| Floyd, Skeren & Kelly, LLP is committed to providing employers and their human resource departments with the latest employment related news, court decisions and legislation in a clear, concise and informative manner. Our site offers daily news releases, summaries of the major areas of employment law, an FAQ section and helpful links. |
| Recent News |
Wal-Mart Appeals to U.S. Supreme Court in Gender-Discrimination Lawsuit
24 August 2010
Wal-Mart Stores Inc., has appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court (Wal-Mart v. Dukes) to block
female employees from suing on behalf of as many as 1.5 million women in what would be the
largest gender-bias class action lawsuit against a private employer in U.S. history. The world's
largest retailer is appealing a 6-5 lower court decision allowing women who have worked at
Wal-Mart since 2001 to be part of a single class-action lawsuit. The justices will probably issue
a ruling this year on whether or not they will hear the case. In its appeal, Wal-Mart is arguing
that the workers, who are seeking billions of dollars in back pay, are too diverse to proceed
as a single case under the rules that govern federal class action lawsuits. According to Wal-
Mart, "The class is larger than the active-duty personnel in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines
and Coast Guard combined --making it the largest employment class action in history by several
orders of magnitude." Read more...
Court Considers When A Position Is "Vacant" Under The ADA
20 August 2010
An important part of considering whether or not a reasonable accommodation can be offered
often involves an inquiry into whether a position is "vacant." Unfortunately, this often adds to the
complexity of the process as the term "vacant" in this context has not been defined by case law.
However, a recent federal case, Duvall v. Georgia-Pacific Consumer Products, L.P., offers interesting
insight into the issue. In Duval, the Court was asked to decide when a position is "vacant" for
purposes of the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA"). Read more...
Number of Fatal Occupational Injuries Declined in 2009
19 August 2010
According to a report issued by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), a
preliminary total of 4,340 fatal work injuries were recorded in the United
States in 2009, which is down from a final count of 5,214 fatal work
injuries in 2008. The 2009 total represents the smallest annual preliminary
total since the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) program was
first conducted in 1992. Based on this preliminary count, the rate of fatal
work injury for U.S. workers in 2009 was 3.3 per 100,000 full-time equivalent
(FTE) workers, down from a final rate of 3.7 in 2008. Read more...