Labor and Employment Law Commons^™

Labor And Employment Law, W. Jonathan Martin Ii, F. Damon Kitchen, Gary R. Wheeler

Mercer Law Review

This Article surveys the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit precedent from January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2015. The following is a discussion of those opinions.

An Onerous Burden: The Impact Of Nassar Upon Mcdonnell Douglas In The Eleventh Circuit, Alec Chappell

Mercer Law Review

Following a flood of employment discrimination and retaliation cases, the United States Supreme Court in University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center v. Nassar announced that an employee alleging retaliation must prove that the employer's motive to retaliate constituted a "but for" cause of the actions adverse to the employee. In addition to creating an awkward and unprecedented union of employment law and traditional tort principles of causation,' this decision upended the conventional application of the framework set forth in McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green and left the lower courts to pick up the pieces. ...

This Comment explores the responses …

Employment Discrimination, Peter Reed Corbin, John E. Duvall

Mercer Law Review

Clearly the most significant case handed down during the 2015 survey period was the March 2015 decision by the United States Supreme Court in Young v. United Parcel Service, Inc. In Young, the Supreme Court decided that the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) does, in fact, require employers to offer workplace accommodations to pregnant employees in order to remain on the job. This case has almost certainly required a host of employers to review and probably revise the leave policies they had in place prior to the decision being handed down. Otherwise, the 2015 survey period was a busy, …

Contraceptive Coverage Falls, No More: Using Rfra To Limit The Scope Of Religious Challenges To The Aca's Contraceptive Mandate, M. Catherine Norman

Mercer Law Review

Contraceptive coverage is a required part of all new insurance plans under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), but many employers' are exempt from this requirement. Other employers have challenged the contraceptive requirement on religious grounds. In East Texas Baptist University v. Burwell, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held as follows: (1) the plaintiffs are either automatically exempt from the contraceptive-coverage mandate or eligible for accommodation upon application; (2) the challenged provisions do not violate rights to religious freedom under the Religious Freedom and Restoration Act (RFRA); (3) RFRA applies only to …

Employment Discrimination, Peter Reed Corbin, John E. Duvall

Mercer Law Review

Perhaps the most significant cases during the 2014 survey period were those that were not handed down by United States Supreme Court, rather than the cases that were decided. Easily the most talked about case during the survey period was the case pending before the Supreme Court, Young v. United Parcel Service, Inc., in which the Court will decide whether the Pregnancy Discrimination Act requires employers to offer work place accommodations to pregnant employees in order to remain on the job. Another high profile case is Mach Mining, LLC v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, in which the Supreme Court will …

Labor And Employment Law, W. Melvin Haas Iii, William M. Clifton Iii, W. Jonathan Martin Ii, Alyssa K. Peters

Mercer Law Review

This Article surveys revisions to the Official Code of Georgia Annotated (O.C.G.A.) and decisions interpreting Georgia law from June 1, 2013 to May 31, 2014 that affect labor and employment relations for Georgia employers.

Labor And Employment, Brooks Allan Suttle, Kandis Wood Jackson

Mercer Law Review

There were a number of important decisions in the labor and employment law arena handed down by courts within the Eleventh Circuit during the January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2013 survey period. The following is a discussion of the most significant of those opinions.

Employment Discrimination, Peter Reed Corbin, John E. Duvall

Mercer Law Review

Following a relatively quiet and uneventful 2012 survey period, the United States Supreme Court stepped up its activity significantly in the area of employment discrimination during the 2013 survey period. The Supreme Court handed down several significant rulings. In University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center v. Nassar, the Court established a "but-for" rule of causation for purposes of Title VII retaliation cases. In Vance v. Ball State University, the Supreme Court determined the parameters of who qualifies as a "supervisor" for purposes of establishing vicarious liability in workplace harassment actions under Title VII.

At the circuit level, the …

An Emerging Liability: Managing Flsa Exposure From Internship Programs In The Private Sector, Chris J. Perniciaro

Mercer Law Review

According to the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the Department of Labor (DOL), unpaid internships in private for-profit businesses are illegal under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA or the Act) except for very narrow circumstances. Consistent with the WHD's position, civil litigation against employers providing unpaid internships has significantly increased via the private right of action contained in the statute. Over twenty lawsuits have been filed by unpaid interns alleging violations of federal and state minimum wage laws. A major force behind these new lawsuits is Glatt v. Fox Searchlight Pictures Inc., a June 2013 decision from …

Labor Law And The Race To The Bottom, Steven L. Willborn

Mercer Law Review

The overwhelming consensus in American legal scholarship is that races to the bottom are real, strong, and very threatening. Since 2001, about 85% of labor-law articles discussing race to the bottom have accepted it, most of them uncritically. Only a few articles have expressed skepticism.

