The Majority Opinion: Legal Blog

EEOC v. Bob Evans Farms, LLC - United States District Court, Western District of Pennsylvania Facts :  Hayle Nadalin, nee Macioce ("Macioce") began working at a Bob Evans restaurant as a waitress in 2009.  Bob /Evans used an automated computer-based scheduling system to create employee schedules based upon factors such as employees' availability and the anticipated needs of the restaurant.  Subject to a manager's approval, employees could change their schedules.  Jay Moreau("Moreau"), who was the General Manager of the location that Macioce worked at, had the authority to "pencil in" employees onto the finalized schedule if needed. In July of 2014, Macioce was pregnant with a due date in September.  She indicated that she wanted to work up until she gave birth to her child (which ultimately occurred on September 12).  In mid July, Macioce and Moreau discussed Macioce's future work schedule.  As Moreau believed Macioce's pregnancy

Midwest Division - MMC, LLC v. National Labor Relations Board - D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals Facts :  Midwest Division - MMC, LLC had a d/b/a, Menorah Medical Center ("Menorah") which operated a hospital.  In Kansas, where Menorah was located, state law requires hospitals have an internal peer-review program to monitor the quality of care furnished.  Menorah subsequently formed the Nursing Peer Review Committee ("Committee"0 for the hospital's nursing staff.  The committee was charged with examining alleged violations of the applicable standard of care by the hospital's nurses and reported serious breaches to the state licensing agency. The committee investigated two nurses, Sherry Centye ("Centye") and Brenda Smith ("Smith"), at the hospital for alleged substandard conduct.  Both Centye and Smith received letters from Menorah's Risk Manager that alleged the nurses had "exhibited unprofessional conduct as defined by th

A few months ago, I watched a documentary on Netflix of French President Emmanuel Macron in his campaign to become president of France.  While the documentary, Emmanuel Macron: Behind the Rise , was compelling, given the fact that Macron came from 'relative' obscurity to eventually winning the run-off election, it left me wondering how his presidency would play out.  Well it did not take long for him to announce an ambitious agenda, including a proposed reform of the country's Labor Code.  While I will not attempt to act like I know the inner workings of that Labor Code (in fact, it appears many legal scholars in France grapple with a thorough comprehension themselves), I did not want to highlight an article from Bloomberg which gives readers an idea of what kind of fight President Macron might be in for as he attempts to reform the country's Labor Code. As always, below are a couple articles that caught my eye this week. French President Seeks to Reform Lab

Varela v. AE Liquidation, Inc. - Third Circuit Court of Appeals Facts :  Annette Varela and John Dimura ("Appellants"), on behalf of themselves and all other similarly situated employees, worked for Eclipse Aviation Corporation ("Eclipse") and were laid off after Eclipse suddenly closed its doors in February 2009.  Based upon the voluminous facts in the record, this shutdown was unexpected because after Eclipse declared bankruptcy in November 2008, it reached an agreement to sell the company to its largest shareholder, European Technology and Investment Research Center ("ETIRC").  If that agreement had been completed, it would have allowed Eclipse to continue operating.  However, the sale was contingent upon funding from Vnesheconomban ("VEB"), which never materialized, although there was much back and forth between VEB and Eclipse in which VEB repeatedly indicated the funding would come through.  As a result of VEB not providing the requi

Last week, I wrote an article about attempts by unions and pro labor groups in Missouri to stop the implementation of a right to work law in the state (that was set to go into effect on August 28th).  These opponents of right to work in the state had collected more than 300,000 signatures in an effort to get the measure on the ballot next November.  (Although readers might recall that "only" 100,000 signatures were required to place the matter before voters...although as I noted, it is always a good idea to get more signatures than necessary in case some are excluded for any given reason). Shortly after the signatures were delivered to the Missouri Secretary of State's office last Friday, Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft's spokeswoman Maura Browning said that the right to work law was essentially suspended.  Assuming enough of the signatures are found to be valid, voters will have the opportunity to rule on the future of right to work in Missouri. As noted

