Corporate, Litigation, and Labor & Employment Lawyers

Honolulu and Hilo, HI

Hawaii Employment Law Cases August 20, 2017 to August 26, 2017 – Jeffrey S. Harris

U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals

District Court properly concluded federal law (National Labor Relations Act, Railway Labor Act and Airline Deregulation Act) did not preempt city from requiring airport service providers to enter labor peace agreement with any employer organization that requested one.  District Court improperly denied leave to amend complaint because service providers could possibly allege large spillover effects on their businesses outside the airport to show the requirement was really a regulation instead of a proprietary act by a market participant.  Airline Serv. Providers Ass'n v. L.A. World Airports, 2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 16110 (Aug. 23, 2017).

District Court improperly admitted evidence of hostile work environment showing plaintiff's mental defect manifesting itself and loss of children, because these events occurred outside the timeframe of the harassing events she alleged.  Dissenting judge contended District Court properly admitted evidence because plaintiff 'opened the door' for it.  Schagene v. Mabus, 2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 16001 (Aug. 22, 2017).

Note: We analyze cases to learn rules courts will follow or disappoint us if they do not. Rules courts follow allow us to behave and provide explanations they accept. Competent advocates may limit the rules to the facts of the case that discuss them, or expand the rules by showing differences in other cases are irrelevant.