Recently in Employment Law Category

Middle-aged workers took a hit during the economic downturn, with many being laid off from long-held positions. Richard Miller knows all about that. In 2008, the then-53-year-old Texan was terminated from his position with Raytheon after nearly three decades of service. Miller soon filed suit against Raytheon in federal district court, claiming age discrimination under the ADEA and the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act (TCHRA).

At trial, the jury found that Raytheon had discharged Miller because of his age and awarded him $17 million in various damages. The district court judge then cut the award down to around $2 million. Earlier in the month, the Fifth Circuit agreed that Miller had been the victim of age discrimination, but further reduced the jury award.

Tina Milton was a clerical employee with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) from November 1990 until April 19, 2007. She was responsible for looking for coded gang messages in inmate mail. She was terminated, administratively, after failing to provide medical documentation verifying FMLA leave.

Milton sued, arguing that she suffered from a disability: Namely, a sensitivity to scented candles and wall plug-ins.

If you think that wouldn’t create a problem for a TDCJ employee, you would be wrong.

Images and text messages store in a cell phone are not protected by the Stored Communications Act (SCA), according to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Fanny Garcia, a former police dispatcher for the City of Laredo, Texas, was fired for violating department policy. The department based its decision on information obtained from Garcia's cell phone, which the department accessed without her permission. Garcia sued the city, arguing that the SCA protects all text and data stored on a personal cell phone. The courts disagreed.

Between its bankruptcy restructuring and union battles, American Airlines is keeping its lawyers busy.

In June, the struggling airline won a federal court order temporarily blocking its passenger-service employees from conducting a union representation election, Bloomberg reports. District Judge Terry Means ruled that American was likely to succeed on its claim that the election violated labor laws because the union's request for the election in December 2011 met a then-applicable employee-interest standard of 35 percent; the threshold was raised to 50 percent, effective immediately, in February before the National Mediation Board ordered the vote.

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last week that federal courts could hear a former UPS employee's Title VII sex discrimination claim, despite the fact that the company's collective bargaining agreement provided a grievance procedure for statutory discrimination claims.

Amber Ibarra worked as a package car driver for the United Parcel Service (UPS) until the company terminated her for "recklessness resulting in a serious accident" after she lost control of her van and struck a telephone pole while delivering packages. Plenty of people run into telephone polls -- for various reasons -- but UPS apparently frowns upon such incidents.

Gene Atkins played professional football from 1987 until 1996, spending the majority of his time playing with the New Orleans Saints and a few years with the Miami Dolphins. He was well-recognized for his aggressive, hard-hitting play as a defensive back and he sustained a number of injuries resulting from on-field collisions. Now he says those hard-hitting plays have left him disabled, and entitled to increased benefits under the Bert Bell/Pete Rozelle NFL Player Retirement Plan.

Unfortunately, the Plan disagreed, and the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals can't do anything but sympathize with Atkins, the Times-Picayune reports.

Title VII doesn't guarantee a work environment characterized by civility or charm. It won't atone for a “world-class trash talker and the master of vulgarity in an environment where these characteristics abound.”

Last week, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reiterated that Title VII merely prohibits discrimination with respect to employment compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a rehearing in a retaliation and constructive discharge lawsuit this week.

While that may not seem like big news, rehearing would have been an opportunity to reexamine the court's 2010 Smith v. Xerox Corporation ruling. In Smith, the court held that a plaintiff could use a mixed motives theory in a Title VII retaliation case.

At some point in life, a mature person is supposed to stop delighting in other people’s drama, and learn to focus on the important things. Social justice. World peace. Environmental stewardship.

We’re not quite there yet. We love judicial bickering, even when it's a disagreement that litigants project upon two completely civil judges. That’s one of the many reasons why we love the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Today, we have a Fifth Circuit case pitting two district court judges’ opinions against one another. The question: Can one trial judge substitute his findings for a recused trial judge’s findings in the same case?

Ambien and firearms don't mix. Considering that Drugs.com warns that patients who use the popular sleep aid should wait at least four hours -- or until fully awake -- before driving or doing anything that requires one to be awake and alert, most people would conclude that operating firearms while under the influence of Ambien is a poor life choice.

But if everyone reached that conclusion, we might not have today's employment and defamation decision from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.