What if an employee reports sexual harassment but also tells you that he or she does not want you to do anything about it? What if the employee says that he or she just wants to give you a heads up? If your answer is to abide by the employee’s request and do nothing, you […]
Utah employers, have you recently done an audit to determine whether your employees who have been treated as exempt from overtime pay requirements are classified properly? If not, you should take time to assure that employees are properly classified, particularly given that the rules significantly changed in January of 2020. Given the significant issues created […]
Discrimination~Retaliation *Cole v. DeJoy (10th Cir., October 8, 2021) (affirming dismissal of Cole’s claims for harassment, hostile work environment, discrimination, and retaliation, unlawful termination, obstruction of justice, and fraud: despite three opportunities to submit a proper complaint, Cole’s complaint lacked factual allegations sufficient to support a plausible claim for relief) *Bateman v. Nexstar Media Group, […]
If your Utah business allows and encourages employees to post comments in their cubicles encouraging vaccinations because it is “the right thing to do,” must that same Utah business allow other employees to post comments in their cubicles taking a different perspective, perhaps posting opposition to vaccinations on religious or moral grounds? In the current […]
Utah employers, were you aware that Utah statutes restrict non-competition agreements and clauses in significant ways? Many Utah employers understandably would like to prevent their executive-level employees from going to work for their competitors after the executives have left their company. However, Utah law prevents employers from including clauses in their employment agreements that restrict […]
Contract~Noncompete~Trade-Secret~Wrongful Termination *Williams v. Keller (10th Cir., October 1, 2021) (affirming dismissal of Williams’ malicious prosecution claim after his dismissal and later the indictment brought against him as a result of his alleged unlawful exportation of goods in connection with his employer’s F-16 foreign military sales program: the indictment was dismissed, but Williams failed to […]
Next to discipline, employee evaluations are probably the most despised part of many supervisors’ managerial duties. However, evaluations are critical tools that should not be ignored. There is no question that employers, managers, and supervisors often do not fairly or accurately complete employee evaluations. As a result, in many employment-related lawsuits involving discrimination claims, an employer might […]
Discrimination~Retaliation *Hill v. SER Jobs for Progress National, Inc. (10th Cir., September 21, 2021) (reversing summary judgment in favor of SER on Hill’s employment discrimination and retaliation claims: although SER claimed Hill was not an employee, the record was inconclusive for purposes of Title VII; the matter was remanded for determination) ERISA and Employee Pension […]
Can a Utah employer deduct accidental overpayments to an employee from a later paycheck to the employee? If you are a private employer, you might be surprised by the answer. Employers cannot lawfully deduct or offset wages from an employee, in almost any instance, without first getting the employee’s signed authorization to do so. That […]
Discrimination~Retaliation Edmonds-Radford v. Southwest Airlines Co. (10th Cir., September 16, 2021) (affirming summary judgment in favor of Southwest on Edmonds-Radford’s disparate treatment, failure to accommodate, and retaliation claims: Edmonds-Radford failed to establish that her disability was a determining factor in her termination) Brown v. Austin (10th Cir., September 15, 2021) (affirming summary judgment for defendant […]
