Articles
Evolution of Employment Discrimination Claims Brought Under the MHRA
The elements required to prove an employment discrimination claim brought under the Missouri Human Rights Act, (“MHRA”), Section 213.010, RSMo 2000, et seq., have undergone substantial changes over the past several years. Until recently, Missouri courts followed the...
Entrepreneurs of the Year—Day In and Day Out
Last week I had the distinct pleasure of accompanying one of our clients to Overland, Kansas for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneurs of the Year program for the Midwest region. It was a black tie affair, befitting the accomplishments of the all of the honorary...
Missouri Supreme Court Addresses Computer Tampering by Former Employee
In a recent Missouri Supreme Court case, Western Blue Co. v. Roberts, the court found that there was substantial evidence to support a finding of computer tampering by a former employee. Missouri Law allows the owner or lessee of a computer system or network to bring...
The Truth, the Whole Truth and Nothing but the Truth
From the early episodes of the "Perry Mason" television series to the courtrooms at the Thomas Eagleton Federal Courthouse in downtown St. Louis, this familiar oath is required before a witness can testify at trial. The use of these 10 words in 2012 follows a...
Missouri Court of Appeals Expands Public Policy Exception to At-Will Employment Doctrine
In what will likely be significant decision in the area of employment law, the Missouri Court of Appeals recently broadened the public policy exception to Missouri’s at-will employment doctrine. In Delaney v. Signature Health Care Foundation, the plaintiff learned...
Section 510 of ERISA Imposes Obligations Concerning Benefit Plans
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act, or ERISA, is a complex and comprehensive federal law concerning all aspects of employment benefit plans. Congress included Section 510 to prohibit two types of conduct: (1) adverse action because a participant availed...
The Snare of COBRA
The case of Franco Santos v. Goldstar Transport, Inc., is instructive of companies which are under “common control.” In that case, a former employee took her employer, Goldstar Transport, Inc., to court claiming that the company had not provided proper election...
Y’all Be Careful With Ya’ Language, Ya’ Hear?
Ran across a curious news story from Richmond,Virginia. Apparently, a wife’s father made a $15,000 gift to “Y’all.” The court, after determining that a number of gifts were made solely to the daughter, sided with the son-in-law that the gift of $15,000 was to both...
Accommodating Employees With Disabilities
The Americans With Disabilities Act can apply even when what may appear on its face to be a neutral, non-discriminatory practice is instituted on behalf of an employer. Recall a case where Verizon Wireless had instituted a “no-fault” attendance plan, without...
Is that Condominium Special Assessment Limited or Common?
The Missouri Court of Appeals recently considered a case, Laurence Epstein, et al. v. Villa Dorado Condominium Association, Inc., involving a group of condominium unit owners (the “Unit Owners”) who sued their condominium association (the “Association”) when the...
Silver Spoon Ridiculousness
Reasonableness, or even sanity, may be in short supply. Those of us who have been, know that being a parent can be challenging at times. And before being a parent, we were amazed at how our parents were, at times, so unreasonable. As Mark Twain said, he was...
Doe ex rel. Subia v. Kansas City, Missouri Sch. Dist.: Missouri Expands the Scope of Sexual Harassment Claims under the MHRA
Until a recent decision by the Missouri Court of Appeals, no Missouri case had addressed whether the Missouri Human Rights Act (“MHRA”) covers a claim against a public school district for sex discrimination based upon student-on-student sexual harassment. The...