The strength of this consensus is odd in a number of respects. First, in other, more empirically driven disciplines, the consensus cuts strongly in the opposite direction. Since 2001, 70% of the articles mentioning race to the bottom in economics and political science were skeptical of the claim, and, whether accepting or rejecting it, none …

Labor And Employment Law, W. Melvin Haas Iii, William M. Clifton Iii, W. Jonathan Martin Ii, Alyssa Peters

Mercer Law Review

This Article surveys enacted and pending revisions to the Official Code of Georgia Annotated (O.C.G.A.) and decisions interpreting Georgia law from June 1, 2012 through May 31, 2013.

Employment Discrimination, Peter Reed Corbin, John E. Duvall

Mercer Law Review

After last year's blockbuster year, the United States Supreme Court was relatively quiet in the area of employment discrimination during the 2012 survey period. The High Court's most significant ruling was its decision in Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church & School v. EEOC, in which the Court held that the First Amendment's Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses create a "ministerial exception" that barred a disability discrimination lawsuit against a religious organization.

However, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit offset the Supreme Court's inactivity by handing down six published Title VII opinions and ten published decisions in …

Labor And Employment, Patrick L. Coyle, Alexandra Garrison Barnett, Brooks A. Suttle

Mercer Law Review

Courts within the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit handed down a number of important labor and employment opinions during the January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2012 survey period.' The following is a discussion of those opinions.

I. FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE ACT

II. LABOR MANAGEMENT RELATIONS ACT

III. NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS ACT

IV. FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT

V. GEORGIA RESTRICTIVE COVENANT LAW

Narrative Pluralism And Doctrinal Incoherence In Hosanna-Tabor, Frederick Mark Gedicks

Mercer Law Review

The federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination are among the most important statutes ever enacted. They constitute the most significant federal commitment to eradication of the unjustified discrimination in the economic sector that has persisted since Reconstruction. The laws nevertheless did not address one significant issue: whether and how anti-discrimination norms should apply to ministers and other religious leaders employed by churches and other religious congregations.

The laws are not wholly silent, to be sure. They allow religious groups to discriminate in favor of members of their own religion when they hire leaders, thus avoiding (what we might hope are) hypothetical …

The Supreme Court's Interpretation Of The Fair Labor Standards Act's Anti-Retaliation Provision In Kasten V. Saint- Gobain Performance Plastics Corporation: Putting Policy Over Plain Language?, Lawrence D. Rosenthal

Mercer Law Review

Similar to statutes such as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), all of which contain anti-retaliation provisions, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which protects employees with respect to wages and hours, also contains such provision. Unfortunately, not all of these provisions are identical, which has led courts to interpret them differently, granting more protection under some provisions and less protection under others. ...

This Article will examine the FLSA's anti-retaliation provision, and it will focus on whether its language covers …

Labor And Employment Law, W. Melvin Haas Iii, William M. Clifton Iii, W. Jonathan Martin Ii, Alyssa Peters

Mercer Law Review

This Article surveys revisions to the Official Code of Georgia Annotated (O.C.G.A.) and decisions interpreting Georgia law from June 1, 2011 to May 31, 2012.

Labor And Employment, Patrick L. Coyle, Alexandra V. Garrison

Mercer Law Review

Courts within the Eleventh Circuit handed down a number of important opinions affecting labor and employment during the January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011 survey period. The following is a discussion of those opinions.

Employment Discrimination, Peter Reed Corbin, John E. Duvall

Mercer Law Review

The United States Supreme Court was the center of the action in the area of employment discrimination during the 2011 survey period. The most talked about decision was the Court's opinion in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes. The much-anticipated decision in Dukes was the most significant opinion handed down by the Court in the area of employment discrimination class actions since its 1982 decision in General Telephone Co. v. Falcon, and perhaps ever. The Court also continued to broaden the scope of potential Title VII retaliation actions with its decision in Thompson v. North American Stainless, LP. …

Labor And Employment Law, W. Melvin Haas Iii, William M. Clifton Iii, W. Jonathan Martin Ii, Alyssa Peters Morris

Mercer Law Review

This Article surveys recent developments in the state statutory and common law that affect labor and employment relations of Georgia employers. Accordingly, it surveys published decisions interpreting Georgia law from June 1, 2010 to May 31, 2011. This Article also includes highlights of certain revisions to the Official Code of Georgia Annotated (O.C.G.A.).

Employment Discrimination, Peter Reed Corbin, John E. Duvall

Mercer Law Review

The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit issued a significantly higher number of published decisions in the area of employment discrimination during the 2010 survey period. It is too early to tell whether this will become a new trend or is a one year aberration. However, the Eleventh Circuit handed down eight published Title VII decisions during the survey period (as opposed to only one published decision the year before), and thirteen published employment discrimination opinions overall (as opposed to only three during the 2009 survey period). Three of these decisions were in the ever troublesome area …

Labor And Employment, Patrick L. Coyle, Alexandra V. Garrison

Mercer Law Review

Courts within the Eleventh Circuit handed down a number of important opinions affecting labor and employment during the January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2010 survey period. The following is a discussion of those opinions.

