52 results for 'cat:"Employment" AND cat:"Immunity"'.
J. Zmuda finds the lower court erroneously denied the superintendent's motion for summary judgment on defamation claims brought by the principal. The statements about accusations of sexual harassment and inappropriate touching of students were made only after a complete investigation and were not reckless or malicious, given that they included only verbatim statements from the investigative report; therefore, the superintendent was entitled to political subdivision immunity. Reversed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Zmuda, Filed On: May 10, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-1798, Categories: employment, immunity, Defamation
J. Hernandez dismisses the patient access specialist's First Amendment claim alleging that the university wrongfully placed her on unpaid leave and eventually fired her after rejecting her religious exemption request to receiving the Covid-19 vaccine. The patient access specialist does not prove that the university employees were barred from trying to distinguish between religious and secular objections to a vaccine or from denying exemptions to a state-mandated vaccine mandate.
Court: USDC Oregon, Judge: Hernandez, Filed On: May 2, 2024, Case #: 3:23cv1562, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: employment, immunity, Covid-19
J. O'Neil finds a lower court improperly dismissed a surviving spouse's wrongful death claims against a county. The county argued that it is entitled to immunity. However, the surviving spouse sufficiently showed in court that the county's constable convinced his wife, an apartment complex manager, to help her serve a writ of restitution on a violent tenant, which resulted in the tenant shooting and killing both women, and then killing himself. Reversed.
Court: Arizona Court Of Appeals Division Two, Judge: O'Neil, Filed On: March 28, 2024, Case #: 2 CA-SA 2023-91, Categories: employment, immunity, Wrongful Death
J. Palafox finds a lower court did not err in denying El Paso County’s plea to the jurisdiction after it was sued by a former employee who said the county breached its settlement agreement following an employment lawsuit by failing to reinstate her “within a reasonable time.” Regardless of whether there are merit to the ex-employee’s claims — “those issues exceed the scope of [this] jurisdictional inquiry” — the county already conceded that it waived immunity in this matter and cannot now reassert it. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Palafox, Filed On: March 27, 2024, Case #: 08-23-00173-CV, Categories: employment, Settlements, immunity
Want access to unlimited case records and advanced research tools? Create your free CasePortal account now. No credit card required to register.
Try CasePortal for Free
J. Suddaby preserves two claims for retaliation and sexual harassment against New York State’s Unified Court System that alleges a family court judge for Broome County sexually harassed two of his personal aides, but limits the claims to misconduct that occurred after the aides’ became official employees of the department following the judge’s reassignment. The court further preserves a single claim for equal protection against the family court judge, finding he is not entitled to qualified immunity in his individual capacity and his behavior could be viewed by a jury as creating a hostile work environment.
Court: USDC Northern District of New York, Judge: Suddaby, Filed On: March 7, 2024, Case #: 3:18cv1476, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: immunity, Equal Protection, employment Discrimination
J. Grasz finds a lower court properly denied a Mayor and a board of Alderman's motion for summary judgment concerning the termination of two police officers who filed grievances against a police chief for failing to maintain department vehicles and radar equipment. The Mayor and the Alderman argued that they are protected by qualified immunity on the police officers' First Amendment retaliation claims. However, the police officers sufficiently showed in court that they are entitled to relief for making public concern statements outside of their duties as police officers. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Grasz, Filed On: March 4, 2024, Case #: 22-3668, Categories: employment, immunity, First Amendment
J. Fallon dismisses two counts of discrimination in claims concerning a pharmaceutical company's mandate that workers receive Covid-19 vaccines for continued employment. The theory of "natural immunity" cannot justify a religious exemption, and thus the employees fail to state a claim for disparate treatment and failure to accommodate members of a proposed class.
Court: USDC Delaware, Judge: Fallon, Filed On: February 21, 2024, Case #: 1:22cv1634, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: immunity, employment Discrimination
J. Watson partially dismisses a school janitor’s claims that the Hawaii education department refused to hire him on a full time basis because he is Black. The department and the individual school staff have sovereign immunity on liability claims. Claims against some of the school staff regarding aiding and abetting discrimination may proceed, as the janitor showed they were directly involved in the decision not to hire him.
Court: USDC Hawaii, Judge: Watson, Filed On: February 16, 2024, Case #: 1:22cv294, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Education, immunity, employment Discrimination
J. O'Neil finds a lower court properly partly ruled in favor of a surviving spouse's wrongful death claims against a county. The surviving spouse argued that the county is not entitled to judicial immunity after it sent his wife, a constable, now deceased, to a residence of a violent offender to serve process, who shot and killed her. However, the lower court properly concluded that legislative immunity does not shield the county's decision to appoint the constable, but erred in deciding that her acts of service of a writ were not protected by judicial immunity. Reversed in part.
Court: Arizona Court Of Appeals Division One, Judge: O'Neil , Filed On: February 14, 2024, Case #: 2 CA-SA 2023-91, Categories: employment, immunity, Wrongful Death
[Consolidated.] J. Wilson finds that the district court properly dismissed the employees' separate Title V claims under the ADA in employment discrimination and retaliation actions against their employers, the Georgia Department of Human Services and the Georgia Department of Corrections. The actions arose after the employees were fired. The district court correctly dismissed the claims based on sovereign immunity because the underlying provision of Title V, Title I, does not allow a plaintiff to assert a claim against the state. A Title V claim based on the exercise of a right arising from Title I cannot be brought against the state. However, the district court's ruling is vacated and the case is remanded for the limited purpose of allowing the district court to dismiss the case without prejudice. Vacated.
