The United States Supreme Court ruled on June 17, 2010, in New Process Steel L.P. v. NLRB, that as of December 31, 2007, when there were no longer three members of the NLRB, the NLRB lacked authority to act as a Board. In ruling as it did, the Court stated that it “was not insensitive […]
On Thursday, June 17, the United States Supreme Court upheld the discipline of a police officer for sending personal and some sexually explicit text messages on a city provided pager. In Ontario v. Quon, the Supreme Court assumed without holding that the police officer had a reasonable expectation of privacy in his text messages. It […]
In a decision issued May 24, 2010, the United States Supreme Court ruled that, in claims of disparate impact, every time a discriminatory practice is used a new cause of action arises, even if the decision establishing that practice was made after the statute of limitations has run. Justice Scalia, writing the opinion for the Court […]
On May 14, 2010, the Utah Supreme Court ruled that Utah health care facilities are not immune from claims brought by patients against them asserting that the facilities were negligent when they credential doctors or health care professionals at their hospitals. In Archuleta v. St. Mark’s Hospital, the Court stated that “negligent credentialing is ‘simply the […]
The Utah Supreme Court ruled on Friday, May 14, 2010, that a workers compensation decision holding that a worker’s injuries were not caused by the operation of a machine could not be used by by the party that created or designed the machine in a later lawsuit if that party was not the worker’s employer. The […]
The National Mediation Board announced today that it would recognize an airline or a railroad union if a simple majority of ballots cast in an organizing election supported organizing a union. This Final Rule reverses an earlier rule that required a majority of the entire work force to favor unionizing. This is a major change that could […]
The 2010 legislative sessions saw a lot of activity affecting employers and employees. Approximately fifty newly enacted laws will have some affect on employers and employees. With only two or three exceptions, all of these laws become effective May 11, 2010. (For a complete list of all the bills passed and their effective dates click here.) […]
On April 29, 2010, the Utah Court of Appeals in Juricic v. Autozone, Inc., clarified that an employer may require a certain dress standard, including specifying the colors of shirts and pants to be worn at work, without such a requirement being considered a uniform. This is significant because it forecloses an employer from being […]
On April 23, 2010, the Utah Supreme Court substantially expanded the rights of employees to bring claims for emotional distress against former employers. In Cabanese v. Thomas, the Court ruled that the date the statute of limitations is triggered is “at the time the last injury occurred or the tortious conduct ceases.” Accordingly, in repeated […]
To all my readers: Please excuse my absence for the past few months. Unfortunately, I have been heavily involved in litigation, etc., and have not had time to pay attention to my blog. I will now return my attention to it. Look for more frequent updates