• FAMILY MEDICAL LEAVE ACT
• FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT
• LABOR MANAGEMENT RELATIONS ACT
• COMPUTER FRAUD ABUSE ACT

Labor And Employment Law, W. Melvin Haas Iii, William M. Clifton Iii, W. Jonathan Martin Ii

Mercer Law Review

This Article surveys recent developments in the state statutory and common law that affect labor and employment relations of Georgia employers. Accordingly, it surveys published decisions interpreting Georgia law from June 1, 2009 to May 31, 2010. This Article also includes highlights of certain revisions to the Official Code of Georgia Annotated (O.C.G.A.).

Labor And Employment, W. Christopher Arbery, Valerie N. Njiiri

Mercer Law Review

The trial and appellate courts within the Eleventh Circuit handed down a number of important opinions affecting labor and employment law during the survey period of January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2009. These included a ruling on a question of first impression in the Eleventh Circuit regarding whether harassment claims are cognizable under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA) and notable decisions involving the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

Employment Discrimination, Peter Reed Corbin, John E. Duvall

Mercer Law Review

The United States Supreme Court continued to be extremely active in the realm of employment discrimination during the 2009 survey period. The Court decided five significant employment cases during 2009. Perhaps the most significant was the decision in Gross v. FBL Financial Services, Inc., in which the Court handed employers a huge victory as to the burden of proof necessary to establish age discrimination claims pursuant to the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA). On the other hand, employees were the clear winner in Crawford v. Metropolitan Government of Nashville, in which the Court expanded the …

The Public Policy Exception To Employment At-Will: Time To Retire A Noble Warrior?, Kenneth R. Swift

Mercer Law Review

I. INTRODUCTION

An armored car driver leaves his truck in violation of company rules to help save a woman from a knife-wielding attacker and is terminated.

A campus security guard is called to a scene where a man is lifting a woman; he mistakenly believes it is an attack, arrests the man, and is terminated.

A nurse is invited on a camping weekend by her supervisor, refuses to take part in a bawdy dance, and is terminated.

A woman, asked by her employer to sign a statement indicating she acted inappropriately at work, requests to meet with a lawyer first …

Labor And Employment Law, W. Melvin Haas Iii, William M. Clifton Iii, W. Jonathan Martin Iii, Glen R. Fagan

Mercer Law Review

This Article surveys recent developments in the state statutory and common law that affect labor and employment relations of Georgia employers. Accordingly, it surveys published decisions interpreting Georgia law from June 1, 2008 to May 31, 2009. This Article also includes highlights of certain revisions to the Official Code of Georgia Annotated (O.C.G.A.).

Labor And Employment Law, W. Melvin Haas Iii, William M. Clifton Iii, W. Jonathan Martin Ii, Glen R. Fagan

Mercer Law Review

This Article surveys recent developments in state statutory and common law that affect labor and employment relations of Georgia employers. Accordingly, this Article surveys published decisions from the Georgia Supreme Court and the Georgia Court of Appeals from June 1, 2007 to May 31, 2008. This Article also highlights specific revisions to the Official Code of Georgia Annotated (O.C.G.A.).

Employment Discrimination, Peter Reed Corbin, John E. Duvall

Mercer Law Review

During the 2007 survey period, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit continued its recent trend of issuing many opinions-most unpublished-regarding employment discrimination. The court rendered eight published decisions concerning Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ("Title VLI") and fifteen published opinions generally concerning employment discrimination. Unpublished opinions in this area continued to flourish, however, with at least forty-nine unpublished decisions regarding Title VII and fifty-seven unpublished employment discrimination opinions overall. Clearly, the case that received the most press coverage during the survey period was the United States Supreme Court's decision in Ledbetter v. …

Labor And Employment, W. Christopher Arbery, Valerie N. Njiiri, Valerie H. Barney

Mercer Law Review

The trial and appellate courts within the Eleventh Circuit handed down a number of important opinions affecting labor and employment law during the survey period from January 1, 2007 to December 31, 2007. These included significant decisions defining key terms under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act ("SOX") and there were notable decisions involving the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA") and the Family and Medical Leave Act ("FMLA").

Labor And Employment Law, W. Melvin Haas Iii, William M. Clifton Iii, W. Jonathan Martin Ii, Glen R. Fagan

Mercer Law Review

This Article surveys recent developments in state statutory and common law that affect labor and employment relations between Georgia employers and employees. Accordingly, it surveys published decisions from the Georgia Court of Appeals and the Georgia Supreme Court from June 1, 2006 to May 31, 2007, as well as selected cases decided by the United States District Court, which purported to refine principles of Georgia employment law. This Article also highlights specific revisions to the Official Code of Georgia Annotated ("O.C.G.A.").