South Carolina Lawyers Weekly

Where the plaintiff-employee complained to the defendant-employer’s human resources department after she learned that a manager had called her a “slow black worker,” and where plaintiff was suspended four days later and terminated nine days later for purportedly having failed ...

A university professor who alleged she was paid less than male colleagues failed to persuade the court the difference in pay was due to her gender. Instead, the court held the difference was based on legitimate factors, including different job ...

Even though the defendant-employer’s “Relationships at Work Policy” (RWP) addresses intimate relationships among employees, it also covers any relationship that “may create actual or perceived conflicts of interest.” Since plaintiff had a friendship with his receptionist, and since he failed ...

Where a federal government employee’s depression resulted in repeated absences and tardiness from work, her employer’s refusal to offer her a permanent position did not constitute unlawful discrimination or retaliation. Background In March 2011, the Office of the Director of ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Employment Law

Although the but-for standard of proof applicable to age discrimination cases is more demanding than the motivating-factor standard of proof applied to Title VII claims, a plaintiff’s prima facie case, combined with sufficient evidence that the employer’s asserted justification is ...

A woman who alleged male employees circulated a rumor that she had a sexual relationship with a higher-ranking manager in order to obtain her position adequately stated a claim for discrimination and a hostile work environment, given the historical stereotypes ...

  Disputed evidence on whether an employee who struggles with mobility could have performed her job without extensive travel, whether the employer lacked a reasonable belief she could engage in such travel and whether she was terminated because of her ...

Insurer had no duty to defend claims of breach of contract for insurance management services where insurer’s policy excluded coverage for claims arising from failure to procure or maintain insurance. We grant defendant’s motion to dismiss plaintiffs’ action seeking a ...

Contractor who performed pipe installation in a manufacturer’s plants was a statutory employee where construction was an integral part of the manufacturer’s business as it regularly engaged in construction and maintained a construction division and the manufacturer would not have ...

Because an employer did not abandon its claim that a former employee breached his employment agreement by retaining company property after resignation, the district court erred in dismissing the claim. And because the employer took steps to maintain the secrecy ...