507 results for 'cat:"Covid-19"'.
J. Devaney finds that an administrative law judge (ALJ) improperly determined that an individual was not entitled to pandemic unemployment benefits in a matter in which the ALJ held that the individual must repay $24,690 in pandemic unemployment benefits he received from the South Dakota Department of Labor, Reemployment Assistance Division. However, the lower court properly determined attorney fees. Affirmed in part.
Court: South Dakota Supreme Court, Judge: Devaney , Filed On: April 10, 2024, Case #: 2024SD19, Categories: Employment, covid-19, Attorney Fees
J. Griesbach grants summary judgment to the city in the former employee's lawsuit claiming he was essentially forced to retire because he called in sick to a training session he did not want to attend due to various anxieties about contracting Covid-19 and wearing a mask to prevent that from happening. The employee's claims under the Family and Medical Leave Act and Families First Coronavirus Response Act both fail, in part because he has not provided any evidence that he had either chronic migraines or anxiety that qualified as serious health conditions for which he could take medical leave, and he has not shown he was retaliated against for a statutorily protected activity.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Wisconsin, Judge: Griesbach, Filed On: April 9, 2024, Case #: 1:22cv1000, NOS: Family and Medical Leave Act - Labor, Categories: Employment, covid-19, Employment Retaliation
J. Curiel rules that a former employee may pursue invasion of privacy claims against his former employer for requiring his medical and religious information so that he could obtain an exemption for the employer's mandatory Covid-19 vaccine policy. "While reporting whether one has received the Covid vaccines" to Human Resources has a fairly minimal impact on an individual's privacy interests, "disclosing medical or religious information to obtain an exemption" may have a larger implication on privacy interests.
Court: USDC Southern District of California, Judge: Curiel, Filed On: April 5, 2024, Case #: 3:23cv580, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Employment, Privacy, covid-19
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J. Lynch finds that the lower court properly issued a duplicate order appointing a substitute referee in foreclosure claims and directed that a sale be held within the year. The original order had not been entered and could not be located, and gubernatorial action during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic precluded residential foreclosures. Meanwhile, the homeowners were not prejudiced in the interim since they retained possession during the delay. Affirmed.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Lynch, Filed On: April 4, 2024, Case #: 535862, Categories: Civil Procedure, Foreclosure, covid-19
J. Aiken dismisses the substitute teacher's complaint that the school district fired him for not receiving the Covid-19 vaccine. The substitute teacher claims that the school district violated his religious rights by firing him, but he does not show how the earlier deadline for reporting on vaccination status is discriminatory, nor does he present evidence of any pretext for discriminatory termination.
Court: USDC Oregon, Judge: Aiken, Filed On: March 31, 2024, Case #: 6:23cv688, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Employment, covid-19, Employment Discrimination
J. Seabright partially dismisses parts of a wrongful termination suit against the orchestra and the musicians’ union by a former flutist with the orchestra, which fired her after she did not get a Covid-19 vaccine. The flutist’s claim that the union aided and abetted the firing is preempted by labor laws. In claims against the orchestra, claims related to religious and disability accommodations are not dismissed, as the orchestra did not engage in an interactive process with the flutist who attempted to bring evidence of her religious beliefs and documented sensitivity to vaccines to the orchestra before her firing. Retaliation claims do partially survive though, as the flutist was subject to adverse action without even going through the interactive process.
Court: USDC Hawaii, Judge: Seabright, Filed On: March 29, 2024, Case #: 1:23cv415, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: covid-19, Employment Discrimination, Employment Retaliation
J. Ballou grants the clinic's motion to dismiss. The employee brought this employment discrimination action against his former employer and its associate general counsel, alleging unlawful termination, retaliation, and harassment for seeking a religious exemption from the employer’s COVID-19 vaccination requirement. The employee received a write-up for drafting the religious exemption request during work time, a written warning for attendance and failure to comply with guidelines on January 4, 2022, a final written warning on January 19, 2022, for attendance, and termination on March 23, 2023, for use of profanity in a conversation with a supervisor. The employee has not made factual allegations that he is a protected class member and asserts no facts regarding his religion or the nature of his sincerely held religious beliefs.
Court: USDC Western District of Virginia, Judge: Ballou, Filed On: March 29, 2024, Case #: 7:23cv7, Categories: covid-19, Employment Discrimination, Employment Retaliation
J. Mahan denies the insurer's motion for summary judgment. The gaming facility brought this claim for breach of contract after the insurer denied coverage for cleanup following the Covid-19 pandemic. Coverage was denied due to there being no actual physical loss. There is a genuine dispute of material fact regarding whether a physical loss occurred or any of the policy exclusions or provisions apply.
Court: USDC Nevada, Judge: Mahan , Filed On: March 29, 2024, Case #: 2:20cv965, NOS: Insurance - Contract, Categories: Insurance, covid-19, Contract
J. Reynolds Fitzgerald finds that the workers' compensation board improperly disallowed a city train conductor's claims seeking coverage for work-related psychological injury precipitated by heightened exposure to Covid-19 due to the lack of adequate personal protective equipment, which exacerbated preexisting psychiatric conditions. Under new guidance, plaintiffs must prove causation by establishing that Covid-19's presence in the workplace constituted an "extraordinary event" due to the risk of elevated exposure.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: March 28, 2024, Case #: 535536, Categories: covid-19, Workers' Compensation
J. Pellegrino finds the lower court properly granted the insurer's motion for summary judgment on property damage claims brought by the Native American casino for its closure during the Covid-19 pandemic. It made no allegations of physical property damage that would have been covered under its insurance policy, while the virus was also considered contamination excluded from coverage. Affirmed.
