NOTE: On January 15, this post was updated and one correction made (see "Nipped in the bud" and "Jury clobbers Catholic diocese," below). 

Happy New Year, everyone! While I've been out for the holidays, the courts and government agencies have stayed busy with employment law matters. Here are the developments that I thought were especially noteworthy:

WAGE AND HOUR

Twenty states raised ...

Oh, you better watch out! A lot of employers have been naughty. I checked the court dockets, and would you believe all of these employment lawsuits filed in the week before Christmas! 

Cratchit v. Scrooge & Marley (Madison Co. (London) OH Ct. of Common Pleas). Plaintiff asserts claims against employer under Americans with Disabilities Act, contending he was harassed and ...

This is a client bulletin by David Phippen that we emailed to subscribers yesterday afternoon. I'm re-posting it here, in case you don't already subscribe to Constangy's bulletins. (If you don't and would like to, please send me (Robin) an email, and we'll put you on the list. Subscription is free.)

By David Phippen

Metro Washington D.C. Office

As we alerted you last week, on Monday the ...

The National Labor Relations Board is busy -- the Board came out late last week with a decision saying that employees can have access to their employers' email systems for organizing activities under most circumstances. David Phippen has the full story here.

Also, on Friday, the Board issued its final rule on "quickie elections." David is reviewing the new rule and will have a ...

From a labor and employment law standpoint, I'm not sure we have a lot to be thankful for this year. But 'tis the season, so here are a paltry few:

Be thankful that your employer doesn't fire you while you're on the air. Ben Finfer, co-host of a Chicago sports talk radio show learned that he was losing his job through a tweet that came through while he was on the air last week. Mr. Finfer ...

If news reports are true (and perhaps they are not), then the ex-General Manager of NBC's Today show provides a good example of how not to treat employees.

Jamie Horowitz was hired away from ESPN to save the Today show, which has fallen behind its rival Good Morning America in the ratings.

He was fired only 78 days later, and he hadn't even had a chance to take over the show. His "listening tour ...

When I do harassment training, I ask my audiences whether they think employers should ban the "N" word even when it's used by African-Americans among themselves. In my experience, the African-Americans in the audience have been the most vocal advocates for treating everyone equally in this regard. In other words, they argue, the word should be banned for everybody -- not banned for some ...

Last week, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed suit against Wisconsin-based Orion Energy Systems, Inc., over its wellness program and its treatment of ex-employee Wendy Schobert, who was not a fan of the program. The lawsuit contends that the program's health risk assessment is an unlawful "medical examination" and that the company retaliated against Ms. Schobert ...

The Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, found today that the contraceptive mandate in the Affordable Care Act, to the extent that it applies to closely-held corporations, violates the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. And in another 5-4 decision, the Court found that the First Amendment does not allow home healthcare workers to be compelled to pay agency fees to the Service Employees ...

As most of you have heard by now, the U.S. Department of Labor has provided a "sneak preview" of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on the definition of "spouse" in the Family and Medical Leave Act. The proposed changes would broaden the definition of "spouse" to include most same-sex married couples.

The proposed changes are intended to reflect (and expand upon) last year's Supreme Court ...