Cases — March 4th through 10th, 2018

Discrimination/Retaliation/Wrongful TerminationKnopf v. Williams (10th Cir., March 5, 2018) (reversing summary judgment denying Mayor Williams qualified immunity on Knopf’s protected-speech retaliation claim: Knopf did not carry his burden to show violation of an established constitutional right:  his speech was not protected private speech)*Sidlo v. MillerCoors, LLC (10th Cir., March 7, 2018) (affirming summary judgment for […]

Read More

Cases — November 5th through 11th (2017)

Contract/Noncompete/Trade Secret/Wrongful Termination*Utter v. Amie Rose Colclazier (10th Cir., November 6, 2017) (affirming dismissal of implied employment contract and FMLA retaliation claims, but reversing dismissal of breach of contract and First Amendment claims)*Rael v. Smith’s Food and Drug Centers, Inc. (10th Cir., November 7, 2017) (affirming dismissal of Rael’s state law harassment and emotional distress claims as preempted […]

Read More

Cases — January 17th through 23rd

DiscriminationL’Ggrke v. Asset Plus Corporation (10th Cir., January 20, 2016) (affirming dismissal of L’Ggrke’s employment discrimination complaint for failure to prosecute)ERISAMontanile v. Board of Trustees of the National Elevator Industry Health Benefit Plan (U.S., January 20, 2016) (reversing an 11th-Circuit decision holding that when an ERISA-plan participant wholly dissipates a third-party settlement on nontraceable items, the plan […]

Read More

Tenth Circuit: Arbitrator Reinstating Employee Violating Rules and Lying About It Was Not Outside of the “Essence” of the CBA

The Tenth Circuit ruled that an arbitrator drew from the essence of the labor contract when he reinstated an employee and imposed a last chance agreement on the employee despite the employee having violated a company rule and then lying about it.  In Chevron Mining Inc. v. United Mine Workers of America Local 1307, the […]

Read More

Employee Free Choice Act of 2009

A recent visitor to this blog asked a question about the Employee Free Choice Act of 2009. Dear Mr. Crook: Any updates on the Employee Free Choice Act? Would you be able to comment on how this act may affect public employers? If passed, would it make it nearly impossible for public employers to keep […]

Read More