U.S. Supreme Court Holds That a Private Individual Temporarily Working for the Government is Entitled to Qualified Immunity From a Lawsuit.
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- Published on Wednesday, 18 April 2012 15:24
The U.S. Supreme Court has decided that an individual hired by the government to do its work is entitled to immunity from lawsuits, even though the individual works for the government on something other than a permanent or full-time basis. The case involves Nicholas Delia, a firefighter employed by the City of Rialto, California. Delia missed 3 weeks of work after becoming ill on the job due to being exposed to a toxic spill. Suspicious of Delia’s extended absence, the City hired a private investigation firm to conduct surveillance on him. When Delia was seen buying fiberglass insulation and other building supplies, the City began an internal affairs investigation. It hired Steve Filarsky, a private attorney, to interview Delia. At the interview, which Delia’s attorney and two fire department officials also attended, Delia acknowledged buying the supplies, but denied having done any work on his home. To verify Delia’s claim, Filarsky asked Delia to allow a fire department official to enter his home and view the unused materials. When Delia refused, Filarsky ordered him to bring the materials out of his home for the official to see. This prompted Delia’s attorney to threaten a civil rights action against the City and Filarsky. Nonetheless, after the interview concluded, officials followed Delia to his home, where he produced the materials. Delia brought an action against the City, the Fire Department, Filarsky, and other individuals, alleging that the order to produce the building materials violated his Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights. The District Court granted summary judgment to the individual defendants on the basis of qualified immunity. The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed with respect to all individual defendants except Filarsky, concluding that he was not entitled to seek qualified immunity because he was a private attorney, not a City employee. However, on appeal, the U.S. Supreme Court held that a private individual temporarily retained by the government to carry out its work is entitled to seek qualified immunity from a lawsuit. Read More.
Employee Allegedly Abused FMLA Leave By Taking It Around Holidays
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- Published on Friday, 26 August 2011 16:30
Douglas Rydalch (Rydalch) worked as a reservations sales agent for Southwest Airlines at its Salt Lake City location. In 2004, Southwest closed the Salt Lake City center and transferred Rydalch to the Houston center. However, Mr. Rydalch’s family remained in Utah and he continued to reside in Utah during his time off. Further, because of his limited seniority, Rydalch had difficulty getting time off around the holidays. In 2004, Rydalch injured his back in a car accident and requested leave pursuant to the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Southwest granted all of the leave that he requested. However, in 2007, Southwest began to question whether Rydalch was taking FMLA leave around other previously scheduled time off, such as holidays. Southwest conducted an investigation and discovered that Rydalch had used FMLA leave thirty-five times for leave on days just before or after previously scheduled time off, and around important dates and holidays such as July 4, his birthday, Labor Day, his wedding anniversary, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Eve. A Southwest staff administrator then met with Rydalch and advised that Southwest’s Attendance Program states “Using sick leave or sick pay for a purpose other than that intended constitutes abuse. Abuse of sick leave or sick pay shall warrant immediate termination.” Southwest did not take any further action against Rydalch at that time. Subsequently, Rydalch used FMLA leave around July 4, 2007, and Southwest conducted another investigation in which it determined that Rydalch had a pattern of taking flights to and from Salt Lake City on the days he requested FMLA leave. The staff administrator again met with Rydalch to advise that Southwest’s policy prohibited misuse of FMLA leave. On December 24, 2007, the staff administrator learned that Mr. Rydalch did not report to work and had requested FMLA leave for that day; the staff administrator also learned that Rydalch had purchased round trip tickets from Salt Lake City to Houston during the leave period, and the flights had been booked in June of 2007. Subsequently, Southwest terminated Rydalch and he sued alleging violations of the FMLA and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The court found for Southwest noting that “Mr. Rydalch has not provided any evidence that Southwest interfered with his exercise of FMLA leave in any way apart from terminating his employment… the cause of Mr. Rydalch's termination was Southwest's honest belief that he violated the Attendance Program.” Read More.
