What HR teams need to know about the consequential damages ruling creating a national circuit split
The Fifth Circuit slashed employer liability in wrongful termination cases but reinforced protections for workers who file grievances and union complaints.
A federal appeals court delivered mixed news for employers on February 2, handing down a decision that upholds protections for workers who complain about job conditions while simultaneously limiting how much companies might have to pay when they cross the line.
The ruling in Harvard Maintenance v. National Labor Relations Board will reshape how HR teams in Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi calculate risk when handling employee grievances and terminations. But the decision also deepens a national split on labor law that may eventually land at the Supreme Court.
At the center of the case was Carina Cruz, who spent 18 years cleaning offices for Harvard Maintenance, a New York City janitorial contractor. In early 2020, Cruz started pushing back on what she saw as contract violations, complaining at meetings and calling supervisors to get names so she could file grievances with her union and the labor board.
Things escalated quickly. After one phone call in January, her supervisor allegedly warned that filing complaints could get Cruz suspended or written up. By March, tensions boiled over during back-to-back confrontations about workplace issues. Cruz was sent home twice in two days, and by June her suspension had turned into...
Topline The latest release of the Epstein files give new insights about Epstein’s relationship with Bill Gates—which has dogged the billionaire for years, and we know now wreaked havoc on his marri...