An employee is informed by an employer health plan that surgery is approved, only to learn afterwards that the plan changed its mind and refused to pay over $77,000 in bills. The occasion of these simple and all-too-common facts gives the Seventh Circuit an opportunity to apply the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision Cigna Corp. v. Amara, 131 S. Ct. 1866 (2011). It holds that Cigna "substantially changes our understanding of the equitable relief available under section 1132(a)(3)" and expands judicial options for remedies, including monetary relief.
Davila v. Menendez, No. 12-11049 (11th Cir. June 10, 2013)
Here's a nice David-v.-Goliath case, where a nanny goes after her former employers for violating the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. § 206(a) and Florida, Fla. Const. Art. 10, § 24(e). Not only did the nanny prevail at trial (with a $33,025 jury verdict), but on appeal she wins the right to pursue double ("liquidated") damages, and an additional year of lost wages, in a second trial.
Louzon v. Ford Motor Co., No. 11-2356 (6th Cir. June 4, 2013)
The Sixth Circuit demolishes a popular defense tactic by employers in discrimination cases, holding that district courts should not readily entertain motions in limine to exclude evidence that are often filed after summary judgment motions fail. The panel holds that such motions often intrude on the jury's role as fact-finder, while denying employees the procedural protections of summary judgment. The court reverses the exclusion of evidence of comparative employees and remands an age and national-origin discrimination case for trial.
EEOC v. Houston Funding II, No. 12-20220 (5th Cir. May 30, 2013)
The Fifth Circuit holds that discriminating against a woman who is lactating or expressing breast milk violates the Pregnancy Discrimination Act provisions of Title VII.
Haire v. Louisiana State Univ., No. 12-30290 (5th Cir. May 21, 2013)
The Fifth Circuit grapples with how, under Title VII, a court may impute the discriminatory behavior of a co-worker to the ultimate decision-maker, in light of Staub v. Proctor Hospital, 131 S. Ct. 1186 (2011). The court reverses summary judgment, holding that a co-worker's campaign to damage a female officer's reputation and prevent her promotion could be attributed to his superiors.
Evans v. Sebelius, No. 11-5120 (D.C. Cir. May 17, 2013)
The D.C. Circuit remands a federal-sector race discrimination case for trial, where a jury will decide whether the agency's (alleged) inability to keep its story straight about the process it used to interview candidates - and then supposedly cancel a new GS-14 position - demonstrates racial bias.
Owusu-Ansah v. The Coca-Cola Co., No. 11-13663 (11th Cir. May 8, 2013)
Not all of the protections under the Americans with Disabilities Act are limited to disabled persons. The ADA also protects employees from undergoing unconsented medical exams, unless the employer can show that the exam is job-related and consistent with business necessity (42 U.S.C. § 12112(d)(4)(A)). In this Eleventh Circuit case, the panel holds that an employee does not need to be disabled to have standing to bring suit under this section. The panel, nonetheless, affirms summary judgment for the employer, finding that it made out its job-related/business-necessity defense as a matter of law.
Second Circuit: Claims Under the NYCHRL Shall Be Construed More Broadly Than Those Under Title VII or the NYSHRL (Mihalik v. Credit Agricole Cheuvreux North America, Inc.)
Plaintiff, a female employee, brought a sexual harassment and retaliation claim under the New York City Human Rights Law, N.Y.C. Adm. Code §8-101 et seq. ("NYCHLR"), against her employer, claiming that her supervisor ran the office like a "boys' club" and subjected her to sexually suggestive comments including propositioning her for sex. The Second Circuit, in a 39-page opinion, reversed the lower court's dismissal of Plaintiff's claims and remanded for trial, holding that Plaintiff's claims should be "broadly construed" under the NYCHRL's protections which are intended to go above and beyond the floor provided by federal law.
Miller v. Raytheon Co., No. 11-10586 (5th Cir. May 2, 2013)
In a review of a $17 million jury verdict in an age discrimination case (significantly reduced by the district court judge), the Fifth Circuit issues an important decision about who gets to decide the award for future pension benefits - the bench or jury - and whether the monetary equivalent of such benefits is subject to doubling as "liquidated damages" under the ADEA. It also deviates from recent case law of other circuits in holding that a $100,000 emotional distress damage award cannot be sustained without medical testimony.
Sexual Harassment Complaints By Males On The Rise: 2012 EEOC Enforcement and Litigation Statistics
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has recently released its 2012 Enforcement and Litigation Statistics[1] which provides that although the number of sexual harassment charges filed has decreased from 7,809 in 2011 to 7,571 in 2012, the percentage of charges filed by males has increased from 16.1% to 17.8%. Although women are still filing the majority of EEOC sexual harassment charges, it is worth noting this significant increase in charges filed by men.
