The Majority Opinion: Legal Blog

Zetwick v. County of Yolo - Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Facts :  Victoria Zetwick ("Zetwick") worked as a corrections officer in Yolo County Sheriff's Department.  During her tenure there, she claimed that Edward Prieto ("Prieto"), the county sheriff, created a hostile work environment by giving her numerous unwelcomed hugs (on at least 100 occasions) and an unwanted kiss at least once.  Zetwick brought a hostile work environment claim under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act against both Prieto and the County of Yolo.  The defendants argued that any complained of conduct was no objectively severe or pervasive or enough to establish a hostile work environment (and instead was merely innocuous and socially acceptable conduct).  The district court granted the defendants' motion for summary judgment on the grounds that Zetwick could not establish a valid hostile work environment claim.  B...

A few days ago, I was talking to a regular reader of the blog about some controversial comments that were made by a Utah Republican official in regard to equal pay.  I was going to lead this post with that article but thought a more light hearted note about puppy parental leave would be a good change of pace.  To say puppy parental leave is somewhat of a ground breaking concept would be an understatement. As always, below are a couple articles that caught my eye this week. Scottish Brewer Introduces Puppy Paternity Leave I have heard of parental leave.  I have heard of maternity leave.  But 'puppy' paternity leave is a new one.  With that being said, this is a great article on a Scottish brewer that is opening a location in Ohio and has decided to offer its employees a week of leave to take care of a new puppy.  As the article notes, this leave policy is apparently the first in the industry (or any industry that I can recall).  Not a bad p...

As with many employment & labor law related cases (and bills) being litigated around the country, there are always a few that stand out.  This is one to keep an eye on. Late last week, it was announced that Senate Bill 13 would go before the full Texas Senate for further debate.  The bill, which would bar voluntary payroll deductions of union dues from state employee paychecks, cleared the Senate Affairs Committee by a 6 - 2 vote.   Perhaps unsurprisingly, labor groups oppose this bill as an attack on unions which would lower membership to union organizations.  The president of the Amarillo Association of Texas Professional Educators has argued that allowing automatic payroll deductions are an easy way for members of a union to pay their dues.  Given that Republicans control the Texas Legislature, it might be assumed that this bill would sail through.  However, that is not necessarily the case.  A similar bill failed to pass the ...

Bagwell v. Morgan County Commission - Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals Facts :  Katrina Bagwell ("Bagwell") was hired to work as a groundskeeper at West Park, a community recreational facility.  The job description set forth a long list of manual and other related functions, including landscaping, sweeping, picking up trash, cleaning pavilions, preparing athletic fields, installing irrigation systems, painting, plumbing, housekeeping, and other similar functions.  The job description also stated that the position entailed "very heavy work demands".   However, Bagwell suffered from an injury when her right kneecap was crushed in eight places and she suffered a broken femur from a motorcycle accident.  After she tried to return from FMLA leave, a county commissioner noted she walked with a limp and said Bagwell would have to be cleared by a county doctor before returning to work.  After an evaluation, it was concluded that Bagwell could not w...

What a week this has been.  In between the decision of Andy Puzder to withdraw as the nominee for Labor Secretary to the quick announcement of Alexander Acosta as the new nominee yesterday, this has been a fast moving story.  As things progress on that front, I think it is appropriate to lead off with an article on the new nominee. As always below are a couple articles that caught my eye this week. AFL-CIO Suggests that Acosta Could Face a More Favorable Confirmation Process Than Puzder Nikita Vladimirov at The Hill wrote an article on Wednesday about comments made by the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations ("AFL-CIO") in which the group praised President Trump's nomination of Alexander Acosta for Labor Secretary.  While the AFL-CIO had been critics of the prior nominee, Andy Puzder, it appears that the group is offering its tentative support to the nominee.  As I had noted earlier this week, Acosta appears to be a ...

That did not take long, did it?   Less than twenty four hours after Andy Puzder withdrew as President Donald Trump's nominee for Labor Secretary , President Trump announced earlier today that he has chosen Alexander Acosta as his new nominee for the position. For those unfamiliar with Acosta, he brings a great deal of experience to the table.  He is currently the Dean of the Florida International University College of Law.  However, he has also served as a law clerk to Judge Sam Alito (currently a member of the United States Supreme Court) back when Judge Alito was on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals (1994 - 1995), as a member of the National Labor Relations Board (2002 - 2003), and as an Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division under President George W. Bush (2003). For those looking for a nominee with a 'pro-employer' track record such as Puzder, this pick might be a bit of a disappointment.  On the other hand, for those looking for a ...

Well this has certainly been a day where the news has come quickly and the situation has seemingly changed by the hour.   As a follow up to my post earlier today , President Donald Trump's nominee for Labor Secretary, Andy Puzder, has formally withdrawn as nominee for the position.  He tweeted a message confirming his withdrawal half an hour ago. Given how tenuous things had become over the past few days, and especially since a handful of Republicans indicated they were withholding support from Puzder's nomination, perhaps this news should not come as much of a surprise.  If anything though, I think it is curious to see how support for Puzder appeared to have eroded so quickly, given that every other of President Trump's nominees for other cabinet positions (in which Democrats had fought against) were able to get confirmed.   For those readers wondering what ultimately did Puzder's nomination in, it is hard to say. However, readers might recall his prior ...