Labor Commission

Cases — January 30th through February 5th, 2022

Scott Ellsworth - February 4, 2022February 5, 2022 - Employee Status, Independent Contractors, Labor Commission, Occupational Disease, Utah Court of Appeals, Utah Labor Commission, Utah Supreme Court, Workers Compensation

Contract~Noncompete~Trade Secret~Wrongful Termination Jensen Tech Services v. Labor Commission (Utah Ct. App., February 3, 2022) (setting aside Commission decision identifying respondent Herrera as Jensen’s employee for workers’ compensation purposes: the Commission failed to properly and completely apply the legal standards that govern employee-vs.-independent-contractor determinations; its right-to-control analysis, moreover, was faulty) Workers Compensation ~ Occupational Safety […]

Cases — December 12th through 18th, 2021

Scott Ellsworth - December 20, 2021December 20, 2021 - 10th Circuit, Discrimination, First Amendment, Labor Commission, Miscellaneous, Procedure, Religious Discrimination, Retaliation, Salary, Severance, Tenth Circuit, Wages

Discrimination~Retaliation *Flores v. City of Farmington (10th Cir., December 13, 2021) (affirming judgment on the pleadings and summary judgment in favor of Farmington on the plaintiffs’ claims of First-Amendment free-speech retaliation and religious discrimination: because the first defendant’s speech was made pursuant to his official duties, it did not enjoy First-Amendment protection; the second defendant’s […]

Cases — November 14th through 20th, 2021

Scott Ellsworth - November 27, 2021 - Disability, Due Process, Labor Commission, Procedure, Safety, Utah Court of Appeals, Utah Supreme Court, Workplace Injury

Workers’ Compensation~Occupational Safety & Disease Boynton v. Kennecott Utah Copper, LLC (Utah, November 18, 2021) (reversing summary judgment in favor of Kennecott on Boynton’s take-home asbestos exposure claim in connection with his wife’s mesothelioma death: premises owners are liable to their employees‘ co-habitants for take-home asbestos exposure) Sysco v. Labor Commission (Utah Ct. App., November […]

Cases — April 11th through 17th, 2021

Scott Ellsworth - April 19, 2021 - 10th Circuit, Disability, Discrimination, Labor Commission, Retaliation, Safety, Tenth Circuit, Workers Compensation

Discrimination ~ Retaliation *Thomas v. Farmers Insurance Exchange (10th Cir., April 14, 2021) (affirming summary judgment in favor of Farmers on Thomas’s sexual-orientation discrimination and retaliation claims: there was no direct evidence of discrimination or retaliation, and no showing of pretext) Workers’ Compensation ~ Occupational Safety and Disease *Keenan, Hopkins, Suder, and Stowell Contractors, Inc. […]

Cases — September 1st through 7th, 2019

Scott Ellsworth - October 11, 2019 - 10th Circuit, Disability, Discrimination, Hostile Work Environment, Labor Commission, Utah Supreme Court

Discrimination / Retaliation *Mestas v. Town of Evansville (10th Cir., September 6, 2019) (reversing summary judgment in favor of Evansville on Mestas’ ADA and Title VII hostile work environment and retaliation claims: genuine issues of material fact preclude summary judgment) Workers Compensation ~ Occupational Safety & Disease *Guice v. Commissioner (10th Cir., September 5, 2019) […]

Cases — August 4th through 10th, 2019

Scott Ellsworth - October 7, 2019 - 10th Circuit, Black Lung Benefits, Labor Commission

Workers Compensation ~ Occupational Safety and Disease *Mann v. Turner Brothers, Inc. (10th Cir., August 9, 2019 (revised September 3, 2019)) (denying Mann’s petition for review of denial of benefits under the Black Lung Benefits Act: there was insufficient basis for finding of pneumoconiosis) *Cases marked with an asterisk are not binding precedent, except under […]

Cases — April 14th through 20th, 2019

Scott Ellsworth - May 2, 2019August 9, 2019 - 10th Circuit, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Disability, Discrimination, Failure to Exhaust Administrative Remedies, Labor Commission, Retaliation, Utah Court of Appeals, Workers Compensation

Discrimination / Retaliation *Cirocco v. McMahon (10th Cir., April 15, 2019) (affirming determination that Cirocco failed to exhaust administrative remedies, but remanding with instructions (a) to vacate dismissal for lack of jurisdiction and (b) to dismiss without prejudice for failure to exhaust) *Phan v. Colorado Legal Services (10th Cir., April 16, 2019) (affirming dismissal of […]

Cases — September 10th through 16th

admin - September 30, 2017 - Disability, Discrimination, Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), Labor Commission, Overtime, Procedure, Retaliation, Tenth Circuit, Utah Court of Appeals, Workers Compensation, Workplace Injury

Discrimination/RetaliationSanchez v. US Department of Energy (10th Circuit, September 11, 2017) (vacating judgment on the pleadings as to Sanchez’s failure-to-accommodate claim, based on his dismissal because his Mixed Receptive-Expressive Language Disorder was a threat to national security. But the court affirmed the dismissal of his retaliation, disparate treatment, and procedural due process claims)Wages*Jimenez and Bustillos v. Board […]

Cases — April 2nd through 8th

admin - April 11, 2017 - Discrimination, EEOC, Labor Commission, Procedure, Retaliation, Tenth Circuit, Utah Court of Appeals, Workers Compensation

Discrimination/RetaliationMcLane Co., Inc., v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (U.S. Supreme Court, April 3, 2017) (reversing 9th Circuit de novo review and reversal of district court refusal to enforce EEOC subpoenas: such a decision must be reviewed for abuse of discretion, not de novo)*Clincy v. Transunion, LLC (10th Cir., April 4, 2017) (affirming summary judgement in […]

Cases — May 15th through 21st

admin - May 24, 2016 - Attorney's Fees, Breach of Contract, Disability, Discrimination, Jurisdiction, Labor Commission, Procedure, Retaliation, Tenth Circuit, Utah Supreme Court, Wrongful Termination

Contract/Noncompete/Trade Secret/Wrongful Termination*Kuri v. Matrix Center (10th Cir., May 18, 2016) (affirming dismissal of Kuri’s wrongful termination claim (for termination as a result of alleged methadone theft) for lack of federal jurisdiction)*Freres v. Xyngular (10th Cir., May 18, 2016) (affirming denial of Xyngular’s objecting to Freres’ motion for attorney’s fees following her prevailing at trial […]