Supreme Court Archives - Page 2 of 3 - Employment Advisory Services, Inc.

April 22, 2024

Category: Arbitration and Dispute Resolution

Supreme Court Rules FAA Transportation Worker Exemption Hinges on Driver’s Job, Not Industry

In a case addressing the scope of the Federal Arbitration Act’s transportation worker exemption, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled April 12 that a transportation worker does not have to work in the transportation industry to be exempt from an arbitration agreement. The unanimous ruling in Bissonnette v. LePage Bakeries clarifies that the exemption’s applicability depends on the nature of the worker’s work rather...

February 21, 2024

Category: Supreme Court

Supreme Court Rules SOX Does Not Require Whistleblower To Show “Retaliatory Intent”

A whistleblower claiming unlawful retaliation under the Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) Act does not need to show that the employer acted with retaliatory intent to establish a valid claim, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled February 8, 2024. Instead, a plaintiff need show only that the protected activity was a contributing factor to the adverse action. The burden then shifts back to the...

October 10, 2023

Category: Litigation

U.S. Supreme Court To Hear Several Important Employment-Related Cases During Upcoming Term

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear several cases concerning employment law during its 2023-2024 term that opened at the beginning of October. While none of these cases is likely to generate the widespread attention received by last term’s college admissions affirmative action ruling, the impact on employers could be extensive. Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC), our affiliated nonprofit...

August 30, 2023

Category: Affirmative Action and Diversity

Fresh After Affirmative Action College Admissions Case Win, Plaintiffs Turn to Private Sector

Affirmative action opponents are following their successful Supreme Court challenge of the admissions policies of Harvard and the University of North Carolina by suing entities in the private sector for allegedly discriminatory race-based employment practices. The American Alliance for Equal Rights filed lawsuits against two major law firms, alleging race-based discrimination in their fellowship programs for summer interns. A separate...

July 05, 2023

Category: Discrimination and Harassment

Supreme Court Clarifies Title VII Religious Accommodation Standard: Undue Hardship Means Substantial Cost

The Supreme Court has ruled that an employer must show that an employee’s requested religious accommodation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) will result in substantial cost to its business before the employer can deny the accommodation. The ruling in Groff v. DeJoy upends years of lower court case law holding that an employer...

June 19, 2023

Category: Government Contracts

Supreme Court Hones Standard for Establishing False Claims Act Liability

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that a company can be liable under the federal False Claims Act (FCA) for making a false claim against the government if the company knew or should have known that the claim was false, even if the claim was objectively reasonable. The decision is United States ex rel. Schutte v. SuperValu, Inc. (June 1,...

June 12, 2023

Category: Labor Relations

Supreme Court Rules Employer Can Sue Union for Strike-Related Property Damage

In a decision that underscores the legal responsibility of a labor union to mitigate the risk of harm to an employer’s property during a work stoppage, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 8 to 1 that a concrete company can sue a labor union for the intentional destruction of its property after union members went on strike. In Glacier Northwest, Inc. v....

July 15, 2022

Category: Supreme Court

High Court Hones “Major Questions” Doctrine, With Implications for Agency Rulemaking

In one of its last opinions issued before the end of its current term, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an important ruling that sheds light on the so-called “major questions” doctrine, an emerging legal standard that can be used to challenge agency rulemaking. Although the case at issue deals with a regulation issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the...

July 07, 2022

Category: Policies and Practices

Some Initial Compliance Questions To Consider In Light of Dobbs Ruling

In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s controversial decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade and almost 50 years of precedent in holding that there is no right to abortion recognized by the U.S. Constitution, employers are raising questions regarding how Dobbs might intersect with workplace compliance obligations. This memo addresses some of...