I’m happy to report I “won” my recent case before the Ohio Supreme Court. I put “won” in quotation marks because the Court did not make a decision on the merits. It concluded what I had believed from the time it first accepted jurisdiction of the appeal–that this was not the appropriate case to decide the proposition of law the appellant proposed. After all of the briefing and the oral arguments before the Court, it simply concluded, “This cause, here on appeal from the Court of Appeals for Warren County, was considered in the manner prescribed by law. On further consideration thereof, this cause is dismissed, sua sponte, as having been improvidently accepted.” So, the decision of the Court of Appeals stands, and my client wins.
U.S. Supreme Court Narrows Definition of “Supervisor” in Title VII Cases
Last June, the Supreme Court narrowed the definition of supervisors to employees with the authority to hire and fire.
In Vance v. Ball State University, the Supreme Court narrowed the circumstances under which an employer may be liable for workplace sexual harassment. This case will affect the way Ohio and Cincinnati sexual harassment lawyers evaluate cases. [Read more…] about U.S. Supreme Court Narrows Definition of “Supervisor” in Title VII Cases
New Standard for Employment Retaliation
Nassar v. University of Texas is a case Ohio and Cincinnati employment lawyers will have to consider when evaluating employment retaliation claims.
Dr. Naiel Nassar was a faculty member at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (“UTSW”) and a clinician at an affiliated hospital clinic, Parkland. Of Middle Eastern descent, Dr. Nassar was subjected to disparaging comments about his nationality from his supervisor’s supervisor, Dr. Beth Levine. Dr. Levine also scrutinized Dr. Nassar’s productivity and billing practices more than that of other doctors. [Read more…] about New Standard for Employment Retaliation
Arguing Before the Ohio Supreme Court
Last week I had my first argument before the Ohio Supreme Court. Ironically the case had nothing to do with employment law or commercial litigation, but instead arose from a post-divorce property division dispute. The issue, rather arcane, was whether a trial court’s imposition of a contempt sanction, coupled with an opportunity to purge, is a final appealable order. [Read more…] about Arguing Before the Ohio Supreme Court
The ADA and FMLA–Potent Protection for Employees
Most people have heard about the Americans with Disabilities Act, or “ADA.” You may also have heard about the FMLA, or Family and Medical Leave Act. These two federal laws give employees protection from being treated unfairly because of disabilities or serious illnesses requiring them to miss work, or require they receive some accommodation at work to make up for a disability.
Like most of the employment laws intended to protect employees, these laws can be complicated. They have very specific provisions that must be followed in order to receive the protections they afford. [Read more…] about The ADA and FMLA–Potent Protection for Employees
What is Employment Law?
Employment law is generally the law governing the relationship between employers and employees. Several decades ago, this was generally referred to as labor law. That was back when labor unions and collective bargaining agreements were about the only legal protection employees had against unfair employment practices by employers.
But in the 1960’s Congress passed Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. That act, and several amendments made to it, made it illegal for employers to discriminate against employees on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. Later, Congress passed laws making it illegal to discriminate on the basis of age, pregnancy, and disability. Most states, including Ohio and Kentucky, then passed their own versions of these federal laws, so it is generally against both federal and state law for an employer to discriminate against an employee on the basis of age, race, sex, national origin, and disability. [Read more…] about What is Employment Law?
Non-compete Agreements
Many employees are shocked to learn that the one-paragraph agreement not to compete they signed when they accepted a new job is actually enforceable to prevent them from working in the same industry. These covenants–that is, promises–not to compete are governed by state law, and each state’s law may be different. In Ohio, such promises are generally enforceable if they are “reasonable”, and if they are designed to protect against unfair competition, and not just to stifle competition.
Employment lawyers in Cincinnati and elsewhere across Ohio often get calls from people both in and out of Ohio who have been sued or threatened with sued for alleged breach of a non-compete agreement. People want to know, first of all, if such agreements are enforceable. We often hear, “Well, I talked to a lawyer here in such-and-such a state, and she said she doesn’t think these agreements are really enforceable.” [Read more…] about Non-compete Agreements
Living Greatly In The Law
“[A] man may live greatly in the law as well as elsewhere; that there as well as elsewhere his thought may find its unity in an infinite perspective; that there as well as elsewhere he may wreak himself upon life, may drink the bitter cup of heroism, may wear his heart out after the unattainable.” (Holmes, Oliver Wendell, “Profession of the Law,” Speeches, Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1913, p. 23.) [Read more…] about Living Greatly In The Law