United States: Second Circuit Reiterates: Bigger Hurdles For Employers Under Big Apple’s Anti-Discrimination Law

On February 13, 2015, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reiterated that courts must analyze claims under the New York City Human Rights Law (“NYCHRL”) “separately and independently from any [related] federal and state law claims.”

In Velazco v. Columbus Citizens Found., No. 14-842, 2015 WL 613035 (2d Cir. Feb. 13, 2015), the plaintiff brought age discrimination claims against his former employer under the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act (“ADEA”) and […]

By | March 19th, 2015 ||

United States: Will You Blow The Whistle Or Should I? The SEC Grants An Award To A Whistleblower Who Learns Of Fraud From Another Employee

Last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced an award payout of between $475,000 and $575,000 to a former company officer who reported information about an alleged securities fraud.  While this is by no means the largest of the 15 payouts the SEC has made since the inception of the whistleblower program in fiscal year 2012 (the SEC awarded approximately $14 million to a whistleblower in October 2013, and roughly $30 million to a […]

By | March 19th, 2015 ||

United States: Public Pension Fight: Unions Win, Budget Woes Remain

Michael Sweet was quoted in the Investor’s Business Daily article “Public Pension Fight: Unions Win, Budget Woes Remain.”  Full text can be found in the March 9, 2015, issue, but a synopsis is below.

Is public pension reform dead? Defined benefits for public sector workers, which make up a large and growing portion of many stretched municipal budgets, have been on full display in many recent high-profile cases.

In Detroit bondholders accepted large cuts while most […]

By | March 18th, 2015 ||