By Andy Volin The Tenth Circuit just ruled that an arbitration agreement between a massage student and her school was not enforceable, because it would not permit the effective vindication of the student’s statutory rights. Nesbitt v. FCNH, Inc., No. 14-1502 (10th Cir. Jan. 5, 2016). The dispute involved a massage student’s claim that, when […]
Tag: 10th Circuit
Curing Cat’s-Paw
By Bill Wright In a Title VII retaliation claim, a plaintiff has to prove protected conduct was the “but-for” cause of the materially adverse action. Can a plaintiff prove “but-for” causation relying on the supposed retaliatory animus of someone other than the decision maker? Yes, but not if the decision-maker acts independently of the so-called […]
Court-Authored Settlement Agreement Might Not Suffice
By Sarah Peace It is important to proceed cautiously and meticulously even with a court-approved settlement of an employee’s claims. In Walters v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., No. 11-5130 (10th Cir. Jan. 8, 2013), a plaintiff brought race, disability, gender, and age discrimination claims against his employer. They reached a settlement agreement in a conference with […]
No OT Claim Where Employee Ignored the Time Keeping System
By Ted Olsen Employers learned the value of an up-to-date time keeping system in a recent 10th Circuit decision. Brown v. ScriptPro, LLC, No. 11-3293 (10th Cir. Nov. 27, 2012). In ScriptPro, a Customer Service Operations analyst, allegedly, got permission to work from home at night to store up hours for an upcoming leave. When […]