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Employment – Pretext – Insubordination
Where a plaintiff has filed an appeal challenging a grant of summary judgment for her former employer, the Drug Enforcement Agency of the U.S. Department of Justice, that judgment should be affirmed because the plaintiff has failed to establish that the government’s decision to terminate her employment for insubordination was pretextual.
Retirement – Group 2
Where the State Board of Retirement denied an application for Group 2 classification filed by a petitioner who was a human services coordinator for the Department of Developmental Services (DDS), the board’s decision should be affirmed because the petitioner did not prove that she spent more than half her work time providing direct care to the mentally ill and developmentally disabled individual[...]
EEOC: Paycom fired worker because of her onion allergy
The EEOC alleges Paycom violated disability laws by firing an employee with a severe onion allergy without reasonable accommodations in Oklahoma city.
Labor – Suspension – Just cause
Where a union filed a grievance over a one-day suspension of an engineer employed by the city of Worcester, the grievance should be denied because the city had just cause to issue a one-day suspension based on evidence that the employee engaged in unprofessional, disrespectful and aggressive behavior in September 2023.
Retirement – Accidental disability
Where a police officer’s application for accidental disability retirement benefits was denied, that decision must be reversed because the officer’s injury became disabling while he was still a member in service.
Employment – Noncompete
Where a plaintiff has moved for a preliminary injunction to prevent the defendant, a former employee, from working for another database software company, the motion should be denied because (1) the noncompete agreement’s exception allowing the defendant to “work on databases other than PostgreSQL” is applicable and (2) the plaintiff’s highly general allegations are insufficient to demonstr[...]
Why your best employees are quietly losing their edge
The conversation about modern work is stuck in two camps, and both are wrong. The hustle camp produces big achievements and bigger burnouts. The comfort camp produces a slow corrosion you don’t notice until you can’t remember the last time you were proud of something you built.
Ex-presidential candidate to face individual liability in Massachusetts
A federal judge ruled a Massachusetts worker may pursue breach of contract claims against former presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg over an alleged pay guarantee through November 2020.
Employment – Political discrimination
Where a defendant mayor was awarded summary judgment in a political discrimination suit brought by a plaintiff who was not reappointed to the position of internal auditor following the defendant’s election, the judgment must be vacated because the district court's conclusion that the plaintiff had not established an adverse employment action was legally flawed, as was the district court’s conc[...]
Judge blocks labor board’s move to take control over union elections
A federal judge in Boston blocked the Federal Labor Relations Authority's attempt to centralize control over federal employee union elections under its three-member panel.
When is a PIP an adverse employment action?
As illustrated by a recent 1st Circuit decision, not all PIPs are created equal in evaluating when they may serve as a basis for an employment discrimination claim.
Retirement – Recoupment – Beneficiary
Where a petitioner has challenged the Boston Retirement System’s decision to recoup an overpayment from her late mother’s retirement allowance, the petitioner is entitled to summary decision based on Magarian v. Lexington Retirement Board, CR-22-0088, 2023 WL 9022702 (Div. Admin. L. App. Dec. 22, 2023).
