Worldwide: Employment Litigation/ Tribunals

Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight's attorneys specialize in representing employees who face discrimination and retaliation in the workplace. The firm focuses on holding employers accountable for civil rights violations and advocating for workers' rights.

A federal appeals court has ruled that employees cannot avoid workplace discipline by disclosing a disability after misconduct has occurred. The Third Circuit's decision in Hileman v. West Penn Allegheny Health System clarifies when employers must engage in the ADA accommodation process and reinforces that disability laws protect against discrimination but do not excuse violations of neutral workplace policies. This case provides critical guidance on the timing and clarity required for accommodation request

A New York jury awarded $954,000 to an employee after her employer refused to accommodate her long COVID disability by denying remote work, despite evidence she had successfully performed her job from home previously. This landmark case represents the first known recognition of both long COVID as a disability and telework as a reasonable accommodation under disability discrimination laws.

A federal court in Iowa ruled that an insurer had no duty to defend or indemnify a restaurant chain in an EEOC sexual harassment lawsuit because the alleged employment practices were interrelated with earlier claims that predated the policy's retroactive date. The decision turned on the court's interpretation of the policy's broad definition of "interrelated" employment practices, which required only a "common connection" among facts, circumstances, or events.

This comprehensive analysis examines recent federal appellate court decisions addressing critical employment law issues, including FLSA overtime compensation disputes, Title VII discrimination claims, ERISA benefit denials, class action certification standards, and NLRB rulings. The cases reveal evolving interpretations of wage and hour requirements, discrimination burden of proof, and arbitration enforceability across multiple circuit courts.

The Ninth Circuit reversed a district court's denial of a motion to compel arbitration in a wage and hour class action, finding the arbitration agreement neither procedurally nor substantively unconscionable. The court distinguished the case from Cook v. University of Southern California by analyzing the agreement's limited scope to employment-related claims, inherent duration limitations, sufficient mutuality, and severability of PAGA waivers.

New Jersey employers may now face lawsuits for rescinding job offers based on a positive cannabis test. In Darlene Sanders v. The Levari Group, LLC, the Appellate Division held that applicants may pursue claims...

Target notched a win under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) in Husband v. Target Corp that may extend to other California employers.

A federal court in New York ruled that an employment practices liability insurer had no duty to indemnify its policyholder for a lawsuit stemming from a whistleblowing claim, finding that the initial written demand preceded the policy period. The decision also addressed whether insurers must demonstrate prejudice when denying coverage based on late notice, ultimately holding that a twenty-month delay in notification would constitute prejudice even if such a showing were required.