Litigation and Trials

Subscribe to Litigation and Trials

Another excellent post from our colleague Brandon Underwood:

A good rule of thumb that trial and appellate lawyers learn early in their careers is that you generally forfeit arguments you don’t make. Suppose that a defendant takes a case to trial and loses, only to realize in briefing its appeal that the plaintiff’s lawsuit…

Iowa employers should pay attention to a recent ruling from a New Jersey Appellate Court , Wild v. Carriage Funeral Holdings, Inc. 3/27/2019.   The Wild opinion is the most recent case addressing the rights of employees who use medical marijuana.  Although the Court was addressing the question under New Jersey law, an Iowa court…

Claims of sexual harassment typically involve the behavior of fellow employees.   But, an employer’s potential liability for sexual harassment also extends to conduct by a non-employee, such as a customer, client, or patient, that creates a hostile work environment.

The principle of employer liability for harassment by a non-employee third-party presents particular challenges to the…

In 1990 Congress enacted the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act (OWBPA) out of concern that employees terminated  as part of a Reduction in Force (RIF) did not fully understand the rights they were giving up in exchange for the payment of severance benefits.   Under OWBPA, a severance agreement entered into with a terminated employee over age 40 is not valid unless the agreement contains certain provisions.   Among other things, the release is supposed to be written in easy to understand language rather than legal jargon; it must advise the employee to seek advice from an attorney; it must allows the employee adequate time to consider whether to sign the release (21 to 45 days, depending upon how many employees are part of the RIF); and, in the event the employee changes his mind after signing, the employee has seven days to revoke the agreement.  If the release does not comply in every respect, it is not valid, and an employee who signed and accepted the severance payments may still sue for age discrimination under the federal Age Discrimination is Employment Act (ADEA).   An employee who sues may not even  have to return the money received as part of the severance agreement.
Continue Reading Are You Facing a Reduction in Force? Make Sure the Release is Valid or You May Pay Severance and Still Get Sued for Age Discrimination.

In the recent case of Jahnke v. Deere & Co. (May 18, 2018), the Iowa Supreme Court ruled that a Deere employee who was repatriated to the United States as discipline for engaging in sexual misconduct while on assignment at a Deere factory in China did not state a claim for discrimination under the Iowa Civil Rights Act (ICRA)

Jahnke sued Deere in Iowa State Court, alleging the decision to repatriate him from China to a lower paying job in Waterloo, Iowa was based on his age, sex, and national origin.    While on assignment as the manager of a Deere factory in China, Jahnke engaged in sexual relationships with two younger, Chinese women who were in his “span of control”, which violated Deere’s policies.   Jahnke claimed Deere violated the Iowa Civil Rights Act because his discipline was harsher than that imposed on the female employees with whom he had the relationships.Continue Reading Iowa Civil Rights Act Protections Do Not Apply to Ex-Pat Employee

It is a truism that employers prefer to win discrimination cases on summary judgment rather than go to trial.    In most cases, winning on summary judgment means convincing the judge there is not enough evidence that would allow the plaintiff to prove “pretext.”   (Pretext: “a purpose or motive alleged or an appearance assumed in order to cloak the real intention or state of affairs.” Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary).    With pretext, the plaintiff goes to trial; without pretext, the plaintiff goes home and the employer wins.
Continue Reading Recent Ruling from Eighth Circuit Shows an Employer’s Shifting Reasons for Decision May Not Be Evidence of Pretext

As we have written here many times, summary judgment is an important tool for defendants in employment discrimination cases.   Studies have shown that in federal court, summary judgment is granted to defendants in employment discrimination cases more than in any other type of case.  These studies confirm the experience of most employment lawyers who try cases, whether they represent mostly plaintiffs or mostly defendants.
Continue Reading Summary Judgement in Employment Discrimination Cases May Be Making a Comeback in Iowa State Court

Employers that accommodate employees’ temporary disabilities should consider extending the practice to nursing mothers returning to work following maternity leave.   That’s the lesson of a recent opinion from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit  (Hicks v. City of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, 11th Cir., 9/7/2017)    In Hicks, a City police department’s insistence that an officer return to the beat rather than to allowing her work a temporary desk job resulted in a substantial plaintiff verdict.
Continue Reading Court Affirms Six-Figure Verdict to Nursing Mother Who Quit Because of Employer’s Failure to Provide Suitable Breastfeeding Accommodation

On August 31, 2017, Judge Amos Mazzant in the Eastern District of Texas issued a final ruling invalidating the Obama Department of Labor’s increase in the minimum salary for exempt employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act.  This is the same judge that issued the preliminary injunction on November 22, 2016 that prevented the rule…