Court: Connecticut Court Of Appeals, Judge: Pellegrino, Filed On: March 28, 2024, Case #: AC45600, Categories: Insurance, Native Americans, covid-19
J. Clark finds that the workers' compensation board improperly held that a second grade teacher did not have a compensable psychological injury caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Remittal is necessary because the teacher faced a disparate burden based on precedent holding that injuries caused by psychic trauma should be compensable to the same extent as physical injury, as well as precedent holding that Covid-19 may be compensable as a physical injury. She must prove the virus was so prevalent in her workplace that the elevated risk of exposure constituted an "extraordinary event" and that her particular underlying medical issues made her susceptible. Reversed.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Clark, Filed On: March 28, 2024, Case #: 535958, Categories: covid-19, Workers' Compensation
J. Pritzker finds that the lower court should have upheld the decision disallowing a city bus driver's claim seeking workers' compensation for work-related psychological injury from exposure to Covid-19. Under new guidance, plaintiffs must prove causation by establishing that Covid-19's presence in the workplace constituted an "extraordinary event" due to the risk of elevated exposure.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: March 28, 2024, Case #: 535458, Categories: covid-19, Workers' Compensation
J. Powers finds that the workers' compensation board improperly held that a New York City train operator did not receive a compensable on-the-job injury due to Covid-19 exposure. She alleged the illness caused major depressive disorder, but she failed to offer credible medical evidence demonstrating that she contracted the virus in the first place. However, her alternative claim for psychological injury arising from the stress caused by the prevalence of Covid-19 in the workplace must be remitted for further consideration as to whether such created an "extraordinary event" constituting a compensable accident. Reversed.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Powers, Filed On: March 28, 2024, Case #: 535434, Categories: covid-19, Workers' Compensation
J. Seabright refused to completely dismiss an employment suit against the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra by its former bassist, who said his termination based on his refusal to get a Covid-19 vaccination constituted religious discrimination. The orchestra did not show how an interactive process for the bassist’s religious exemption would have caused undue hardship or that placing the musician on leave was an adverse action. Further, allowing the bassist to play while being tested and masked would have fallen under the mayor’s pandemic proclamation exception, especially since he plays an instrument that would not require removal of a mask. Part of a retaliation claim is dismissed though as the bassist does not show being placed on leave was solely due to his refusal to vaccinate.
Court: USDC Hawaii, Judge: Seabright, Filed On: March 28, 2024, Case #: 1:23cv395, NOS: Civil Rights - Habeas Corpus, Categories: covid-19, Employment Discrimination
J. Clarke finds in favor of the church for its complaint alleging that the city violated the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 (RLUIPA) when it forced the church to significantly reduce social services, including meal service, during the Covid-19 pandemic. The city's ordinance violates RLUIPA because it is a land use regulation that inhibits the church's ability to feed the ministry, which is part of the church's religion. The ordinance is not the least restrictive way for the city to exercise its interest.
Court: USDC Oregon, Judge: Clarke, Filed On: March 27, 2024, Case #: 1:22cv156, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Municipal Law, covid-19
J. Graham grants the mall property owner's motion to dismiss, ruling the investors fail to provide a causal link between statements made by executives about potential returns on investment and a sharp drop in the company's stock price shortly before they declared bankruptcy. Although several of the projections proved to be inaccurate, there is no evidence of fraud on the part of the executives, while the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on malls across the country led to a large amount of the losses sustained before the company filed for bankruptcy.
Court: USDC Southern District of Ohio, Judge: Graham, Filed On: March 27, 2024, Case #: 2:21cv2757, NOS: Securities/Commodities/Exchange - Other Suits, Categories: Fraud, Securities, covid-19
J. Donnelly tosses an employment discrimination complaint against Stony Brook University Medical Center on claims that it denied a nurse’s request for a religious exemption from its Covid-19 mandate and subsequently placed her on unpaid leave until she resigned. Her complaint fails to allege her employer’s actions were motivated by her religion. York’s health department removed religious exemptions from its vaccine mandate, and as such the healthcare provider would have been in violation of the mandate had they granted her request for an exemption for religious purposes.
Court: USDC Eastern District of New York, Judge: Donnelly, Filed On: March 27, 2024, Case #: 2:23cv135, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, covid-19, Employment Discrimination
J. Myers partially grants the Board of Governors of the University of North Carolina’s motion to dismiss claims of violations of First Amendment rights brought by the chief of staff to the university chancellor. The chief claimed a mandatory Covid-19 vaccine policy would violate already existing university policy. He claims he brought suit as a private citizen. But because he brought all of his concerns in his position as a public employee, and only brought those concerns to people within the university system, he does not have protection under the First Amendment.
Court: USDC Eastern District of North Carolina, Judge: Myers, Filed On: March 26, 2024, Case #: 5:23cv290, NOS: Amer w/Disabilities - Other - Civil Rights, Categories: Education, covid-19, First Amendment
J. Huffman finds the trial court erred in granting an insurer judgment on the pleadings on an insured's claim for Covid-19 business interruption coverage. Unlike most commercial property policies, the subject policy includes a virus endorsement that provides coverage for loss or damage caused by a virus, including the cost of removal. Further proceedings are need to develop facts and evidence about whether exclusions and conditions on the virus endorsement make it impermissibly illusory. Reversed.
Court: California Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Huffman, Filed On: March 25, 2024, Case #: D081132, Categories: Insurance, covid-19