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In a recent decision, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit confirmed that a viable retaliation suit can proceed in federal court with an untimely discrimination claim. The retaliation claim need not be filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) before it is filed in federal court.  The decision is Hentosh v. Old Dominion University, No. 13-2037 (4th Cir. Sep. 24, 2014). The plaintiff, a Caucasian professor at Old Dominion University…

The Virginia Court of Appeals recently dismissed an appeal by a woman seeking to challenge one of the monetary terms of her divorce after her husband died. The Court dismissed the appeal because the wife should have named the husband’s personal representative, and not his estate, as the adverse party after his death.  The decision is Loewinger v. Estate of Stephen J. Loewinger.  During the divorce proceedings, the wife argued that she should receive half

Yes.  Under the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, private employers with 15 or more employees must keep copies of applicants’ resumes for 1 year after they are received or after the hiring decision, whichever occurs later, including internet submissions.  (State laws may require longer retention.)  Unsolicited resumes, however, need not be retained unless the employer considers the resumes for potential positions.  Thus employers should have a policy not to review unsolicited

Yes, according to a recent Court of Federal Claims decision that expands Federal wage and hour law to include a timeliness-of-pay requirement.  The case involves a class action by federal employees forced to work during the shutdown (such as prison wardens and border patrol officers) who were not paid until the shutdown was over.  Prior to this decision, the federal wage and hour laws generally only governed the amount of payment, while state wage payment

With the recent advent of “lifestyle discrimination” protection, the answer is increasingly becoming “no”.  Lifestyle discrimination laws include various statutes enacted across the country spanning topics from tobacco use to personal morality.  While exceptions exist, the law has generally grown more hostile for employers that regulate conduct outside the office. At common law, the at-will employment doctrine enabled employers to terminate employees for any reason or no reason.  If an employer were to find out