Jun 16, 2017
Yesterday, it became public that the Office for Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Education has issued new internal guidance regarding investigations conducted by that office. As the memorandum notes, the guidance is effective “immediately” and “applies to all complaints currently in evaluation or investigation, as well as newly-filed complaints.” There are two main policy directives of note: “¢ Increased discretion and control over investigations by Regional Offices ““ the guidance removes
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Jun 15, 2017
The U.S. State Department recently issued guidance to its diplomatic and consular posts abroad relating to implementation of Executive Order 13780, “Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States.” This guidance directs U.S. embassies and consulates to begin implementing heightened screening for certain visa applicants. Each post is directed to develop a list of criteria to identify sets of applicant populations that warrant increased scrutiny. Because the Department’s directives call for individualized review
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Jun 13, 2017
Nearly six years ago, the Board of Regents for what was then called Linn State Technical College required drug testing for all students. This month, the court challenge to that policy, which began in September 2011, came to a quiet end as the U.S. Supreme Court refused to consider the case. The State Technical College policy was intended “to provide a safe, healthy and productive environment for everyone who learns and works at Linn State Technical college by detecting, preventing
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May 24, 2017
UPDATE: MISSOURI LEGISLATURE PASSES MINIMUM WAGE BILL, OVERRIDING ST. LOUIS CITY ORDINANCE (BUT ORDINANCE REMAINS IN PLACE, AT LEAST THROUGH AUGUST) At the end of the most recent legislative session, the Missouri General Assembly passed a minimum wage bill (HB 1194 & 1193), prohibiting “political subdivision[s]” (including municipalities) from establishing a minimum wage that exceeds state law. This bill effectively overrides the City of St. Louis ordinance establishing a minimum wage of $10/hour. Prior discussion about
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May 19, 2017
On May 19, Tueth Keeney’s Jim Layton spoke on “The Leap from e-Filing to e-Briefing” at the Kansas Bar’s 2017 Appellate Practice CLE in Topeka, Kansas. Jim is a member and former Chair of the American Bar Association’s Council of Appellate Lawyers. As part of the Council, in 2016 Jim served on the committee that researched and wrote the report from which Jim’s presentation took its name: “The Leap from
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May 5, 2017
Background: City’s New Minimum Wage Law Withstood Legal Challenge and Avoided Action from Missouri General Assembly to Become Law The City of St. Louis”™ new, higher minimum wage of $10 per hour takes effect today, May 5, 2017. Back in 2015 when the City took up the minimum wage legislation, few would have predicted that the City’s efforts to raise its minimum wage would become law. Almost immediately after its passage in 2015, the City’s minimum wage law was
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Apr 28, 2017
Jim Layton, who heads Tueth Keeney’s Appellate Practice Group, argued before the U.S. Supreme Court on April 19, 2017. Layton represented the Director of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources in Trinity Lutheran Church v. Comer, a case challenging a provision of Missouri’s constitution that bars money from the “public treasury” from being given to churches. It was Layton’s fourth argument before the Court. The case received national attention, both because of the important federalism and First Amendment
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Apr 10, 2017
On April 4, 2017, the Seventh Circuit issued a landmark decision, holding that sexual orientation discrimination qualifies as sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”). The 8-3 ruling is the first by an U.S. Court of Appeals to hold that sexual orientation is prohibited under federal employment discrimination law. As noted, in a previous Tueth Keeney Insight regarding this case, Hively v. Ivy Tech Community College, a panel of
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Apr 6, 2017
April Blog post HB 104 ““ Prevailing Wage Repeal In Progress WILL PREVAILING WAGE CONTINUE TO PREVAIL IN MISSOURI? As Missouri public school districts are aware, the Missouri Prevailing Wage Law (located at RSMo. 290.210-290.340) (the “Act”) applies to construction projects and generally requires that workers employed by or on behalf of a public body for the “construction of public works, exclusive of maintenance work” be paid the prevailing hourly rate applicable to the county in which the public body
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Mar 29, 2017
Tueth Keeney attorney Merry Rhoades presented a webinar for Teach Illinois on March 28, 2017. Merry spoke on the subject of Restorative Justice in Illinois School law, including the significant revisions to student discipline procedures imposed by Senate Bill 100. SB100 implements principles of restorative justice, and requires schools to use restorative practices rather than “˜zero tolerance”™ discipline policies, with an intent to reduce the so-called school-to-prison pipeline. Teach Illinois is a collaborative venture among the Illinois Regional
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Kate L. Nash
Melanie Gurley Keeney
James R. Layton
Mollie G. Mohan
Lisa J. Berns
Merry Rhoades