FindLaw Opinion Summaries - Labor Law

Liberty Mut. ins. Co. v. Hurlbut

Wed, 4 Nov 2009 20:00:02 PDT

(U.S. 2d Cir., Civil Procedure, Government Law, Labor & Employment Law, Workers' Compensation) In a constitutional challenge to two amendments to the New York Workers' Compensation Law, the district court's judgment abstaining from the case is affirmed where Burford abstention was appropriate because federal court intervention would be disruptive of a carefully established state system, and might also yield inconsistent and therefore conflicting results.

McCullough v. AEGON USA, Inc.

Tue, 3 Nov 2009 20:00:02 PDT

(U.S. 8th Cir., Civil Procedure, ERISA, Labor & Employment Law) In an ERISA action alleging that various employee benefit plan fiduciaries breached their fiduciary duties to the plan and engaged in prohibited transactions, summary judgment for defendants is affirmed where 29 U.S.C. section 1132(a)(2) did not permit the plaintiffs to bring suit because the plan's surplus was sufficiently large that the investment loss did not cause actual injury to plaintiffs' interests in the plan.

Solis v. Local 234, Transp. Workers Union

Mon, 2 Nov 2009 20:00:02 PDT

(U.S. 3d Cir., Administrative Law, Government Law, Labor & Employment Law) In Labor Secretary's enforcement action under the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act, 29 U.S.C. section 401, against Local 234 of the Transit Workers Union, district court's dismissal of the complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction is reversed and remanded where: 1) because a union member's post-election protest was a valid exercise of an available remedy, his subsequent administrative complaint to the Secretary was timely; and 2) Secretary's LMRDA enforcement action based on that administrative complaint is judicially sound.

Schachter v. Citigroup, Inc.

Mon, 2 Nov 2009 20:00:02 PDT

(Cal., Class Actions, Contracts, Labor & Employment Law) In a putative class action against Citigroup by its former employees challenging the company's forfeiture provision of a voluntary employee incentive compensation plan (Plan) upon termination in violation of Labor Code section 201 and 202, the judgment of the court of appeals granting Citigroup's motion for summary judgment is affirmed as the company Plan's forfeiture provision does not run afoul of sections 201 or 202 because no earned wages remain unpaid upon termination for cause or resignation.

Cox v. Standard Ins. Co.

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 21:00:02 PDT

(U.S. 6th Cir., Administrative Law, ERISA, Health Law, Insurance Law, Labor & Employment Law) In plaintiff's ERISA case, district court's judgment on the administrative record approving defendant's discontinuance of plaintiff's long-term disability benefits is affirmed as, taking the record as a whole and applying the highly deferential arbitrary and capricious standard, defendant's decision appears to have been based on a principled and deliberative reasoning process.

Kerns v. US

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 21:00:02 PDT

(U.S. 4th Cir., Civil Procedure, Government Law, Injury And Tort Law, Labor & Employment Law) In plaintiff's lawsuit against the United States under the Federal Tort Claims Act, alleging that the government's employee negligently caused an automobile accident killing her husband, dismissal of the case for lack of subject matter jurisdiction is vacated and remanded as, when the scope-of-employment issue is determinative of both jurisdiction and the underlying merits of an FTCA claim, dismissal under Rule 12(b)(1) is inappropriate.

Green-Brown v. Sealand Servs. Inc.

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 21:00:02 PDT

(U.S. 4th Cir., Administrative Law, Government Law, Health Law, Labor & Employment Law, Workers' Compensation) Plaintiff's petition for review of a decision of the Benefits Review Board of the US Department of Labor, affirming an ALJ's decision that awarded hearing loss compensation to plaintiff under the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act (LHWCA) based on an audiogram that did not comply with the American Medical Association Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment (AMA Guides), is granted and reversed because section 908(c)(13)(E) of the LHWCA mandates that hearing loss compensation be based on hearing loss determinations made in accordance with the AMA Guides.

