Labor and Employment Law

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In a recent Supreme Court decision, the Court held that Title VII’s requirement that a covered “employer” meet a minimum threshold number of employees is not “jurisdictional” but is part of the requisite elements of a claim for relief. Arbaugh v. Y & H Corp., 126 S. Ct. 1235, 163 L.Ed.2d 1097, 74 USLW 4138 (2006). The effect of holding that the threshold is not “jurisdictional” was to abrogate previous Fifth Circuit jurisprudence treating Title VII’s employee-numerosity requirements as a matter of federal court subject-matter jurisdiction that is not subject to waiver or estoppel.
Continue Reading Is It Jurisdictional?

It is common for an employer to require an employee to provide a medical release or to submit to a medical examination before returning to work after a sickness or medical leave. Some employees contend the time it takes to complete this process amounts to involuntary FMLA leave and they should receive all benefits of the Act related to such leave. In a recent Fifth Circuit decision, the court recognized that an employer can place an employee on “involuntary” FMLA leave if the employee has provided the employer with notice of the employee’s “serious health condition,” and the involuntary nature of the leave does not deprive the employee of rights under the Act.    Willis v. Coca Cola Enterprises, Inc., 2006 WL 827359 (5th Cir. March 31, 2006).

The facts in Willis are interesting. Willis was a Senior Account Manager with Coca Cola Enterprises. On a Monday, in May 2003, she called her supervisor and told him she would not be at work that day because she was sick. In the same conversation, she told her supervisor she was pregnant, but she did not specifically tell her supervisor she was sick because of her pregnancy.Continue Reading 5TH CIRCUIT RECOGNIZES THAT AN EMPLOYER’S PLACEMENT OF AN EMPLOYEE ON LEAVE CAN RESULT IN “INVOLUNTARY” FMLA LEAVE IF…

The Louisiana House of Representative, House Labor Committee approved SB 700 by a vote of 6-5. SB 700 would set a state-wide minimum wage of $6.15 or $1.00 higher than the existing federal minimum wage. As written, SB 700 has several exceptions. SB 700 now goes to the full House of Representatives for consideration. The…

The Uniform Trade Secrets Act, La. 51:1431, et seq., provides a cause of action for misappropriation of a trade secret. However, it is important to recognize that these are specific terms which must be satisfied in order to trigger the remedies provided in the Act.
Continue Reading Efforts to Maintain Trade Secrets to be Scrutinized

Many C-Level executives and small business owners have heard of the Gulf Opportunity Zone (the GO Zone Act) and know that it does something for Louisiana businesses, but they do not know if or how the new law can help them and their employees. Kean Miller has prepared a comprehensive summary of the GO Zone Act and its sister law, the Katrina Emergency Tax Relief Act of 2005 (“KETRA”). This summary describes the key legislative provisions and explains how Louisiana-area businesses, both large and small, can maximize the GO Zone benefits available to them.
Continue Reading What is the Gulf Opportunity Zone?

Louisiana is an employment at-will state. This rule is found in Article 2747 of the Louisiana Civil Code which says, “a man is at liberty to dismiss a hired servant attached to his person or family, without assigning any reason for so doing. The servant is also free to depart without assigning any cause.”
Continue Reading Louisiana Strengthens Employment-at-Will Doctrine