Indiana companies await results from DBE certification changes
As part of a federal rule change, all DBE-certified firms must argue that they are disadvantaged for reasons that aren’t sex- or race-based.
Employees
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In-house legal departments expecting labor and employment disputes to drive surge in class actions
Separate analytical reports from the law firms of Carlton Fields and Seyfarth Shaw both found work-related issues are continuing to convince employees to take their bosses to court. As a result, class action defense spending is anticipated to keep accelerating after crossing the $3 billion threshold for the first time in 2021.
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COVID-19 religious exemption concerns on shaky ground
Attorneys representing employers and employees alike have seen swells and lulls in incoming calls concerned about COVID-19 vaccination requirements.
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Employment lawyers see host of concerns from hospitality industry staff post-pandemic
Past the midway mark in 2021, restaurants and bars across the country are still reportedly struggling to find workers. As a result, Hoosier employment attorneys say they’ve seen a trend of staffing shortages exacerbated by the pandemic forcing cooks, servers and hostesses to work significantly more hours.
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FedEx gunman who killed 8, self was known to police
The former employee who shot and killed eight people at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis was interviewed by FBI agents last year after his mother called police to say that her son might commit “suicide by cop,” the bureau said Friday. Authorities also released the names of the eight victims late Friday.
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Articles
Firings of federal workers begin as White House seeks to pressure Democrats in government shutdown
The White House budget office said Friday that mass firings of federal workers have started in an attempt to exert more pressure on Democratic lawmakers as the government shutdown continues.
Lawmakers scrutinize “black box of state PBM spending”
A review of five years of data from the state’s major pharmacy benefit managers cataloged more than 63 million claims and nearly $6.7 billion paid to the entities across state-sponsored plans — including Medicaid and the health plan for state employees, according to an analysis presented before lawmakers on Tuesday.
FTC bans contracts that keep workers from jumping to rival employers
The Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday banned noncompete agreements for most U.S. workers, a move that will affect an estimated 30 million employees bound by contracts that restrict workers from switching employers within their industry.
Supreme Court backs suits over discriminatory job transfers
The justices unanimously ruled Wednesday that people suing under the main federal job-bias law don’t have to show a transfer caused them a significant disadvantage.
Ex-AG Hill accusers appeal grant of summary judgment to Legislature on Title VII claims
The federal case stemming from the sexual misconduct allegations against former Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill is headed back to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, this time on the question of whether the Indiana Legislature violated the federal rights of three of Hill’s accusers.
COA reverses summary judgment over questions of employment status of deceased driver
A fatal 2017 traffic accident is headed back to the trial court after the Court of Appeals of Indiana found too many questions remain as to whether the driver alleged to have caused the collision was as an employee or contractor during the crash.
Former employers lose again in breach-of-confidentiality appeal, but attorney fees partially overturned
A breach-of-confidentiality dispute between concrete-industry employees and their former employer returned to the Court of Appeals of Indiana for a second time but largely yielded the same result on Tuesday. However, one of the companies did score a partial win as the COA overturned an award of attorney fees.
Pettygrove: FMLA exposure, ‘potential’ needs and ‘constructive notice’
Since FMLA leave is a legal entitlement for the employee and a corresponding legal obligation for the employer, that abstract concept implicates immediate questions: Who is responsible for telling whom about a need for leave? What do they need to say? When?
Health worker vaccine mandate blocked in half the states
A federal appeals court panel on Wednesday lifted a nationwide ban against President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate for health care workers, instead blocking the requirement in only certain states and creating the potential for patchwork enforcement across the country.
Indiana lawmakers won’t return for one-day session on COVID-19 legislation
Republican legislative leaders have decided against bringing state lawmakers back for a one-day session on Monday to vote on a bill that would have restricted employer COVID-19 vaccine mandates and put in place actions to end the statewide public health emergency order.
DOJ awards $370K to Northern Indiana District to hire officers
Funds amounting to $370,639 were granted to the Northern District of Indiana to help hire additional law enforcement officers in three cities, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Indiana Clifford D. Johnson announced Thursday.
Carmel-based firm uncovers three separate cases of employee fraud
Maria Caceres, a former employee of Carmel-based Seven Corners Inc., stands accused of defrauding the company by submitting false claims — the third employee to face such charges within two years in separate criminal cases that allege more than $3.5 million in fraud against the travel insurance company.
Governor wants Indiana state employees in offices in July
Staffers for many state agencies have been working remotely, but Gov. Eric Holcomb said in an email to employees that “it is not the optimal way for us to serve Hoosiers.”
Fired Cathedral teacher appeals dismissal of his lawsuit against archdiocese
Joshua Payne-Elliott, a foreign language and social studies teacher, sued the archdiocese after his contract with Cathedral was terminated in June 2019.
Supreme Court won’t hear case involving the N-word
The Supreme Court is declining to hear a case that would have let the justices decide whether a single use of the N-word in the workplace can create a hostile work environment.
Justices consider hearing a case on ‘most offensive word’
In a case focusing on elevator graffiti, Robert Collier is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to decide whether a single use of the N-word in the workplace can create a hostile work environment, giving an employee the ability to pursue a case under Title VII of the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Fired Cathedral teacher’s suit against archdiocese over same-sex marriage dismissed
In a one-page order, Marion Superior Special Judge Lance Hamner did what a previous special judge and the Indiana Supreme Court had not done – dismiss the wrongful termination lawsuit filed by a gay teacher against the archdiocese of Indianapolis.
Union leaders decry Indiana’s high rate of worker deaths
Indiana labor union leaders are calling for improved workplace safety enforcement with the state’s rate of deaths while working about one-third higher than the national average.
Holcomb to reinstate job-seeking rule for unemployed, study whether to ax federal benefit
Gov. Eric Holcomb is set to reinstate a requirement that those applying to collect unemployment benefits actively seek jobs and be available for work — a requirement that the state has waived since the beginning of the pandemic.