One aspect of my legal practice that has changed over the years is the amount of time I focus on my clients’ social media use, as well as investigating an opposing party’s social media accounts. The reason for such attention is simple; it is often a goldmine for inconsistencies, admissions, or even outright lies that
Revisiting Your Whistleblower Protection Compliance Game Plan
On February 3, 2017, the Michigan Supreme Court issued a ruling involving Michigan’s Whistleblowers’ Protection Act (WPA). The ruling requires employers to carefully evaluate any changes made to an employee’s position, job duties, and working conditions after that employee raises concerns that may be protected activity under the WPA. Otherwise, an employer may be setting
Michigan Supreme Court Rejects Expansion of Whistleblower Protection of Employees
Remember the movie Minority Report starring Tom Cruise? The premise of that movie was that in the future a special police task force (the “pre-crime division”) could identify wrongdoers who would go on to commit crimes and charge them before those unlawful acts actually occurred. A similar science fiction plot recently made its way to
Whistleblower Protection – Not So Much if You Ignore the Time for Filing the Claim
Procrastination can be an employer’s best friend when it comes to employment discrimination lawsuits. This is especially true for claims under Michigan’s Whistleblower Protection Act (WPA). This is because Michigan’s WPA has one of the shortest statutes of limitations (i.e., the time in which a lawsuit must be filed) under any employment-related law. That limitation
Does Ruling in Favor of Wrongful Discharge in Violation of Public Policy Claim Have Broader Implications for Employers
The Michigan Supreme Court ruled for a Saginaw nurse who filed a wrongful discharge claim alleging he was fired in violation of public policy. As we previously noted, this case raised a question of whether Michigan’s Whistleblowers’ Protection Act was the former employee’s exclusive remedy.
In sum, Mr. Landin was terminated from his job
A $1.2 Million Verdict Depends Upon Balancing Michigan’s Whistleblower Protection Act against Wrongful Termination in Violation of Public Policy
On November 4, 2015, the Michigan Supreme Court heard oral argument in a wrongful discharge in violation of public policy claim under Michigan law. The central issue to be decided is whether that claim could be asserted or – as the employer contends – was the discharged employee limited exclusively to bringing a claim under
Whistleblower Protection – It Takes More than Just Blowing a Whistle
A decision released on 10/1/2015 from the Department of Labor’s administrative review board (the “Board”) highlighted employment law issues arising at the intersection of whistleblowing, retaliation, and reasonable accommodation involving telecommunication. (Stewart v. Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., released 10/1/15). In the decision, the Board affirmed an administrative law judge’s ruling against Lockheed’s former
Avoiding Risks Under Michigan’s Whistleblowers’ Protection Act – Five Things to Know
Whistleblower claims routinely make the headlines. And for employers, whistleblower claims increase the chance of liability even in what should be otherwise routine adverse employment decisions.
By way of example, a number of years ago, I represented an employer in what should have been a garden variety wrongful discharge lawsuit. However, because of
Michigan Court Refuses to Expand Claim for Wrongful Termination in Violation of Public Policy
While maybe not quite as exciting as last night’s fantastic win by the Detroit Tigers, Michigan employers got a great win this week from the Michigan Court of Appeals involving a claim for wrongful termination in violation of a public policy.
Specifically, in Irwin v Ciena Health Care Management, Inc. (PDF), a nurse was employed
Michigan Supreme Court Rejects Heightened Standard in Whistleblower Protection Claims
Back on March 21, 2013, this blog critically discussed a Michigan Whistleblower Protection Act (WPA) claim, Furhr v Trinity Health Corp., (2013), where the Court of Appeals reversed a jury verdict in favor of a former employee who had filed a lawsuit against her employer. Procedurally, reversing a jury verdict is not normally expected.