South Carolina Lawyers Weekly

A Maryland state agency enjoys 11th Amendment immunity against sexual orientation and disability discrimination claims brought by a former employee because the agency did not consent to suit in federal court. Background This appeal and ongoing proceedings in the District ...

A majority of the panel upheld a jury’s conclusion the defendant terminated a 30-year employee because of her age, 61. It said the decision was supported by the evidence, including her tenure and comments made around her termination, and found ...

A garbage truck driver who was terminated for job abandonment after missing a single day of work due to illness had a valid employment discrimination claim because his performance was satisfactory, his employer’s changing rationale for the termination suggested pretext ...

Where a sheriff terminated a deputy sheriff who supported the sheriff’s opponent during the re-election campaign, he did not violate the law. Background This case arises from Sheriff Michael L. Chapman’s decision not to reappoint Mark F. McCaffrey as a ...

A university medical school and two doctors did not discriminate, retaliate or subject the plaintiff doctor to a hostile work environment. Background Afraaz R. Irani filed suit against Palmetto Health; the University of South Carolina School of Medicine; David E. ...

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 ...