Corporate, Litigation, and Labor & Employment Lawyers

Honolulu and Hilo, HI

Hawaii Employment Decisions November 6, 2016 to November 12, 2016 – Jeffrey S. Harris

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals

District court properly dismissed Fair Labor Standards Act claim for failure to pay overtime wages.  Employee failed to allege facts sufficient to state a plausible claim for unpaid overtime.  Khorshed v. Lawa, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 28090 (9th Cir. Nov. 7, 2016).

U.S. District Court

District court granted summary judgment against disparate treatment claim.  Employee presented no evidence he was similarly situated to employees of different race with higher salary or who received lesser discipline for comparable misconduct.  District court granted summary judgment against retaliation claim.  Employee presented no evidence his ban from campus was caused by exercise of protected right; he was treated more harshly than others for similar violations of an honor code; reasons he received bad performance reviews were pretext for retaliation; or his discrimination complaints caused denial of training trips, awards, yelling, job responsibility changes or no invitations to parties.  Jinadasa v. Brigham Young University-Hawaii, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 155840 (D. Haw. Nov. 9, 2016).

Note: We analyze cases to learn rules the courts will follow or disappoint us if they don't. Rules that the courts follow allow us to behave and provide explanations they accept. But competent advocates may limit the rules to the facts of the case where they are discussed, or expand rules by showing that differences in other cases are irrelevant.