U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals

Nat'l Labor Relations Bd. v. Hotel Employees & Restaurant Employees Int'l Union (05/01/06 - No. 05-1924)

Petition for review of an NLRB order stating that a labor union had illegally discharged an employee for engaging in a protected concerted activity is denied where the Board committed no legal error and the decision was supported by substantial evidence.

http://laws.lp.findlaw.com/1st/051924.html

U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals

Howard v. Winter (05/04/06 - No. 05-1258)

In case alleging hostile work environment under Title VII, summary judgment for defendant in his personal capacity as Secretary of the Navy is vacated where: 1) there is a question of fact whether plaintiff is alleging harassment based on her sex; 2) a reasonable juror could find that plaintiff's comments to a Navy human resources specialist were sufficient to put the Navy on notice of a potential hostile work environment; and 3) the Navy's response to that notice was negligent.

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/4th/051258p.pdf

U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals

Fischer v. Cingular Wireless, LLC (05/01/06 - No. 05-3391)

Dismissal of case against employer is affirmed where the court did not have to warn a pro se plaintiff before dismissal for failure to prosecute when: 1) defendant had requested dismissal if plaintiff disregarded further discovery deadlines; 2) the case had been dismissed once for failure to prosecute; and 3) plaintiff could not defend her delay.

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/7th/053391p.pdf

Lakeview Tech., Inc. v. Robinson (05/01/06 - No. 05-4433)

Denial of preliminary injunction to enforce an agreement not to compete is vacated and remanded with instructions to enter the injunction where the defendant's previous deceit and lack of assets with which to satisfy any possible sanction tipped the balance of equities in favor of injunctive relief for the plaintiff.

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/7th/054433p.pdf

Smith v. Potter (05/02/06 - No. 04-3531)

Summary judgment for defendant USPS in an employment discrimination suit is affirmed where the plaintiff failed to exhaust her administrative remedies.

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/7th/043531p.pdf

Harrell v. U.S. Postal Service (05/04/06 - No. 03-4204)

Summary judgment for defendant in a suit involving the Family and Medical Leave Act is affirmed upon rehearing where: 1) defendant-employer could impose stricter return-to-work provisions than those in FMLA; 2) contact with plaintiff's health care provider caused him no injury; and 3) plaintiff had notice of defendant's return-to-work expectations.

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/7th/034204p.pdf

Int'l Bhd. of Elec. Workers v. CSX Transp., Inc. (05/04/06 - No. 05-2590)

Judgment of district court is affirmed in a suit over labor-union inclusion in labor arbitration where the plain language of the Railway Labor Standards Act contemplated public law boards comprised of two partisan members and a neutral arbitrator with other interested parties participating as advocates.

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/7th/052590p.pdf

In Re: Amsted Industries, Inc. (05/04/06 - No. 05-3417)

Summary judgment for defendant-bank is reversed and remanded where there was no evidence in the record that the defendant exercised discretion in its role as trustee of a Employee Stock Ownership Plan subject to ERISA by considering the effects of changed circumstances on the plan.

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/7th/053417p.pdf

U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals

Kohlbek v. City of Omaha (05/01/06 - No. 04-2060)

Summary judgment for defendant on plaintiffs, fire department employees, reverse discrimination claim seeking declaratory injunctive relief and damages against a municipality is reversed where defendant's affirmative action plan, as it applies to promotional decisions, is not narrowly tailored to further the goal of remedying past discrimination.

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/8th/042060p.pdf

ING Fin. Partners v. Johansen (05/01/06 - No. 05-2531)

Summary judgment for an employer and a permanent injunction enjoining a former employee from pursuing her claims of sex discrimination, sexual harassment, and retaliatory discharge for whistleblowing, in arbitration are reversed and vacated, respectively, where the district court erred in finding that an agreement unequivocally exempted the claims at issue from the parties' agreement to arbitrate.

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/8th/052531p.pdf

Elnashar v. Speedway SuperAmerica, LLC (05/03/06 - No. 04-3973)

In a suit brought by a former employee against his former employer involving claims that he was subjected to a hostile work environment and wrongfully disciplined because of his religion and national origin, plaintiff's appeal from a discovery order is dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/8th/043973p.pdf

Elnashar v. US Dep't of Justice (05/03/06 - No. 04-3980)

Judgment on the pleadings in favor of defendants, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), on claims under the Freedom of Information Act and the Privacy Act is affirmed over plaintiff's meritless claims of error in a suit seeking expungement of plaintiff's record, access to his record, and damages relating to the release of his record.

