On April 22, 2019, the Supreme Court of the United States chose to hear arguments in three cases involving LGBT employees – Altitude Express v Zarda, Bostock v Clayton County, and RG & GR Harris Funeral Homes v EEOC.  These cases are from different jurisdictions: the Second Circuit, Eleventh Circuit, and Sixth Circuit, respectively. In Altitude Express,

On April 16, 2019, the Sixth Circuit released its opinion in Redlin v Grosse Pointe Pub Sch Sys, ___ F3d ___, Case No. 18‑1641 (CA 6, 2019).  The case involved an assistant principal who alleged that the Defendant school district discriminated against her on the basis of gender and retaliated against her on the basis

A bill introduced to the Michigan legislature could have a big impact on school year start times.  House Bill 4087, if enacted into law, would remove a requirement from section 1284b of the Revised School Code that generally prohibits school districts, ISDs, and charter schools from starting the school year before Labor Day.  Currently, the

In an unpublished decision, Hindenach v Olivet College (No. 340540), the Michigan Court of Appeals found no liability for a college and professor during a school field trip to Italy.  The field trip, which lasted for 2.5 weeks and capped off an art course at Olivet, was attended by student Johnathan Hindenach.  Before the field

The Michigan Employment Relations Commission released two decisions in February that involved public school employers, unions, or individuals.  In both cases, the administrative law judges (“ALJs”) determined no unfair labor practices (“ULPs”) occurred, and the individuals that filed the ULPs opted not to file “exceptions” to appeal the decisions. In Detroit Pub Sch Comm Dist,

In a recent unpublished case, Doe v Unnamed Sch Dist (No. 340234), the Michigan Court of Appeals cleared the path for a school district to proceed with disclosure of documents under the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”).  The plaintiffs were “Jane Doe” and “Jane Roe,” who were allegedly “legal decision makers” for a minor elementary

Once upon a time, agency shop provisions were commonplace in Michigan collective bargaining agreements.  Such provisions required employees to either join a union or pay nonmember fees, usually as a requirement to maintain employment.  After Michigan’s Right to Work legislation passed in 2012, agency shop provisions became unenforceable.  Seven years later, agency shop language is

The Michigan Court of Appeals has dismissed a case involving a Michigan school district and its bus driver employee.  In the unpublished case of Kroll v DeMorrow (No. 341895), a Montague Area Public Schools student was injured at her bus stop when she was struck by a private vehicle.  The bus driver, DeMorrow, allegedly failed

Scams seeking sensitive personal information seem to be constant in our country.  Emails from supposed Nigerian princes, phone calls on behalf of loved ones allegedly in jail and needing bail money, and other outlandish attempts to separate us from our money have become just another part of daily life.  But subtler scams are commonplace as

Corporate behemoth Amazon has been throwing its weight around in the state of Washington.  On Tuesday, a bill passed the Washington Senate, intended to partially prohibit non‑compete clauses.  Such clauses are common in the tech world and other employment areas, and they stop employees from working for competitors or starting competitive businesses for an agreed‑upon