Court of Appeals win in Fisher vs. CWA, et al
The North Carolina Court of Appeals issued an opinion today in favor of the Communication Workers of America and their Local Chapter 3602 in Fisher v. CWA. The case was the first case that we know of brought under North Carolina’s Identity Theft Protection Act. The Business Court, Judge Albert Diaz, and now the Court of Appeals determined that the plaintiffs’ claims were preempted by the National Labor Relations Act but did not reach the ITPA question. Robert Weaver of Quinn, Walls, Weaver and Davis in Alabama represented CWA and Ann Groninger represented CWA Local...
Read MoreCourt of Appeals decides two new Workers’ Compensation cases
On August 2, 2011, the NC Court of Appeals decided the case of Capps v. Southeastern Cable, in which it held that an installer of cable TV and internet services was an employee, and not an independent contractor. The Court based its decision on the conditions of the employment, and gave no weight to the fact that the injured worker was called an independent contractor and had been required to get his own, inadequate, workers’ compensation insurance. On the same day, the Court also decided the case of Wynn v. United Health Services, where it held that if an employer requires an injured...
Read MoreSupreme Court Issues Important Decision in Discrimination Case
In Staub v. Proctor Hospital, the US Supreme Court just issued an important unanimous decision in this military-service-based discrimination case. This case concerns the so-called “cat’s paw” theory of liability, under which one supervisor acts with discriminatory intent against the plaintiff, but the plaintiff is actually fired by another supervisor. The case arose under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), which protects members of the military from workplace discrimination based on their military position or service. The Court held...
Read MoreNC Supreme Court Sends Parking Lot Case Back to Commission
The North Carolina Supreme Court has sent a tricky workers’ compensation case back the Industrial Commission for additional fact-finding. Cardwell v. Jenkins Cleaner involves a plaintiff who was injured when she slipped on some black ice three feet away from the back door to her office. Our coverage of the Court of Appeals’ split-decision in the case is here. The Supreme Court, in a short per curiam order, concluded that the Industrial Commission failed to make findings on one of the key factual issues: whether the cement area where plaintiff fell was part of...
Read MoreFourth Circuit Rules USERRA Retaliation Claim Can Go To Trial
In a recent unpublished opinion, Bunting v. Town of Ocean City, the Fourth Circuit partially overturned a grant of summary judgment and allowed the plaintiff to proceed to trial on his USERRA retaliation claim. USERRA is a federal statute that protects armed service members from being discriminated in employment because of their service. Like other anti-discrimination laws, USERRA also protects against employer retaliation because of filing a USERRA complaint. In this case, a police sergeant filed a USERRA complaint about service-based discrimination and was subsequently denied...
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