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/8th/043980p.pdf

U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals

Berry v. Dep't of Soc. Servs. (05/01/06 - No. 04-15566)

Summary judgment for defendant-public employer on constitutional and Title VII claims brought by an employee is affirmed where the public employer's interests in avoiding violations of the Establishment Clause and in maintaining a conference room as a nonpublic forum outweighed the resulting limitations on plaintiff's free exercise of his religion at work. Additionally, defendant was not required to further accommodate plaintiff's religious views under Title VII.

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/9th/0415566p.pdf

U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals

Kruchowski v. Weyerhaeuser Co. (05/03/06 - No. 04-7118)

Summary judgment for defendant-employer on plaintiffs' claims under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) is reversed where releases of claims, which were signed by plaintiffs in order to obtain a severance package in exchange for a waiver of the right to assert an ADEA claim against defendant, failed to conform to the statutory requirements of the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act (OWBPA).

http://laws.lp.findlaw.com/getcase/10th/case/047118&exact=1

Nelson v. The Boeing Co. (05/04/06 - No. 05-3156)

Title VII does not create a statutory right to the effective assistance of counsel. Summary judgment for defendant-employer on claims brought under Title VII, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), and similar state laws is affirmed over a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel.

http://laws.lp.findlaw.com/10th/053156.html

U.S. District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals

Boivin v. U.S. Airways, Inc. (05/02/06 - No. 05-5165)

Claims brought by retired pilots of a bankrupt carrier seeking to compel the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation to correct alleged errors in its calculation of estimated benefits due under ERISA and a retirement income plan are dismissed due to the pilots' failure to exhaust their administrative remedies.

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/dc/055165a.pdf

United Food & Commercial Workers Union Local 204 v. Nat'l Labor Relations Bd. (05/05/06 - No. 05-1004)

Petitions for review brought by an employer and union are denied and a cross-application for enforcement of an order of the NLRB is granted over challenges by an employer to the Boards' findings regarding violations of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and challenges by the employer and union to the severity, or lack thereof, of the remedies imposed.

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/dc/051004a.pdf

Am. Fed'n of Gov't Employees v. Fed. Labor Relations Auth. (05/05/06 - No. 05-1268)

Petition for review of an order of the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) finding that a firearms training policy change by the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection did not have a greater-than-de-minimis effect on the working conditions of bargaining-unit employees is granted where the FLRA unreasonably deemed the change de minimis in its effect.

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/dc/051268a.pdf

New York Court of Appeals

Keavey v. New York State Dormitory Auth. (05/02/06 - No. 101 SSM 6)

Dismissal of plaintiff's Labor Law sections 240(1) and 241(6) causes of action is affirmed where the act of falling into a gap between insulation boards is not a "gravity related accident" encompassed by section 240(1) and, further, plaintiff failed to demonstrate the applicability of any section of the Industrial Code.

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data/ny/cases/app/ssm6mem06.pdf

In the Matter of City of New York v. New York City Civil Serv. Comm'n (05/02/06 - No. 50)

Annulment of Civil Service Commission's order that petitioner be reinstated as a police officer is affirmed where, although evidence indicated petitioner was no longer psychologically disabled, there was no evidence that he was fit for the stresses of police work.

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data/ny/cases/app/50mem06.pdf

In the Matter of Marc Greenberg v. New York City Transit Auth. (05/04/06 - No. 58 )

An award of damages under Workers' Compensation Law section 120 to an employee who has been discharged for claiming or attempting to claim workers' compensation benefits may include predecision interest.

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data/ny/cases/app/58opn06.pdf

Supreme Court of Texas

Am. Flood Research, Inc. v. Jones (05/05/06 - No. 05–0271)

A court of appeals' reversal of a sanctions order imposed on an attorney for discovery abuse, committed in the course of representing a group of employees in an employment discrimination suit, is reversed where the court of appeals erred in holding that a trial court must specifically find that the party, not just the attorney, abused the discovery process in order to impose sanctions under Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 215.3.

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/texasstatecases/sc/050271.pdf