The Majority Opinion: Legal Blog

As always, there are some EEOC cases that jump out at me when I review developments on that front.  Below are a couple EEOC cases and settlements that caught my eye this month. Burgers & Beer Agrees to Pay $150,000.00 to Resolve Sex Discrimination Claim Burgers & Beer, a Southern California eatery, agreed to settle a sex discrimination claim for $150,00.00 after it was alleged that the entity disqualified male applicants and employees from server positions based solely on their sex.  As a result, the suit alleged that Burgers & Beer had an almost all female server workforce since 2015.  This alleged conduct is in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which prohibits employers from discriminating on the basis of sex with regard to hiring and/or promotions. Uber Settles Sexual Harassment & Retaliation Claim For $4.4 Million A few weeks ago, Uber settled a sexual harassment and retaliation claim brought against the comp...

With Christmas being midweek this year, I spent little time in the office and therefore away from my work computer and with less downtime to read through articles (given some last minute shopping.)  However, given that this is the last "What I've Been Reading This Week" for 2019, I wanted to take a moment to recognize a few of the landmark cases, bills, and developments in the labor and employment law field over the past twelve months. The U.S. Supreme Court was rather busy, issuing several notable decisions including New Prime, Inc. v. Oliveira (in which the Court held that independent contractors in the transportation industry may not be forced into mandatory arbitration).  As well, at the start of October, the Court heard oral arguments in three employment discrimination claims that asked the Court to consider extending the protections of Title VII to cover sexual orientation.  And to wrap up the year, the Court heard oral arguments in Intel Corp. Investment P...

Simmons v. Pacific Bells, LLC - Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Facts :  Max Simmons ("Simmons") worked at a Taco Bell restaurant beginning in February of 2017.  (The Taco Bell restaurant location was operated by Pacific Bells, LLC "Pacific Bells".)  In July of 2017, Simmons received a jury summons that required he appear for jury duty on July 31, 2017.  After receiving the summons, Simmons apparently told Carolyn Henderson "Henderson", the regional general manager of the Taco Bell location where Simmons worked, about the summons.  Henderson allegedly told Simmons to "find a way to get out of jury duty."  Simmons proceeded to request time off for jury duty as well as additional time to visit family.  That request for time off was made two weeks in advance. Notwithstanding the request for time off, Henderson scheduled Simmons to work.  Simmons texted Henderson on July 23rd with a reminder about the jury duty and a request to not be sched...

During the past few weeks, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) has been quite busy, issuing several prominent decisions that favor employers.  With Board Member Lauren McFerran’s term ending this Monday, that leaves the NLRB with only three (Republican appointed) Board Members, out of five total Board Member positions.  (Readers will recall that three Board Member positions are traditionally comprised of Board Members appointed by the political party in power while the remaining two Board Member positions go to the minority party.  In this case, Republicans are currently the majority party; Democrats being the minority party.)   With President Donald Trump not appearing eager to appoint a Democrat to the two vacant seats (and with Congress likely focused on an upcoming impeachment trial next year), I would expect for the foreseeable future that the decisions issued by the NLRB will continue to use to favor employers.  Of course, even if either ope...

Last Friday, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) announced it was had finalized a change to the rules in regard to union elections and how quickly they can occur. Readers will recall that since the ‘Ambush Election Rule’ came into effect in 2015, employers have cried foul over how quickly a union election can occur (which often leaves employers limited time in which to mount a campaign against unionization.)  The ’Ambush Election Rule’ allows a union election to occur as quickly as 13 days from the date a petition is filed.  Needless to say, this short timeframe has been viewed as more favorable to unions in so much as they can quickly get an election without employees often hearing the ‘other side’ from their employers. Following the NLRB assuming a more Republican tilt in recent years, attention had turned to when, not if, changes would be made .  With last Friday’s announcement, the NLRB announced that while it was not scrapping the ’Ambush Election...

Last week, two pregnancy discrimination suits were filed against Frontier Airlines by a group of eight Frontier Airlines pilots and flight attendants that claimed their employer discriminated against them by forcing them onto unpaid leave during their pregnancies and not making it possible for them to pump while working. Both lawsuits allege that "Frontier's policies and practices have...systematically discriminated against pregnant and breastfeeding pilots by signaling out pregnancy and breastfeeding for disadvantaged treatment and by failing to comply with Colorado laws that require employers to accommodate pregnancy and related medical conditions and specifically mandate the provision of break time and private time, sanitary location to pump."  In support of these allegations, one pilot alleged she was "subjected to disciplinary action for seeking accommodation related to pumping and was prohibited to pumping while in uniform."  Apparent accommodation...

I found it difficult to narrow things down this week and not highlight article after article after article (although I was certainly tempted.)  With that being said, I call attention in particular to an article from James Petrie in which he has a few ideas on how employers can limit potential exposure when hosting office parties this month.  While all of the four articles I highlighted this week are worth reading, Petrie's article in particular might be of the most use to readers in the coming weeks. As always, below are a couple articles that caught my eye this week. Joe Biden Proposes Prosecuting Companies For Labor Law Violations Last weekend at a forum in Iowa, Democratic Presidential candidate Joe Biden stated that consideration should be given to prosecuting companies for labor law violations.  Currently, the National Labor Relations Board cannot impose punitive fines and instead can only collect back pay for workers, in the case of a violation of the N...