Mar 6, 2024
Veronica Potter and Ian Cooper won a five-day jury trial for Washington University on March 1, 2024, in St. Louis County Circuit Court. The plaintiff was a former employee of the University who claimed he was terminated because of his race and his prior complaints, and that he was subjected to a hostile work environment. The claims were submitted to the jury under the MHRA’s prior “contributing factor” standard of liability. After five days of evidence, the jury returned a
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May 2, 2023
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Mar 8, 2023
On March 1, 2023, Judge Jon Beetem of the Circuit Court of Cole County entered Judgment for Lincoln University following a five-day jury trial between January 22 and 30, 2023. Judge Beetem directed a verdict for Defendant, Lincoln University, on all of Plaintiff’s claims under the Missouri Human Rights Act. The Plaintiff, Jim Marcantonio, was employed by the University as its Director of Human Resources for 18 years. Plaintiff claimed in his lawsuit that he was subjected to a hostile
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Jun 27, 2022
by Veronica Potter On June 23, 2022 – on the 50th anniversary of Title IX – the Department of Education released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) with its proposed Title IX regulations. The proposed regulations were long awaited, as the plan to replace the existing 2020 Title IX regulations (2020 Regulations) enacted by the Trump Administration was announced shortly after President Biden took office. The unofficial version of the NPRM is available online now, and the
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Nov 10, 2021
by Veronica Potter On November 5, 2021, the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) released an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) on COVID-19 vaccination and testing requirements for employers. The ETS requires employers with 100 or more employees to either implement a mandatory vaccination policy, or to allow employees to choose between vaccination and weekly testing and wearing a face covering. OSHA has also released an FAQ, webinar, and
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Sep 3, 2021
by Veronica Potter and Kate Nash Since the August 14, 2020 implementation date for the new Title IX regulations (the “Regulations”), institutions of higher education have worked to provide fair process to students while complying with some of the more difficult and onerous regulatory provisions. One of those provisions, found in 34 CFR 106.45(b)(6)(i), prohibits determinations that rely on “statements” not subjected to cross-examination during a live hearing. A recent court decision found this particular provision invalid.
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Jul 22, 2021
by Veronica Potter On July 20, 2021, the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) published it’s Questions and Answers on the Title IX Regulations on Sexual Harassment (“Q&A”). This resource contains a series of questions and answers regarding the regulations on Title IX that went into effect on August 14, 2020 (“2020 Regulations”), as well as excerpts of example policies from elementary, secondary, and postsecondary institutions. In a blog
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Mar 10, 2021
by Veronica Potter On March 2, 2021, the Missouri Supreme Court released an order (Order) amending the Missouri Rules of Civil Procedure (Rules) to enact new discovery provisions. The Missouri legislature previously passed a law in 2019 that amended the discovery Rules in order to bring them more in line with the Federal Rules. Senate Bill 224 (SB 224) was signed by Governor Parsons on July 10, 2019 and took effect on August 28,
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Oct 26, 2020
by Veronica Potter On September 22, 2020 the Department of Labor announced a proposed rule relating to the definition of employee under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), specifically clarifying the distinction between employees and independent contractors. The FLSA does not include a definition of “independent contractor.” The distinction is important, as the minimum wage and overtime requirements under the FLSA apply only to employees and not to independent contractors. Because there is no statutory definition,
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May 6, 2020
by Veronica Potter On May 6, 2020, the U.S. Department of Education (“ED”) released the final Title IX regulations (“Final Rule”). ED had previously issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”) in November 2018. The NPRM was subject to notice and comment through January 2019, and during this time, over 124,000 comments were submitted to ED. The implementation date for the Final Rule is August 14, 2020. The Final Rule is quite lengthy ““ over 2,000
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Ian P. Cooper
Veronica E. Potter
Mandi D. Moutray
Mollie G. Mohan
Kate L. Nash