Unemployment fuels rise in whistleblower claims 
By:
Sylvia Hsieh
Published: February 2, 2012
Tags: Dodd-Frank, retaliation, Sarbanes-Oxley, whistleblower
With more attention being given to corporate rule-breaking and stronger laws supporting those who report it, employment lawyers are seeing more workers claiming that they lost their jobs because they complained about wrongdoing in the workplace.
FLSA’s retaliation provision covers internal complaints
Published: January 31, 2012
Tags: fair labor standards act, retaliation
An employee could sue under the Fair Labor Standard Act based on an allegation that she suffered retaliation for making an internal report to her employer concerning alleged overtime violations, the 4th Circuit has ruled in reversing a dismissal.
FMLA protects pre-eligibility request for leave
Published: January 12, 2012
Tags: Family and Medical Leave Act, FMLA, retaliation
An employer may be liable for firing a pregnant employee after being informed that she planned on taking maternity leave after she became eligible under the Family and Medical Leave Act, the 11th Circuit has ruled in reversing a dismissal.
Attorney fees improperly limited in Title VII case
Published: December 21, 2011
Tags: attorney fees, contingency fee, retaliation, Title VII
A district court improperly relied on an employee’s contingency fee agreement in limiting the amount of attorney fees to be awarded in her Title VII retaliation suit, the 7th Circuit has ruled in reversing judgment.
County told to pay $7.6 million for hospital retaliation
Published: December 15, 2011
Tags: gender discrimination, hospital, Illinois, racial discrimination, retaliation
Cook County, Ill. and its former chairman of pathology have been told to pay a physician $7.6 million for retaliating against her after she filed a federal lawsuit claiming racial and gender discrimination.
Employer can be sued for requiring gynecological exam
Published: December 12, 2011
Tags: independent medical exam, Labor-Management Relations Act, retaliation, sex discrimination
An employer engaged in sex discrimination when it conditioned a female truck driver’s continued employment on her undergoing an independent medical examination for a gynecological condition, Maryland’s highest court has ruled in affirming a $645,000 jury verdict.
Supreme Court to decide if retaliatory arrest suit is barred
Published: December 5, 2011
Tags: civil rights, First Amendment, immunity, retaliation, §1983
The U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether the existence of probable cause to make an arrest bars a First Amendment retaliatory arrest claim.
$1.6 million in settlements reached in coroner sex harassment fiasco
Published: November 4, 2011
Tags: Colorado, retaliation, sexual harassment
Adams County, Colo. officials have agreed to pay $650,000 to settle claims by a forensic pathologist who claimed former County Coroner James Hibbard retaliated against him for protesting sexual harassment of female employees — the last in a string of lawsuits over bad behavior in and out of the autopsy suite that’s cost taxpayers in excess of a million dollars.
Employee suing for retaliation can’t show adverse action
Published: November 3, 2011
Tags: retaliation, same-sex harassment, sex harassment, Title VII
A Title VII retaliation plaintiff could not show that he suffered adverse employment actions after complaining about same-sex harassment by a supervisor, the 2nd Circuit has ruled in affirming a judgment vacating a jury’s award of $500,000 in punitive damages.
School to pay $650,000 in fondling settlement
Published: October 14, 2011
Tags: Michigan, retaliation, sexual offense, whistleblower, wrongful termination
The Detroit Public Schools is paying a former superintendent $650,000 to settle a lawsuit over claims that former school board president Otis Mathis III fondled himself in front of her during a meeting in June 2010.
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