I had intended to write a note about the minimum wage vote in Kansas City a few days ago, but work kept me tied up.  However, I did want to highlight that article in particular, given the protracted and drawn out legal fight that is likely to follow.  The article from The Kansas City Star gives readers a good idea of where things stand at the moment, with an eye to to the future. As always, below are a couple articles that caught my eye this week. Harvard Appeals NLRB Decision to Invalidate Unionization Vote Readers might recall that last year, a student unionization election occurred at Harvard.  After the vote occurred, there were subsequent challenges made to several ballots cast in the election as well as claims that Harvard had improperly prevented eligible students from participating in the election .  While the initial results appeared to show a vote against unionization, the Regional Director of the National Labor Relations Board, John J. Walsh, Jr., wrote a decisio

This past February, Missouri Republican Governor Eric Greitens signed a bill that would make Missouri a right to work state .  (The right to work bill would prevent employers from mandating union membership as a condition of employment). Unsurprisingly, unions were quick to criticize the bill as a job killer with Democrats in the state trying to find ways to stop the implementation of the bill.  The prevailing notion to contest the right to work bill was to collect enough signatures to get the matter on the 2018 ballot.  Although only 100,000 notarized signatures are needed to force a vote, it was recently announced that 300,000 signatures had been gathered to support putting the right to work measure on the 2018 ballot for voters to decide upon.  (It is always a good idea to get more signatures than necessary as many signatures are often contested, illegible, signed by people not registered to vote in the state, etc.  As a result, if more signatures are submitted than what is req

As with many employment and labor law related cases (and bills) that are being litigated around the country, there are always a few that stand out.  This is one to keep an eye on. At the end of July, Raise Up Massachusetts announced it would push to put both a $15/hour minimum wage proposal and a paid leave requirement on the ballot next November. Under the minimum wage proposal, the state's minimum wage would rise to $15/hour by 2022.  The current hourly wage rate, $11/hour, would increase by $1 every year until it reached $15.  Thereafter, the hourly wage rate would increase automatically at the same rate as the cost of living in the state. In regard to the paid leave plan, workers in the state would receive up to 16 weeks of paid leave to care for a new child or an ill or injured family member (or for needs arising from a family member's military service).  The benefit would be capped at $1,000.00/week.  Of course, the question is always how this leave woul

Rodriguez v. City of Doral - Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals Facts :  Anthony Rodriguez ("Rodriguez") worked at the City of Doral Police Department ("Doral") as a police officer.  Prior to working for Doral, Rodriguez met Sandra Ruiz ("Ruiz").  Ruiz was a member of the Doral City Council and had encouraged Rodriguez to apply for employment with Doral.  Over time, Rodriguez and Ruiz developed a friendship and Rodriguez volunteered his time to help advance her political ambitions.  When Ruiz ran for election to the State house and the Doral City Council,  Juan Carlos Bermudez ("Bermudez"), supported Ruiz's opponents.  (During Rodriguez's employment with Doral, Bermudez served as Doral's mayor). Rodriguez identified several instances in which he claimed he was "targeted" by Doral and Bermudez:   Bermudez apparently did not like Rodriguez's working relationship with Ruiz.  In fact, Doral's City Manager, S

Quite the busy week kept me on the road and out of the office.  One of the more thought provoking articles I came across dealt with the relationship between President Trump and the fast food industry.  Recall that President Trump's first nominee for Labor Secretary was Andy Puzder (of Hardees/Carl's Jr. "fame").  Of course he did not make it through the entire confirmation process...but that example certainly lends credence to the fact that the President appears to be quite cozy with certain sectors of the fast food industry.  Whether that pays dividends long term for these employers is still up for debate, but at the below article notes, it appears that things are certainly looking up for the time being. As always, below are a couple articles that caught my eye this week. President Donald Trump: A Friend to Fast Food Employers? Dave Jamieson over at The Huffington Post muses on the seemingly strong "friendship" shared by President Donald Trump a

