Monthly Archives

May 2014

Fourth Circuit Undermines Retaliation Law

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For us experienced employment lawyers, the Fourth Circuit’s recent retaliation decision inBoyer-Liberto v. Fontainebleau Corp. (May 13, 2014) is a stunner. The central facts of the case are that a non-manager employee of the Defendant twice referred to the Plaintiff as a “porch monkey.”  The Fourth Circuit determined that because the comments, offensive as they were, only occurred on two isolated occasions, the Plaintiff’s hostile work environment claim was properly dismissed on a summary judgment motion.  The two highly offensive comments, the Court ruled, were not “severe or pervasive” enough to alter the terms and conditions of the Plaintiff’s employment. I…

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Fourt Circuit Reverses Grant of Summary Judgement In Customer Harassment Case

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Employers cannot avoid Title VII liability when their customers harass their employees by adopting a “see no evil, hear no evil” strategy.  That was the message this month from the Fourth Circuit in Freeman v. Dal-Tile Corp.  In a decision written by Judge Shedd and joined by Chief Justice Traxler, a divided panel formally adopted a negligence standard for when an employer is liable for the harassing acts of third-parties, including customers, directed at its employees.  The Court stated: “[A]n employer is liable under Title VII for third parties creating a hostile work environment [for its employees] if the employer knew...
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Court reinstates suit against NC’s Family Dollar

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A federal appeals court has reinstated a lawsuit against North Carolina-based Family Dollar that says female managers were paid less than male store managers. The Charlotte Observer reported a panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., overturned a Charlotte judge’s order that had effectively ended the case. An attorney representing about 50 store managers says the Matthews-based company discriminates against female managers. Attorney Roberts Wiggins says pay discrepancies between male and female store managers averaged about $2,500 a year, about 10 percent of their pay. Family Dollar has asked the full appeals court consider the...
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