School Bus Operator Settles Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Filed by EEOC
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- Published on Wednesday, 09 February 2011 16:34
First Student, Inc., a school bus operator, has agreed to pay $150,000 and provide other relief, to settle a lawsuit for sexual harassment and retaliation filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). According to the EEOC, four female employees at the company were sexually harassed, retaliated against or forced to quit. First Student claims to be North America's leading school bus transportation services company. The EEOC alleges that a male supervisor at its facility in Los Angeles sexually harassed at least four women, including bus drivers and a human resources assistant. The supervisor began by allegedly making constant explicit remarks about their body parts and the sexual acts he wanted to perform on them. The harassment turned physical when the supervisor exposed himself and grabbed the breasts of a bus driver. The EEOC also contends that a male manager who received their complaints of harassment not only failed to correct the situation, but also disciplined one victim and transferred another in retaliation for complaining. The harasser cut another bus driver's hours upon refusal of his advances and promised extra hours to female employees who might acquiesce. Three of the victims felt forced to resign as a result of the ongoing harassment. In addition to the monetary settlement amount, First Student agreed to hire an outside EEO consultant to revamp the company's policies, complaint procedures, investigations and training of its employees on sex discrimination, harassment and retaliation. First Student must also require supervisors to report such complaints to the human resources department within 24 hours of receipt and create a centralized tracking system for those complaints....
Don't Miss Floyd, Skeren Kelly's Annual Employment Law Conference
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- Published on Friday, 28 January 2011 19:03
Protect your business from costly employment related lawsuits by gaining helpful information on some of the most misunderstood employment laws. Floyd, Skeren & Kelly's 2011 Annual Employment Law Conference, which will be held on February 16, 2011, at the Marriott Hotel in Woodland Hills, focuses on the complex laws that continue to generate untold numbers of complaints, time consuming investigations and costly lawsuits. The informative presentations will include: workers' compensation and the confusing overlap with the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA)/Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), as it relates to disabled employees; the requirements of the Family and Medical Leave Act/California Family Rights Act (and the crossover with pregnancy leave issues), as they pertain to disabled employees including information on notification requirements, eligibility, medical certification, serious health conditions, reinstatement, benefit continuation, new cases and legislation, and employer best practices for forms and documentation; the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA), and its impact on workers' compensation claims; the most challenging wage and hour obligations which employers must meet including those related to exempt/nonexempt status, independent contractor classification, meal and break periods, overtime, and the employment of interns, in addition to a discussion on personal liability for unpaid wages; the latest cases on social media; and, a presentation by Tina Walker, District Administrator of the Los Angeles offices of the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH). Ms. Walker will provide guidance on the FEHA provisions related to race, age, sex, gender, religion, disability, discrimination, sexual harassment, and retaliation, in addition to steering employers through the administrative requirements for responding to a FEHA complaint, an overview of the DFEH investigative process, and tips for avoiding litigation....
Employer Will Pay Up To $6,011,190 For Alleged FMLA Violations
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- Published on Wednesday, 01 December 2010 04:06
The Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) announced that Verizon has agreed to pay up to $6,011,190 to current and former California employees to settle a class action lawsuit the DFEH filed challenging the company's family medical leave practices. The settlement covers Verizon's voice, data and video operations in California, which employ more than 7,000 people. The class action lawsuit began with a more than two-year-long investigation into Verizon's practices under the California Family Rights Act (CFRA), which was conducted by the DFEH's Special Investigations Unit. The lawsuit alleges that from 2007 to 2010, Verizon allegedly denied or failed to timely approve class members' requests for leave for their own serious health condition, to care for a family member with a serious health condition, or to bond with a new child. The DFEH further alleged that the company terminated some class members for violating Verizon's attendance policy when they missed work for a CFRA-qualifying reason. Settlement of the lawsuit--the largest in DFEH history--could result in payment to class members of more than $6 million dollars, an amount equivalent to an entire year of DFEH Enforcement Division settlements. Verizon fully cooperated with the DFEH's investigation and did not admit to any wrongdoing in settling the lawsuit. However, as part of the settlement, Verizon agreed to review and revise its leave policies and procedures and to continue an existing internal review process that employees can invoke to appeal denials. Verizon also agreed to train all California officers, managers, supervisors and human resources personnel on the procedures and to submit regular updates to the DFEH on its compliance efforts....
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