Email evidence supports time extension, defeats general contractor’s delay claim

Don’t delete a good email. In United States ex rel. Engineered Services v. T.H.R. Enterprises, a subcontractor defeated a general contractor’s delay claim and won its entire contract balance using email evidence to establish an extended completion date.  The Eastern District of Virginia federal court held that the subcontract completion date was extended to the […]

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Notice under Virginia’s Little Miller Act must be received by 90-day deadline

Notice that is mailed, but not received, by the 90-day deadline in Virginia’s Little Miller Act is untimely under Virginia law, according to a case of first impression in Norfolk Circuit Court. Subcontractors and suppliers asserting a payment bond claim on a public construction project in Virginia are required by statute to give written notice […]

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Employers face possible claims for failure to accommodate even where there is no actual knowledge of a need for accommodation

Back in March, I posted about the case before the United States Supreme Court involving a girl who claimed that she was discriminated against because of her religion when Abercrombie & Fitch didn’t hire her because of her headscarf. The Tenth Circuit had found that because the plaintiff did not inform Abercrombie before its hiring […]

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But we didn’t tell him to work off the clock -do we still have to pay overtime?

Many employers have been faced with this situation. An employee who is classified as non-exempt and so entitled to overtime decides to do some work from his home computer at night—maybe to score some brownie points with a hard-to-please supervisor or maybe to make up for a failure to get enough done during the workday. […]

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The Second Circuit agrees–an oral complaint to a supervisor may support a retaliation complaint under the FLSA

Back in 2011, the Supreme Court ruled that an oral complaint can serve as the grounds for a retaliation claim under the FLSA. See Kasten v. Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Corp., 131 S. Ct. 1325 (2011). But in Kasten, the oral complaint was made to a government agency and so the question still remained—what about an […]

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Look out—possibly more hostile work environment claims ahead

Following the recent ruling of the Fourth Circuit after an en banc rehearing, employers may face more claims for hostile work environment. In Boyer-Liberto v. Fountainebleau Corp., No. 13-1473 (4th Cir. May 7, 2015), the Fourth Circuit overturned a prior decision by its own panel and the district court and found that an extremely serious […]

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Can the EEOC come after your company without at least trying to resolve the matter?

Not without at least complying with its duty to attempt to conciliate the matter. In a unanimous decision issued last week, the Supreme Court held that courts have the authority to review whether the EEOC has fulfilled its obligations under Title VII to attempt conciliation. Mach Mining, LLC v. EEOC, No, 13-1019 (April 29, 2015). […]

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Instagram intel—can an employer use it?

Let’s say one of your employees has a tendency to call in sick on Fridays when it just so happens to be 72 degrees and sunny out. Another employee reports to you that last Friday, that same worker posted a picture of herself on Instagram at a nearby water park, despite the fact that she […]

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Can an employee make a wrongful discharge claim on the grounds that she was forced to quit?

Perhaps so-in a recent decision from the federal court in the Western District of Virginia, the court, anticipating how the Supreme Court of Virginia would rule on this issue, found that a plaintiff may be able to state a claim of wrongful discharge against his or her employer even where he or she resigned if […]

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Can an employer ask an applicant or employee for a Facebook password?

No—not if the employer is in Virginia. Virginia has joined other states in taking action to protect the personal online accounts of applicants and employees. On March 23, 2015, Governor McAuliffe signed H.B. 2081 into law and the law takes effect on July 1, 2015.

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