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Below are some White Paper Articles that our attorneys have written.
Sixth Circuit Says Timeliness Disputes Belong to an Arbitrator
A Sixth Circuit en banc panel recently decided, 11-4, that a dispute over a time-limitation bar in a collective bargaining agreement should be decided by arbitrators rather than judges, even when the agreement is silent on the issue. United Steelworkers of Am. V. St. Gobain Ceramins & Plastics Inc., 2007 U.S. App. LEXIS 23048 (6th Cir. Oct. 2, 2007). St. Gobain Ceramics, a maker of refractory products for industrial clients in Kentucky, fired two Louisville-based workers for insubordination on March 2, 2004. The union filed grievances under the effective collective bargaining agreement. The agreement contained a four-step process for resolving grievances, and the company issued written denials in step three on March 29, 2004. The agreement gave the union 30 days, excluding holidays and weekends, to appeal the denial. Without a timely appeal, the union forfeited its right to arbitrate the grievance. The union appealed in a May 19, 2004 letter, which was received by the company on May 24, 2004. The company declined to process the appeal because it was received after the 30-day deadline.
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Sixth Circuit Says Speedway Manager is Exempt Employee Under the FLSA
According to an October 30th, 2007 Sixth Circuit decision, a manager in a Speedway SuperAmerica still qualifies as an exempt employee under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) even though she spent most of her time performing non-managerial tasks. Thomas v. Speedway SuperAmerica, 2007 U.S. App. LEXIS 25355 (6th Cir. October 30, 2007). Mabel Kay Thomas worked as a store manager for Speedway beginning in 1998 and was the most senior employee on-site. Ms. Thomas was expected to work at least 50 hours per week and testified that she was on-call 100% of the time.
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Twelve Steps That Will Save Your Company
As this is the beginning of the year, employers should review these simple proactive steps to save themselves from serious legal problems. Authored by California lawyer Greg Labate, it is aptly titled “Twelve Steps That Will Save Your Company.” Please be aware that Suggestion No. 11 related to dealing with providing proper meal and rest periods is unique to California, Kentucky and other states (but not Ohio and Indiana). Suggestion No. 12 is unique to California because of a state law there that mandates payment of post-termination vacation benefits. For employers in Ohio and Indiana, this article is “Ten Steps That Will Save Your Company.”
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Attempting to Recover Costs of Defending a Sexual Harassment Lawsuit is Not Per Se Retaliation
The Ohio Supreme Court recently upheld an employer’s right to file a lawsuit against an unsuccessful discrimination plaintiff. In Greer-Burger v. Temesi, Slip Opinion No. 2007 Ohio 6442, released on December 12, 2007, the Supreme Court held “an employer is not barred from filing a well-grounded, objectively based action against an employee who has engaged in a protected activity.” The Court was required to balance the “statutory right of an employee to seek redress from claims of discrimination without retaliation” against an employer’s constitutional right to “petition the courts for redress after prevailing in the employee’s cause of action against him.”
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U.S. Supreme Court Rejects Employee Attempt To Extend Title Vii’s Statute Of Limitations
On May 29, in a 5 – 4 decision, the United States Supreme Court held that Title VII’s statute of limitation period (180 or 300 days, depending on the state), begins to run when each allegedly discriminatory pay decision was made and communicated to an employee. In so holding, the Court rejected the argument that each paycheck was a separate act of discrimination, and the argument that the most recent decision was unlawful because it carried forward intentionally discriminatory disparities from prior years. Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., 550 U.S. (2007)
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