Court: 11th Circuit, Judge: Wilson, Filed On: February 6, 2024, Case #: 21-12571, Categories: Ada / Rehabilitation Act, immunity, employment Retaliation
J. Winkler finds the lower court erroneously denied the motion for summary judgment filed by the disability services board and its members. The CFO of the company who received waiver benefits from the board had no contract with the board, did not own the building he used in conjunction with the benefits waiver and used a personal vehicle for work, all of which rendered him an independent contractor, not an employee. Reversed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Winkler, Filed On: January 12, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-83, Categories: immunity, Defamation, employment Retaliation
J. Moore finds the lower court properly denied the university officials' motion for sovereign immunity on claims filed by the university police officer. Although suits against states are barred when they seek retrospective relief, the expungement of records sought by the officer is prospective relief and allows the suit to proceed. Meanwhile, the officials' request for qualified immunity on First Amendment retaliation claims was also properly denied because the interview given to local media about the university's handling of a sexual assault allegation involved a matter of public concern and was conducted outside the scope of his ordinary duties; therefore, it was protected speech. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Moore, Filed On: January 9, 2024, Case #: 22-2057, Categories: immunity, employment Retaliation, First Amendment
Per curiam, the Guam Supreme Court finds the lower court properly dismissed class action claims brought by government employees suing Guam for denied pandemic double pay. The employees did not exhaust their administrative remedies before brining their claims and sovereign immunity bars many of their claims. Affirmed.
Court: Guam Supreme Court, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: December 29, 2023, Case #: CVA23-2, Categories: employment, Government, immunity
Per curiam, the circuit finds that the district court properly dismissed public school teachers' challenge to Connecticut's executive order requiring teachers to get vaccinated or undergo weekly Covid-19 testing. Gov. Edward Lamont was entitled to qualified immunity because the vaccine mandate that had been imposed in the face of a public health emergency did not violate a clearly established right held by the teachers. Affirmed.
Court: 2nd Circuit, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: December 26, 2023, Case #: 23-656, Categories: employment, immunity, Covid-19
J. Williams grants, in part, the employer's motion to dismiss, ruling the Eleventh Amendment bars the claims brought under the Connecticut Fair Employment Practices Act because the Department of Transportation is a state actor that has not waived its right to sovereign immunity. Meanwhile, the lack of specificity in the black employee's discrimination claim regarding special privileges given to white employees prevents him from establishing a plausible Title VII claim for race discrimination, which will also be dismissed.
Court: USDC Connecticut, Judge: Williams, Filed On: December 7, 2023, Case #: 3:22cv537, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Evidence, immunity, employment Discrimination
J. Wood finds the circuit court properly ruled that the particular immunity sought by school district members applies to the state civil rights claims brought by the substitute teacher who says that her child was mistreated by a teacher at the school. The substitute was not allowed to work in the district after filing an ethics complaint, and brought state and federal claims against the district. State assertions of immunity must yield to the claims brought under federal civil rights law. Affirmed in part. Reversed and remanded in part. Motion to dismiss appeal denied. Motion for partial dismissal dismissed.
Court: Arkansas Supreme Court, Judge: Wood, Filed On: November 9, 2023, Case #: CV-22-143, Categories: Civil Rights, employment, immunity
J. Engelhardt finds the district court properly dismissed the county employee’s civil rights complaint against the county arising on allegations of having been fired after making sexual assault complaints against a county judge. The county is only liable for the actions of its employees when an official policy or custom causes the injury. The judge lacked the requisite policymaking authority to hold the county liable for his alleged sexual misconduct. Affirmed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Engelhardt, Filed On: November 9, 2023, Case #: 22-50918, Categories: employment, immunity, employment Retaliation
J. Morrison denies, in part, the commission's motion to dismiss, ruling the attorney's allegations of being terminated without warning or cause shortly after she complained of sex discrimination sets forth a plausible claim for age discrimination retaliation. However, the two individual commissioners are entitled to qualified immunity on the attorney's civil rights claims because no state law required them to investigate her claims of discrimination independent of the commission as a whole.
Court: USDC Southern District of Ohio, Judge: Morrison, Filed On: November 1, 2023, Case #: 2:23cv940, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Government, immunity, employment Retaliation
J. McAvoy grants, in part, Binghamton University and two of its employees’ motion to dismiss a former maintenance worker’s discrimination and retaliation claims brought after he raised concerns about harassment due to religion and ethnicity in violations under Title VII and the New York Human Rights Law. His Title VII claims against the two employees and his state discrimination and retaliation claims against the university do not survive the motion because the university is entitled to sovereign immunity. The motion to dismiss is denied to all other respects.
Court: USDC Northern District of New York, Judge: McAvoy, Filed On: October 30, 2023, Case #: 3:22cv1282, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: immunity, employment Discrimination, employment Retaliation
J. Wormuth denies, in part, a village's motion to dismiss an employee's Monell liability claim related to the reduction in his job duties and pay. The worker has sufficiently alleged the village's allowance of the mayor to act as the final policymaker is an unconstitutional policy.
Court: USDC New Mexico, Judge: Wormuth, Filed On: September 30, 2023, Case #: 1:23cv52, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: employment, immunity, Due Process
J. Sargus grants the employer's motion for judgment on the pleadings, ruling its status as a state actor entitles it to sovereign immunity on the employee's Americans with Disabilities Act and Family and Medical Leave Act claims, which must be dismissed.
Court: USDC Southern District of Ohio, Judge: Sargus, Filed On: September 28, 2023, Case #: 2:22cv4161, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Ada / Rehabilitation Act, immunity, employment Retaliation