As with many employment and labor law related cases (and bills) that are being litigated around the country, there are always a few that stand out.  This is one to keep an eye on. If last year was the year of minimum wage hikes and the Fight for $15 movement, perhaps this year belongs to the paid leave movement.  With one of President Donald Trump's daughters, Ivanka Trump, making paid leave a major talking point on Capitol Hill , this topic has been in the headlines over the past few months. Recently, Republican Senator Deb Fischer and Independent Senator Angus King introduced the Strong Families Act which would provide for voluntary paid family leave.  The bill, also supported by Republican Representatives Mike Kelly and Terri Sewell would give a 25% tax credit to companies that offer between 2 and 12 weeks of paid leave.  The bill proposes covering both men and women in the workforce that need to care for a new child or sick family member.  The tax credit offered wo

A few days ago, I pointed readers to a union election at a Nissan plant in Mississippi that was to occur at the end of last week .  The election, in which the United Auto Workers ("UAW") sought to represent a group of workers at the plant, was contentious with charges of unfair labor practices on the part of Nissan leading up to the election.  Of note, the UAW alleged that Nissan had illegally threatened workers with closure of the plant, loss of jobs, and other alleged threats in an effort to stymie unionization of the plant. Late Friday, the results were announced and by a nearly two to one margin, the Nissan workers voted against union representation by the UAW.  The vote, 2,244 against unionization and only 1,307 in favor, was met with resound cheers by pro-employer groups.  Nissan issued a statement after the results were announced and stated "With this vote, the voice of Nissan employees has been heard.  They have rejected the UAW and chosen to self-represen

With last week's note highlighting the joint employer bill recently introduced in Congress, I had planned to cover a broader range of articles this week.  While not quite running the gamut on an expansive list of labor & employment law topics, I did read through a few developments on the labor front that justify spending additional time discussing.  Similar to the dispute at the Volkswagen plant in Tennessee last year , I think the alleged anti-union tactics at the Nissan plant in Mississippi could turn into a major story. As always, below are a couple articles that caught my eye this week. Seattle Ride Sharing Union Ordinance Survives Challenge On Tuesday, Judge Robert Lasnik of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington dismissed a lawsuit that challenged the validity of a Seattle ordinance that lets ride sharing/ride hailing drivers to join labor unions.  Back in 2015 when the ordinance was approved, it was subsequently met with resistance from

Back in 2016, the Department of Labor proposed a regulation that updated the salary threshold for overtime eligibility, from $23,660.00 to $47,476.00.  The regulation would have resulted in nearly 4.2 million new workers becoming eligible for overtime pay and became a talking point on the campaign trial and during the final months of President Barack Obama's administration (naturally, President Obama supported this proposed regulation).  However, readers might recall that the regulation was blocked late last year and never went into effect.  Currently, a nationwide injunction is in place while the case is pending.  With President Donald Trump taking office in January (and having his nominee for the Labor Secretary confirmed a few months ago), I think it is likely that this Obama era overtime regulation will remain dormant for the foreseeable future. With that being said, undeterred, a lawsuit was filed this past June by a former Chipotle worker who alleged the company vio

Cory Chavis v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. - United States District Court, Southern District of New York Facts :  Cory Chavis ("Chavis") worked at a Wal-Mart store as an Asset Protection Manager ("APM").  For approximately six years in the position, Chavis was able to arrange her schedule to not work on Sundays.  In 2013, Wal-Mart changed its policy and required APMs to work every third Sunday.  Chavis requested a religious accommodation permitting her to not work on Sundays so she could observe the Sabbath.  Wal-Mart denied the request and was told she could either use vacation days to avoid working on Sundays or find another position that did not require any Sunday work.  For about six months, Chavis used vacation time to avoid working on Sundays.  After supervisors failed to grant her request to not work on Sundays, Chavis appealed to Wal-Mart's "Open Door" hotline.  Wal-Mart subsequently exempted Chavis from working on Sundays and restored the vac