Former IU athletic director Glass joining Taft law firm
Former Indiana University Director of Athletics Fred Glass plans to resume his law career in October, joining the Indianapolis office of Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP as a partner.
Employment Law
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COA rules for general contractor in injured worker’s dispute
A general contractor does not owe a duty of care to a construction worker injured on the job, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled in a Monday interlocutory appeal, reversing a grant of summary judgment to the worker as to that issue.
Attorney juror at center of Supreme Court murder appeal also suing state
As the Indiana Supreme Court takes up the question of whether a man convicted of murder should get a new trial because of misconduct by an attorney who served as jury forewoman at his trial, that attorney also is suing the state over her firing related to her conduct in the case.
Indiana expects to begin offering $300 unemployment bonuses next month
Indiana has applied for the federal government’s Lost Wages Assistance program and hopes to begin delivering the $300 supplemental weekly payments to most people receiving unemployment benefits in the next month or so.
Giving and taking: Landmark high court LGBTQ employment ruling clouded by ministerial exception expansion
Just as celebrations were starting over the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling that Title VII protections cover transgender workers, another opinion from the nine justices shielded religious organizations from lawsuits by expanding the ministerial exception legal doctrine and injected more energy into potential religious liberty challenges to anti-discrimination laws.
States look to ‘salary history bans’ to increase pay equity
Using what’s known as “salary history bans,” governments at the state and local level are limiting employers’ ability to consider a candidate’s previous wages when making an employment decision. The breadth of these bans varies by jurisdiction, but the concept remains the same: under a salary history ban, an employer cannot explicitly ask a prospective employee what they earned in a previous job.
Bush: Employer strategies in responding to the racism pandemic
While there is no playbook outlining the exact steps employers should take to address issues related to racial injustice, there are several actions employers can take to promote racial equity both inside and outside of the workplace.
Smith: Indiana Court of Appeals upholds employer’s noncompete
The Indiana Court of Appeals recently published a decision that is instructive about noncompete agreements. It is one of the rare noncompete cases that does not contain the phrase: “Indiana courts are reluctant to enforce noncompete agreements because they constitute a restraint on trade.”
Brown: More remote employees? Time to review trade secret policies
In the ongoing work conditions surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, business owners may consider that their principal concern is how to make it easier and more efficient for employees to do their jobs remotely. But as businesses streamline connections and move information from office hardware to home computers, they should not forget to safeguard the trade secret information that may be moving around.
Big decisions: Key employment rulings at a glance
Here is a summary of two major U.S. Supreme Court employment rulings regarding LBGTQ employees and the ministerial exception for religious employers from the October 2019 term.
Split COA reverses state ruling against 3 teacher union contracts
A divided appellate panel Wednesday overturned the Indiana Education Employment Relations Board’s final decisions that three contracts negotiated and ratified by Indiana teachers unions and their respective school employers did not comply with state law.
Teachers union backs strike if schools can’t reopen safely
Indiana’s second-largest teacher organization announced Tuesday that its members may resort to striking to ensure a safe return to school as the state continues to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.
Progress slow on virus relief bill as negotiations continue
Negotiators on a huge coronavirus relief bill reported slight progress after talks resumed Monday afternoon in the Capitol, with issues like food for the poor and aid to schools struggling to reopen safely assuming a higher profile in the talks.
Union sues USDA over faster chicken plant production speeds
The union representing workers at chicken processing plants in six states including Indiana sued the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Tuesday, saying its policy of allowing companies to slaughter birds faster endangers workers and makes it more difficult to protect against spread of the coronavirus.
Thomas spoke, Roberts ruled in unusual Supreme Court term
Justice Clarence Thomas spoke and Chief Justice John Roberts ruled. The US Supreme Court’s most unusual term featured victories for immigrants, abortion rights, LGBTQ workers and religious freedoms. The usually quiet Thomas’ baritone was heard by the whole world when the coronavirus outbreak upended the court’s traditional way of doing business. When the biggest decisions were handed down, the chief justice was almost always in the majority and dictated the reach of the court’s most controversial cases, whether they were won by the left or the right.
Sykes becomes chief judge of 7th Circuit
Diane Sykes, who has often been mentioned as a possible nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court, has become the chief judge of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, assuming the leadership position July 5.
SCOTUS ruling isn’t ‘end of the road’ for fired Roncalli, Cathedral educators, attorney says
An attorney for two Indianapolis educators who were fired for their same-sex marriages doesn’t think a Wednesday U.S. Supreme Court employment discrimination ruling that favored two Catholic Schools will impact her clients’ pending cases.
Supreme Court sides with Catholic schools in employment suit
The Supreme Court of the United States is siding with two Catholic schools in a ruling that underscores that certain employees of religious schools, hospitals and social service centers can’t sue for employment discrimination. The high court’s ruling on Wednesday was 7-2.
Supreme Court declines to hear Equal Pay Act case
The Supreme Court is leaving in place a decision that employers can’t use past salary history to justify a pay disparity between male and female employees.
SCOTUS rules president can fire Consumer board head at will
In a ruling underscoring the power of the president, the Supreme Court on Monday made it easier for the president to fire the head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The justices struck down restrictions Congress had written on when the president can remove the bureau’s director.