The Sixth Circuit recently issued an employer-friendly decision, finding that an employee’s leave of absence under the Family Medical Leave Act did not excuse his pre-leave misconduct. The case is Williams v. Graphic Packaging Internatl., Inc., 6th Cir. No. 18-5485, 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 32572 (Oct. 31, 2019) and the Plaintiff, James “Randy” Williams, worked [...]
A national anti-union organization has recently opened its doors in central Ohio. The organization is The Freedom Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit which operates in several states across the country including Washington, Oregon, Ohio and California. The organization claims it is seeking to educate public employees about union membership and dues and hopes to further that [...]
FDAR attorneys Samantha McGuire and David Riepenhoff recently won a motion to vacate an arbitrator’s award which reinstated a terminated deputy. The case centered around a deputy’s failure to maintain training records regarding his K-9 partner. When the chief deputy and sergeant went to the deputy’s home to retrieve the K-9, his food, and medication, [...]
The United States Supreme Court recently held that the statute of limitations for claims of fabricated evidence begins to run when the criminal proceeding against the plaintiff has terminated in his or her favor. The claim was brought under Section 1983 of Title 42 of the U.S. Code. This statute is part of the Civil [...]
On October 1st, House Bill 352 was introduced, which seeks to provide comprehensive reform of Ohio’s employment discrimination statute (Ohio Revised Code Chapter 4112). The bill also contains some employer-friendly changes which would simplify the defense of discrimination claims brought under the statute. Currently, employees can file a lawsuit under Ohio’s discrimination statute up to [...]
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has reached a settlement with Reliable Staffing, an Indianapolis staffing firm, resolving a charge of disability discrimination. The charge alleged the firm unlawfully made pre-offer medical inquiries to numerous job applicants. The EEOC alleged that Reliable Staffing used these medical inquiries to screen out applicants with disabilities. The EEOC [...]
On August 27th, 2019, five employees represented by the National Right to Work Group filed a class action lawsuit against the Ohio Civil Service Employees Association (“OSCEA”) AFSCME, Local 11, Governor Mike DeWine, and Mathew Damschroder, the director of the Ohio Department of Administrative Services. The complaint alleges that the plaintiffs’ First Amendment rights have [...]
Fishel Downey attorneys, Daniel Downey and Stephanie Schoolcraft, recently secured a favorable decision in favor of the Licking County Sheriff’s Office, from the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. This case arose after Licking County received a report of a drunk driver. After running the plate, the vehicle came back stolen by an allegedly “armed and [...]
In its September 10, 2019 Opinion letter, the Department of Labor (DOL) clarified employers are prohibited from delaying designating qualifying leave as FMLA leave, even if the delay complies with the leave provisions in the parties’ collective bargaining agreement (CBA) and the employee prefers that the designation be delayed. An employee requested the DOL’s opinion [...]
Several FDAR attorneys have once again been named among the Best Lawyers in America 2020! This list is compiled based on peer reviews and recommendations from leading lawyers in each field. Congratulations to Benjamin S. Albrecht, Daniel T. Downey and Marc A. Fishel on this esteemed recognition! Their colleagues have rated [...]