Harris v. City of Santa Monica

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 21:00:02 PDT

(Cal. App., Civil Rights, Government Law, Health Law, Labor & Employment Law) In plaintiff's pregnancy discrimination suit against a city, trial court's judgment in favor of plaintiff is reversed and remanded where: 1) the court's refusal to instruct the jury with the mixed-motive defense, BAJI No. 12.26, prejudiced the city; and 2) the trial court properly denied defendant's JNOV.

Lewitton v. ITA Software, Inc.

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 20:00:02 PDT

(U.S. 7th Cir., Contracts, Labor & Employment Law) In plaintiff's breach of employment contract case against his former employer involving options to purchase stock, summary judgment for plaintiff is affirmed as the employment contract unambiguously allows plaintiff to exercise all of the options he accumulated during his 25-month tenure with the company, and as such, he is entitled to exercise option to purchase 138,900 shares of the company stock, not 34,722 shares as argued by defendant.

Awuah v. Coverall N. Am, Inc.

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 20:00:02 PDT

(U.S. 1st Cir., Civil Procedure, Class Actions, Evidence, Labor & Employment Law, Trade Secrets) In a class action lawsuit against defendants brought by their franchisees, defendants' interlocutory appeal seeking review of a discovery-related order by the district court is dismissed for want of a final judgment.

Butler v. Village of Round Lake Police Dep't

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 20:00:02 PDT

(U.S. 7th Cir., Administrative Law, Civil Rights, Government Law, Health Law, Labor & Employment Law) In plaintiff-police officer's ADA claim against defendant-village, dismissal of his case on the ground of judicial estoppel is affirmed where: 1) to succeed on an ADA claim, a plaintiff must show that with or without reasonable accommodations, he can perform the essential functions of his job; and 2) here, accepting plaintiff's sworn testimony before the pension board as true, the court could not see how he could perform essential police functions with or without accommodations.

Perry v. Sheet Metal Worker's Local No. 73 Pension Fund

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 20:00:02 PDT

(U.S. 7th Cir., ERISA, Labor & Employment Law) In plaintiffs' ERISA action against the Pension Fund claiming that they should have received pension credit for the time they spent as instructors at a Chicago trade school, district court's grant of defendant's motion for summary judgment is affirmed as the plan language provides for pension credit only if an employer has made contributions to the fund on an employee's behalf.

Delay v. Rosenthal Collins Group, LLC

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 20:00:02 PDT

(U.S. 6th Cir., Attorney's Fees, Corporation & Enterprise Law, Government Law, Labor & Employment Law, Securities Law) In plaintiff's action against his former employer, seeking indemnification for legal expenses incurred in successfully defending a prior suit brought against him under the Commodities Exchange Act (CEA), dismissal of his claim on the ground that it was preempted by federal law is vacated and remanded as Congress did not intend to displace the state-law indemnification rights, if any, of parties found not to have violated the CEA.

Myers v. Trendwest Resorts, Inc.

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 20:00:02 PDT

(Cal. App., Civil Procedure, Civil Rights, Labor & Employment Law) In plaintiff's action against her former employer for sexual harassment under the Fair Employment and Housing Act, judgment in favor of the employer is affirmed where: 1) a statement in defendant's statement of undisputed facts submitted in its summary judgment motion cannot be used against defendant at trial as an admission; and 2) trial court did not err in denying plaintiff's motion for JNOV as plaintiff waived her claim that no substantial evidence supports the defense verdict.

Barker v. Riverside Cty. Offc. of Educ.

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 20:00:02 PDT

(U.S. 9th Cir., Civil Procedure, Education Law, Health Law, Labor & Employment Law) In an action alleging a teacher's constructive termination arising out of plaintiff's complaints regarding the treatment of disabled students, dismissal of the complaint for lack of standing is reversed where the broad statutory language in section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and its corresponding anti-retaliation provision in Title VI of the Civil Rights Act did not demonstrate that Congress intended to limit standing under section 504 to only those with disabilities.