In Mercado v. Donahoe, No. 11-2972, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 13226, (3rd Cir. June 26, 2012), the plaintiff, a probationary part-time employee, sued his employer alleging that he had been discriminated against on the basis of his gender (male) and national origin (Hispanic). In support of his claims, the plaintiff pointed to the employer’s allegedly more favorable treatment of a white, female, non-probationary employee. Affirming the district court’s order granting summary judgment to the employer, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals held that the employee identified by the plaintiff was not a proper comparator and was not similarly situated to the plaintiff because, among other reasons, she had completed her probationary period and was no longer a probationary employee at the time that the plaintiff was hired.
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The New California Regulations Part IV: Support Animals in the Workplace
The California Office of Administrative Law recently approved regulations drafted by the California Fair Employment and Housing Council. These new regulations, covering the entire gamut of employment law topics within the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), went into effect on April 1, 2016.
New State Minimum Wage Goes Into Effect June 1
A Florida circuit court judge in Tallahassee on May 3 ordered state officials to recalculate the minimum wage to $7.31 per hour for 2011, after finding that the state violated the Florida Constitution by reducing the rate because of deflation (Cadet v. Agency for Workforce Innovation, Fla. Cir. Ct., No. 2011-CA-0072, 5/3/11). In a two-page order, Judge Terry P. Lewis of the Florida Circuit Court, Second Judicial Circuit, also ordered the Agency for Workforce Innovation to publish a notice of the hike and enjoined the state agency from “continuing to withhold” the greater rate.
U.S. House Judiciary Committee Approves Legislation Creating Civil Cause of Action Under Federal Trade Secrets Protection Act
Federal trade secret legislation may be closer than you think. On September 17, 2014, the Judiciary Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives approved H.R. 5233, the Trade Secrets Protection Act of 2014, with one amendment. The bill, which will now move to the full House of Representatives for a…..