Can You Fire an Employee who Refuses to Participate in an Internal Investigation? The 2nd Circuit Says Yes.
When an employee is accused of misconduct, particularly when those allegations are criminal in nature, conducting an internal investigation is a best practice. But what is an organization to do when the alleged offender refuses to show up for an interview? May it go so far as to fire the employee, even if that means the employee loses out on benefits or other compensation? A recent case from the Second Circuit Court of Appeals says it can.
Recovered memory therapy continues to be a controversial topic, with experts debating about whether it is valid. As a legal matter, this controversy has slowly spilled over into an increased risk of liability for the therapist who chooses to use the technique. More and more states are holding that parents of children who recover memories of sexual abuse can sue the child’s therapist because the therapist has helped to create false allegations against them. Michigan is the latest jurisdiction to affirm the right of a child’s parent to sue the child’s therapist.
The point of this recent case is that Title VII does not cover sexual orientation discrimination, but the court wishes that it did.
Not everything a church does to a pastor is outside the reach of the court. That is a recent lesson church officials learned in a case out of Ohio federal court dealing with the ecclesiastical abstention doctrine. Also known as the church autonomy doctrine, this is the principle that civil courts will stay out of the doctrinal and important decisions a church makes, such as the decision to fire a pastor or remove a parishioner from membership. This case, Barrow v. Living Word Church, et al.,1 is an interesting twist on the doctrine, and serves as a word of caution for churches.
Many of our potential clients are sure that they want to file a lawsuit, but few have actually thought through—or even realize—the many costs and benefits to doing so. Before filing a lawsuit, you should do a cost-benefit analysis. Identify and then weigh the pros and cons. This seven-part series explores some things to consider when deciding whether a lawsuit is the best way to go.
The Colorado Supreme Court has been hard at work, handing down multiple changes to the Colorado Appellate Rules. Some changes were significant. Others were minor. The most notable change to the Colorado Appellate Rules was to Rule 3.4: Appeals from Proceedings in Dependency or Neglect. For cases filed after July 1, 2016, appeals from these proceedings will get a major overhaul. Here are some of the significant changes in the rules.
The Colorado Supreme Court clarifies that the Twombly/Iqbal pleading standard applies in Colorado. This post analyzes the case, Warne v. Hall, 2016 CO 50, and how the bar for surviving a motion to dismiss has risen.
Many of our potential clients are sure that they want to file a lawsuit, but few have actually thought through—or even realize—the many costs and benefits to doing so. Before filing a lawsuit, you should do a cost-benefit analysis. Identify and then weigh the pros and cons. This seven-part series explores some things to consider when deciding whether a lawsuit is the best way to go.
A Florida preschool recently learned a hard lesson about the importance of good child protection.