Businesses: You May Have a Duty to Bargain With Union Over Layoff Decisions

In the first federal appellate decision addressing the new breed of ERISA “excess fee” cases, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit last week held, in Hecker v. Deere & Co that the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”) does not require an employer that sponsors 401(k) plans for its employees to disclose to plan participants that the plans’ investment advisor shared revenue with the affiliated plan trustee.
Continue Reading Revenue-Sharing of 401(k) Plan Fees Did Not Breach Fiduciary Duty Under ERISA

Many employers have been pulling their hair out attempting to address runaway intermittent leave under the FMLA. The Sixth Circuit’s decision in Davis v. Michigan Bell authorizes one creative solution – change your 12-month FMLA period to a calendar-year basis.
Continue Reading Recent Sixth Circuit Decision Authorizes Creative Solution to Address Runaway Intermittent Leave