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Gordon v. Armorgoup N.A., A government contractor employee quit his job because racial harassment and discrimination forced him to resign — an alleged “constructive” discharge.  (Constructive discharge means that while one voluntarilly quits his job, he was effectively forced to do so by unfair circumstances).  The Court held that, under Virginia law, “constructive discharge” is not an exception to the general principle that employment in Virginia is “at will.”  One cannot sue for wrongful termination if he actually quit…

The Supreme Court of Virginia recently overturned a 1989 decision concerning the validity of a non-compete clause and held that a clause identical to one that it previously held was valid, from the same company, is now invalid. The case is Home Paramount Pest Control Cos. v. Shaffer (Nov. 4, 2011). Employers commonly use non-compete agreements (or, more fully, non-competition agreements or covenants not to compete) in order to prevent an employee from using information gleaned from the company

While the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) requires employers to reasonably accommodate a qualified individual with a disability, the ADA’s definition of disability excludes many common health conditions.  While the definition of disability was broadened by statute in 2008, the Fourth Circuit recently recognized that a disability did not exist under the old law where an employee could work 40 hours a week, but not overtime.  Thus an employer did not have to accommodate that

On August 30, 2011, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) issued a rule mandating that all employers subject to the NLRA “post notices to employees, in conspicuous places, informing them of their NLRA rights, together with Board contact information and information containing basic enforcement procedures.”  In addition, the rule stated that “[f]ailure by [employers] to post the employee notice may be found to interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees in the exercise of the rights”

The Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA) was designed to address the disparity of resources between the government and a private party to a lawsuit. Its mandatory fee provision requires the government to bear the litigation costs of a prevailing defendant, evening out the playing field between small businesses and the federal government. However, in EEOC v. Great Steaks, Inc., 2012 U.S. App.  LEXIS 1430 (4th Cir. 2012), the Fourth Circuit took away this provision for