This post was authored by Paul Knothe.
On February 20, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Timbs v. Indiana, holding for the first time that the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution’s prohibition of excessive fines applies to civil …
Tag Archives: “U.S. Supreme Court”
Voter – Backed Pension Reform Is Dealt a Blow by California Supreme Court
Posted in Pension
This post was authored by Frances Rogers and Brett A. Overby.
Last week, the City of San Diego’s Proposition B, a 2012 voter-approved ballot measure designed to save the City’s weakening pension system, was dealt a potentially fatal blow …
Supreme Court Hears Oral Argument on Agency Shop Fees Case
Posted in Labor Relations
This post was authored by Joshua A. Goodman.
In October 2017, we reported that the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to review Janus v. AFSCME, a case out of Illinois challenging the constitutionality of mandatory agency shop fees for …
Supreme Court Agrees to Look Again at Mandatory Agency Shop Fees
Posted in Appeals, Constitutional Rights, First Amendment, Litigation, Public Sector
This post was authored by Amit Katzir
Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to review Janus v. AFSCME, a case out of Illinois challenging the constitutionality of mandatory agency shop fees for public employees. Illinois, like California, is …
The U.S. Supreme Court Lets Stand an Important FLSA Case on Cash Paid in Lieu of Health Benefits and Overtime Rates
Posted in Wage and Hour
On Monday, May 15, 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court denied the City of San Gabriel’s petition for review of Flores v. City of San Gabriel, a 2016 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit that …
Application of the U.S. Civil Rights Act to Sexual Orientation Discrimination
Posted in Discrimination
Title VII of the U.S. Civil Rights Act of 1964 (hereafter “Title VII”) has long prohibited discrimination on the basis of sex in the terms, conditions or privileges of employment. One question of ongoing statutory interpretation has not been definitively …
U.S. Supreme Court Holds that a Public Employee Can Assert First Amendment Retaliation Claim Based on Employer Perceptions
Posted in First Amendment
On April 26, 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that a public agency can incur liability for a First Amendment violation if it demotes or disciplines one of its employee based on the agency’s mistaken belief that the employee has …
U.S. Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Case Regarding the Constitutionality of Compulsory Union Fees
Posted in Education, Labor Relations
On June 30, 2015, the Supreme Court of the United States agreed to hear an appeal in Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association to answer the question of whether compulsory “agency shop” fees violate the First Amendment. An “agency shop” arrangement …
The Supreme Court Has Spoken: Federal Health Care Subsidies Are Available to Qualifying Individuals Nationwide.
Posted in Healthcare
In January, we reported that the Supreme Court of the United States granted review in King v. Burwell to decide whether under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) the Federal Government could offer subsidies to individuals who purchase …
U.S. Supreme Court Holds: There is No Presumption That Retiree Medical Benefits Are Vested
Posted in Pension, RetirementOn Monday, a unanimous United States Supreme Court, in a harshly critical opinion, overruled a decision of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals that had in essence created a presumption that retiree medical benefits provided for in a collective bargaining …
Applicability of ACA “Contraceptive Mandate” to Religious Non-Profits an Open Question in Wake of Recent Supreme Court Decisions
Posted in HealthcareThis blog post was authored by Jessica Frier
The Supreme Court’s recent decision in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., while limited in scope to closely-held private companies, is of interest to religious non-profits as well as for-profit employers.…
U.S. Supreme Court Says Police Need Search Warrant to Search Cell Phones
Posted in Public Safety Issues
On June 25, 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously in the case of Riley v. California, that police may not generally search the cell phones of people they arrest without first getting search warrants. Should the police confront …
The U.S. Supreme Court Almost, But Doesn’t, Strike a Big Blow to Unions and Agency Shop Arrangements
Posted in Labor Relations
This blog post was authored by Connie Almond
Today, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a case that could have – but ultimately did not – have significant implications for labor unions and agency shops in particular. In Harris v. Quinn…
U.S. Supreme Court Issues New Public Employee Free Speech Decision – Compelled Employee Testimony Can Be Protected
Posted in First Amendment, Retaliation
On Thursday, June 19, 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court in Lane v. Franks held that the First Amendment protects a public employee who provides truthful sworn testimony, compelled by subpoena, outside the scope of his or her ordinary job responsibilities. …
U.S. Supreme Court Will Hear New Case On Public Employee Free Speech Rights
Posted in Education, Employment, First Amendment
On January 17, 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court decided to hear the free speech retaliation case of Edward Lane. Lane, a former employee of the Central Alabama Community College District, alleged in federal court that he lost his job because …
U.S. Supreme Court Sends Fisher v. University of Texas Back to the Court of Appeals With Directions: Give No Deference to the University in Determining Whether Its Race-Conscious Admissions Policy is Needed To Attain the Educational Benefits of Diversity
Posted in Education
This blog post was authored by Laura Schulkind and Erin Kunze
Summary
On Monday, June 24, 2013, the Supreme Court issued its long-awaited decision in Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin. However, the decision does little to alter the …
Supreme Court Published Important Decisions Regarding Title VII in the Nassar and Vance Cases
Posted in Discrimination, Employment
This blog entry was authored by Brian Walter and Michael D. Youril
On Monday, June 24, 2013, the Supreme Court published important decisions in two employment cases. In Vance v. Ball State University, the Supreme Court held that …
U.S. Supreme Court OKs “Strategic” Settlement Offers in FLSA Cases
Posted in FLSA, Wage and HourIn Genesis Healthcare Corp. v. Symczyk, just decided on April 16, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court held that, in a Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) case, an early settlement offer to an employee which moots his or her individual …
U.S. Supreme Court Invalidates SEIU 2005 Dues Increase as Unlawful Effort to Raise Money for Political Battle
Posted in Labor RelationsCalifornians will remember the special election called by former Governor Schwarzenegger in 2005 on eight ballot propositions he endorsed. The initiative measures covered diverse issues including teacher tenure, abortions, government finance and legislative redistricting. One proposition dealt with public employee …
The Meaning of “Clothes” To Be Decided by U.S. Supreme Court
Posted in FLSA, Wage and Hour
Section 203(o) of the Fair Labor Standards Act excludes from the definition of hours worked time spent “changing clothes or washing at the beginning or end of each workday” if it has been excluded “by the express terms of or …
Can an Early Settlement Offer Moot an FLSA Case?
Posted in FLSA, Wage and Hour
The U.S. Supreme Court will soon issue a decision on whether an employer’s offer to an employee of the full amount of claimed overtime pay moots that employee’s Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) case, and stops any larger scale collective …
U.S. Supreme Court unanimous decision: private individuals retained to carry out government work are entitled to seek qualified immunity in section 1983 suit
Posted in UncategorizedThis guest post was authored by Jennifer M. Rosner
Nicholas Delia, a firefighter employed by the City of Rialto missed work after becoming ill on the job. Suspicious of Delia’s extended absence, the City hired a private investigation firm to …