Case Summaries

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The U.S. Supreme Court reversed and remanded a win the City of Chicago obtained against an African-American class of firefighter applicants seeking positions with the City.  In Lewis v. City of Chicago, a group of firefighter applicants filed a lawsuit against the City challenging the City’s 1996 decision that it would only consider those applicants who scored "well-qualified" on…

In a non-employment case of significant importance to employers and employment lawyers, the U.S. Supreme Court held today that imposing class arbitration on parties who have not agreed to class arbitration is inconsistent with the Federal Arbitration Act and is therefore not permitted.  This case arose out of an MDL antitrust case alleging that certain competitors were engaged in…

In a discrimination case it is very important to determine whether the plaintiff is alleging direct or circumstantial evidence of discrimination.  This is important because the standard by which a court determines if the case should proceed to trial or not depends on this determination. In Jackson v. Cal-Western Packaging Corp., the U.S. Court of Appeals…

A trial court’s order granting or denying a temporary injunction in a noncompete case is rarely reversed by the court of appeals.  This week the Fourteenth Court of Appeals took the unusual step of reversing a trial court’s denial of an employer’s application for temporary injunction seeking to prohibit a former employee from engaging in certain…

Last week, the El Paso Court of Appeals affirmed a judgment in favor of an employer on an unemployment benefit eligibility issue where the employee, abandoned his job.  The employee was a Nationwide Financed Agent from January 2003 until November 2005.  A Financed Agent is an employee-agent of Nationwide who starts an insurance agency and operates it to the…

There has been a significant amount of litigation against employers over the compensability of work time for putting on and taking off safety-related clothing and equipment prior to the start of a shift but necessary for the work to be performed.  For example, Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation recently agreed to pay $1 million in back wages to settle a…

The Fourteenth Court of Appeals in Houston recently held that it is the date the employee is provided notice of termination, and not the termination date itself, that commences the statute of limitations in a breach of contract case.  You can read the Memorandum Opinion in Malallah v. Noble Logistic Services, Inc. here.…