U.S. Supreme Court Ninth Circuit improperly reviewed District Court’s decision to quash an EEOC subpoena in discrimination investigation. District Court quashed EEOC subpoenas seeking pedigree information (names, Social Security numbers, addresses and telephone numbers) of all employees asked to take physical examination in investigation of charge by employee who returned from maternity leave, failed three...
Read MoreBlog
Hawaii Employment Law Decisions March 26 to April 1, 2017 – Jeffrey S. Harris
U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals District Court properly granted summary judgment against FLSA claim by driver applicants who attended three-day orientation. The applicants were not employees under FLSA, because they took driving and skill tests, completed tax and administrative paperwork, showed they understood and would comply with safety policies and regulatory standards during the...
Read MoreHawaii Employment Law Decisions March 19 to March 25, 2017 – Jeffrey S. Harris
U.S. Supreme Court Acting general counsel of NLRB became ineligible to perform functions of office requiring Presidential appointment and Senate confirmation upon being nominated by the President to fill the vacant position, since the prohibition against a nominee serving in an acting capacity extended to any person serving as an acting official and was not...
Read MoreHawaii Employment Law Decisions March 12 to March 18, 2017 – Jeffrey S. Harris
U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals District Court properly granted summary judgment against ADA claim, because former teacher and his wife failed to raise genuine issue of material fact as to whether they were terminated because of his disability or reasonable accommodation requests. District Court properly granted summary judgment under Fair Housing Act, because teacher...
Read MoreHawaii Employment Law Decisions March 5 to March 11, 2017 – Jeffrey S. Harris
U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals District Court properly denied employee’s motion for judgment as a matter of law and new trial on hostile work environment claim. Although evidence could have supported employee’s claim, there was also support for the employer. Several witnesses testified the conduct amounted to no more than jokes and horseplay Employee’s...
Read MoreDirectors Jeffrey S. Harris, Ronald I. Heller Selected for Inclusion to the Top 25 2016 Hawaii Super Lawyers List
Two of our attorneys have been recognized by Super Lawyers with inclusion in their Top 25 2016 Hawaii Super Lawyers List. The honorees are attorneys Jeffrey S. Harris and Ronald I. Heller, both Directors at Torkildson, Katz, Hetherington, Harris & Knorek Attorneys At Law. They were selected by Super Lawyers on the basis of independent...
Read MoreJanuary and February 2017 Key NLRB Decisions; Christine K. D. Belcaid
Change on the Horizon: On January 26, 2017, President Trump named Board member Philip A. Miscimarra Acting Chairman of the NLRB. Miscimarra, who is the sole Republican member of the Board, was known for his colorful dissenting opinions often in favor of employers. Trump will likely nominate Republicans to fill the two current vacancies on...
Read MoreHawaii Employment Law Decisions Feb. 26, 2017 to Mar. 4, 2017 – Jeffrey S. Harris
U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals District court properly granted summary judgment against claim for failing to adequately compensate employee for overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Breaks not authorized by the employer were not working time. Sheehy v. Santa v. Santa Clara Valley Trans. Auth., 2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 3723 (9th Cir. Mar....
Read MoreHawaii Employment Law Decisions Feb. 19, 2017 to Feb. 25, 2017 – Jeffrey S. Harris
U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals District court improperly granted summary judgment against Title VII hostile work environment claim. A reasonable juror could find supervisor greeting with unwelcome hugs on over 100 occasions and at least one kiss during a 12-year period was more than ordinary workplace socializing and became abusive. Supervisor hugging and kissing...
Read MoreHawaii Employment Law Decisions Feb. 12, 2017 to Feb. 19, 2017 – Jeffrey S. Harris
U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals National Labor Relations Board retained authority to order reinstatement of discharged employee, after employee entered settlement accepting payment and waiving reinstatement. District court did not abuse discretion by granting Board temporary injunction requiring employee's reinstatement. Because employer's speech was allegedly illegally coercive, ordinary standard for temporary injunction applied. Regional...
Read More