First Amendment’s petition clause only protects government employee conduct that “relates to a matter of public concern” *

USA - July 11 2011
In Borough of Duryea v. Guarnieri, --- U.S. ---, No. 09-1476 (June 20, 2011), the U.S. Supreme Court considered whether a public employer's alleged retaliation against an employee who succeeded in having his employer's adverse employment action overturned in a union grievance process could be redressed under the First Amendment's Petition Clause.

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Supreme Court upholds "Legal Arizona Workers Act," state law not preempted by federal immigration law *

USA - May 26 2011
The Supreme Court today upheld the Legal Arizona Workers Act, the Arizona state law that requires employers to participate in the federal E-Verify system, and further, punishes employers that knowingly employ unauthorized aliens.

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Leniency, and then crackdown on black employee’s misconduct to avoid reverse discrimination claims, do not prove race discrimination or retaliation *

USA - May 9 2011
The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, which reviews federal court decisions in Colorado, has ruled that an employer's past leniency or tolerance of an African-American employee's misconduct does not forever preclude it from disciplining such continued behavior, and does not make the employee's ongoing misconduct a pretext for race discrimination or retaliation.

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Supreme Court: verbal complaints trigger FLSA anti-retaliation provisions *

USA - May 9 2011
The Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA") establishes minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and youth employment standards.

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Supreme Court: employer, innocently relying on biased supervisor’s recommendation, may be liable for adverse employment action *

USA - May 9 2011
When a supervisor, acting with unlawful bias, recommends to higher management that an adverse employment action be taken against an employee, and higher management acts on that recommendation without any proven bias, should the employer be held liable for unlawful discrimination?

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