Written Up

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Written Up collects and summarizes hot-off-the-press court decisions about employment law. Obviously, our summaries omit a lot of the decisions' details and nuance for the sake of brevity, so don't rely on this information for important legal decisions. If you need to see the full text of one of the decisions that we have written about, contact Shelley & Schulte, P.C., or the issuing court's website. Some statements made in these entries may look or sound like the author's opinion. If so, the authors' opinions are not necessarily shared by Shelley & Schulte, P.C. Although all (or almost all) of the court decisions that we write about either come from Virginia courts or interpret Virginia law, these cases almost always involve lawyers that are not us and people that we do not represent.

14 posts

If you’re an employer in a lawsuit, you are held to a lower pleading standard than your employees.

If you’re an employer, you have an easier pleading standard than your employees do.

Grant v. Bank of America, Civil Action No. 2:13-cv-342 (E.D.Va. Feb. 25, 2014), was handed down last week. The plaintiff, Ms. Grant, is black. She is suing her former employer and her former supervisor for race discrimination: she claims that when she was Vice President and Banking Center Manager, she did not receive the same resources as other similarly employed white and Asian managers. More…

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#Affirmative Defenses #Discrimination based on race/color/national origin #FRCP #Iqbal #Rocket Docket #Rules of Procedure #Twombly

If you're in sales, you're not entitled to overtime if you work outside "more than occasionally."

If you’re in sales, you’re not entitled to overtime if you work outside “more than occasionally.”

Hantz v. Prospect Mortgage, LLC, Civil Action No. 1:13cv1435 (E.D. Va. Feb. 5, 2014); Cougill v. Prospect Mortgage, LLC,Civil Action No. 1:13cv1433 (E.D. Va. Jan. 14, 2014). Plaintiff Ronald Hantz worked as a mortgage loan officer at Prospect Mortgage from January 24, 2007, until October 16, 2009. Plaintiff Allison Cougill worked as a mortgage loan officer at Prospect from October 29, 2007, until…

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#exempt #FLSA #outside sales #outside sales exemption #overtime #Prospect Mortgage

If your temporary impairment is bad enough, it can be considered a disability.

Summers v. Altarum Institute, Corporation, No. 12-1645 (4th Cir. Jan. 23, 2014). Carl Summers’ job at Altarum Institute required that he travel to Maryland to serve one of Altarum’s clients. The client, the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (“DCoE”), preferred that contractors work on site, but allowed them to work remotely if working hours in…

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#ADA #ADAAA #Discrimination based on disability #leave #Medical leave #Reasonable accommodation #temporary impairment

If you work for an elected official, you should refrain from registering your "voter disapproval."

Vanterpool v. Cuccinelli, Case 3:13-cv-513 (E.D. Va. Feb. 7, 2014). In this case, the plaintiff, Ms. Vanterpool, had been an Assistant Attorney General in Virginia. On May 5, 2012, an anonymous comment appeared on the website of the Washington Post, calling Virginia’s Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli an “egomaniac” who was never in his office and who was using his position only for self-promotion.…

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#1983 #attorney general #civil rights #Cuccinelli #First Amendment #state employee #Wrongful termination

If you sponsor your employees’ life insurance plan, be careful or you might wind up paying the claim.

Lewis v. Kratos Defense and Security Solutions, Inc., et al. Case 1-12-cv-01012-TSE-TCB(E.D. Va. June 11, 2013). The Plaintiff in this case, the widow of the late Jimmy Lewis, brought this suit to recover benefits under her late husband’s…

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#Employee benefits #ERISA #Fiduciary duty #Life insurance

Your employment law claim is an asset that you must disclose if you file for bankruptcy.

Royal v. R&L Carriers Shared Services, LLC, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 57416; 118 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 112 (E.D. Va., April 22, 2013) The plaintiff, Andre Royal, was an employee of the defendant, R&L Carriers Shared Services, L.L.C., until R&L…

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#Asset #Bankruptcy #Bankruptcy estate #Discrimination based on race/color/national origin #Judicial estoppel

If you get fired because your health goes bad and you have to file for bankruptcy, you can still sue your employer over the firing. (Well, maybe.) But it doesn't mean you're going to win.

The ADA performs a number of laudatory functions, not the least of which is to protect disabled individuals from insidious discrimination by requiring employers to reasonably accommodate their disability. The law, however, cannot remedy every misfortune.…

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Terminating an employee for demanding a promised bonus may worsen your cash-flow problem.

Clark v. BayDocs, Inc., No. 3:12CV896 (E.D. Va. March 29, 2013) (Lauck, J.)

Alan Clark signed an employment agreement with BayDocs, Inc. in September of 2008. That agreement stated, in pertinent part, that Mr. Clark’s employment was “at will,” that Mr.…

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Even if you think you have a good excuse, you can lose your rights if you sit on them too long.

Baldwin v. City of Greenboro, ___ F.3d ___ (4th Cir. May 6, 2013). In February of 2001, the City of Greensboro hired Oakley Dean Baldwin to serve as its Solid Waste Division Manager. In August of 2002, Mr. Baldwin told a supervisor, Jeryl Covington, that…

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Firing an employee for demanding a promised bonus may worsen your cash-flow problem.

Clark v. BayDocs, Inc.,No. 3:12CV896 (E.D. Va. March 29, 2013) (Lauck, J.) Plaintiff Alan Clark signed an employment agreement with BayDocs, Inc. in September of 2008. That agreement stated, in pertinent part, that Mr. Clark’s employment was “at will,”…

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If you have epilepsy, your employer may be required to provide accommodations… IF you’re otherwise qualified for the job.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), as amended by the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendment Act (“ADAAA”), may provide protections for people with epilepsy. One of the protections mandated by the ADA is that covered employers must provide…

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When your manager tells you, “They’re making me do this,” make sure to ask why they're making her do this.

Laing v. Federal Express Corporation, 703 F.3d 713 (4th Cir. 2013). In Laing, the plaintiff lost her case in the trial court and on appeal. Both courts applied a legal standard whereby all facts had to be viewed and all reasonable inferences had to be…

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You can treat pregnant employees badly, so long as you treat all your employees badly.

Young v. UPS, ___ F.3d ____, No. 11-2078 (4th Cir. Jan. 9, 2013). Peggy Young began working at UPS in 1999. From 2006 until the end of her employment with UPS, she worked as a part-time, early morning driver. In July of 2006, Young requested and received…

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If you file a frivolous lawsuit, you might have to pay the other side's fees.

Judith Basinger v. Hancock, Daniel, Johnson & Nagle, P.C.Civil Action No. 1:10cv666 (E.D. Va. Dec. 23, 2010). In this Memorandum Opinion the Court considered the defendant’s motion for award of attorney’s fees and costs, after it had already dismissed all…

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