On September 13th, the Ohio Supreme Court denied a court action brought to compel a police department to produce records in the case of destroyed police officer incident notes. State ex rel. Pietrangelo v. City of Avon Lake, 2016-Ohio-5725, ¶ 2. Additionally, the court found the claimant was not entitled to statutory damages under Ohio [...]
The Ninth Circuit recently decided that a citizen does not have a constitutional right to simultaneously hold a medical marijuana registry card and purchase a firearm. In Wilson v. Lynch, Wilson v. Lynch, No. 14-15700, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 16108 (9th Cir. Aug. 31, 2016), the Ninth Circuit affirmed dismissal of an action challenging federal [...]
On September 20, 2016, officials from Ohio and twenty other states filed a lawsuit in the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Texas seeking an injunction and declaratory relief against the Department of Labor to halt implementation of new rules for overtime exempt “white collar” employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The [...]
FHKAD Attorneys Dan Downey and Paul Bernhart secured summary judgment in a police liability case, France v. Lucas , which was recently affirmed by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. This marks the first time in the Sixth Circuit that the “sham affidavit doctrine” has been applied to a codefendant’s affidavit. The Plaintiffs in this [...]
In over a dozen cases in recent years, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has advocated for Title VII protection of employees discriminated against on the basis of transgender status or sexual orientation. The applicability of Title VII to discrimination on these bases continues to vary by Circuit, but the momentum appears to be in the [...]
On July 21, 2016, the Supreme Court of Ohio issued a 6-1 decision that an employee is not required to prove that he/she sustained a work-related injury in order to establish a case of workers’ compensation retaliation. Onderko v. Sierra Lobo, Inc., Slip Opinion No. 2016-Ohio-5027 (July 21, 2016). Ohio Revised Code 4123.90 provides in [...]
The new Department of Labor’s (DOL) regulations regarding overtime take effect on December 1, 2016. With this deadline fast approaching FHKAD has compiled some tips for employers: • Employers should examine all current exempt positions to verify that they meet the regulations new salary and duties test. • If current exempt employees do not meet [...]
On May 3, 2016, the Ohio Supreme Court issued a 5-2 decision in White v. King. The Court held that a prearranged discussion of the public business of a public body by a majority of its members through a series of private e-mail communications is subject to Ohio’s Open Meetings Act, O.R.C. § 121.22. The [...]
On Wednesday, June 8, 2016, Governor John Kasich signed H.B. 523 into law. The new law authorizes the prescription and use of marijuana for medical purposes and establishes the Medical Marijuana Control Program (MMCP) to provide oversight. While it becomes effective on September 6, 2016, as a practical matter, it may take up to 2 [...]
In State ex rel. Pietrangelo v. the City of Avon Lake, the Supreme Court of Ohio considered whether certain types of information contained on bills from a law firm an Ohio city engaged to represent it in a lawsuit were exempt from disclosure under Ohio’s Public Records Act. The Court has already found narrative portions [...]