Current Employment

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On Monday, the Supreme Court rendered its decision in Kennedy v. Plan Administrator for DuPont Savings and Investment Plan, in which it ruled that a plan administrator must act in accordance with plan documents in determining who is a proper beneficiary under a plan even though that beneficiary previously waived his/her rights to a benefit under the plan via divorce decree.

The Supreme Court issued (another!) unanimous decision today, holding that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits retaliation against employees who participate in internal investigations of discrimination.

The case, Crawford v. Metro. Gov’t. of Nashville & Davidson Cty., 06-1595, according to Senior Editor Tim Eavenson, is a good decision for everybody – workers and businesses alike, because it reduces fear of retaliation, which is often unfounded in the first place.

The Supreme Court has issued a decision about the rights of non-union employees in unionized jobs.

In a rare unanimous decision (a unanimous labor case? Is that possible?) the Court has held that unions can collect service fees that go to the union’s national affiliate to help pay for national litigation.

In Illinois, teachers reach tenure after four consecutive years at the same district. But four consecutive years of what? If an untenured teacher is on leave for an entire year, does it count? A new opinion from Illinois’s Fifth Appellate District says the answer is clearly “yes.”

This recent case is a good reminder of why employment lawyers should be involved in every step of a company’s HR program – this case involves FMLA rules, state breach-of-contract claims, employee notice and designation procedures, and more. And it’s all because of a handbook (are you listening, Sam Zell?)