Hard to believe it’s August already. It has been a busy summer in the employment law world while we have been away, and there is a lot to catch up on for Iowa employers. For starters, here is a re-cap of three of the summer’s significant court decisions and one notable but not so significant one. Almost all
U.S. Supreme Court
Supreme Court, Executive Branch Take Opposite Approach on Religious Accomodation
We have written many times here about an employer’s obligation to reasonably accommodate an employee’s sincerely held religious beliefs, so as not to unlawfully discriminate on the basis of their religion. Indeed, according to EEOC statistics, claims of religious discrimination by employees are increasing at a higher rate than most other forms of discrimination.
Much…
Wal-Mart v. Dukes May Bar Class Action Race Discrimination Suit Against the State of Iowa
Wal-Mart v. Dukes, decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in June, could derail a class action race discrimination case against the State of Iowa that has been pending since 2007 (See our posts here and here on the Wal-Mart case). The Iowa case involves 32 named plaintiffs who claim the State maintained hiring …
Supreme Court Expands (Again) the Universe of Employees Protected From Retaliation
In a unanimous decision yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court expanded the universe of employees who might be protected from retaliation under Title VII and other federal employment laws.
A retaliation claim is based upon an employer’s adverse action taken in response to an employee’s “protected activity”. Typically, protected activity includes things such as making a complaint …
Whatever Happened to…Jack Gross?
Remember Jack Gross? Back in 2003 he claimed a demotion from his management job at West Des Moines based FBL Financial Services constituted age discrimination. A federal jury in the Southern District of Iowa agreed and awarded him $47,000 in damages. From there his case had a remarkable journey: first stopping in St. Louis at the Eighth Circuit…
Supreme Court to Hear Three Employment Cases This Term.
Last week the U.S. Supreme Court kicked off its 2010-2011 term. There are at least three cases this term of interest to employment lawyers. The Delaware Employment Law Blog had three excellent postings (here, here, and here) analyzing the cases in some detail. All three cases address important questions concerning the scope …
Gross v. FBL Remand: Eighth Circuit Considers Additional Issues
On November 30, 2009, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit issued an opinion on the remand of Gross v. FBL Financial Group, Inc. We have discussed the Gross case in several previous posts (here, here, and here). The case has particular local interest because it was tried in…
An Interesting Interview with Jack Gross
Des Moines Register columnist Marc Hansen writes about an interview he had with Jack Gross, the plaintiff in Gross v. FBL Financial, Inc., decided by the U.S. Supreme Court last June. Mr. Gross was in Washinton, DC last week to testify before the Senate Judiciary committee that is considering amendments to the ADEA that would effectively overrule the …
Mid-Summer Employment Law Update
Between a busy trial schedule and the other distractions of summer, we have been a little delinquent in keeping you up to date during the past couple of weeks. We apologize for the inactivity on the blog, as there have been many developments in the employment law world since our last posting at the end…
Iowa Case Changes the Age Discrimination Landscape–At Least for Now
On June 18 the United States Supreme Court issued its opinion in the case of Gross v. FBL Financial Services, an age discrimination case arising out of Iowa. We first reported on the Gross case when the Court heard arguments a couple of months ago. Since the decision was issued, many commentators have opined…