Compliance: Employers closely watching Supreme Court’s ruling in Canning

The Court’s ruling will likely define the scope of the president’s recess appointments power for future administrations.

It’s easy to identify recess in an elementary school day: The bell rings, the kids tumble out of class, and the yard fills with playful shrieks and laughter.

Not so with Congress. The U.S. Senate’s chambers may be dark, official business on hold, the senators all home on vacation, and yet the legislative body may still be in session. More ›

Retaliation Under Title VII must be Proven Under Traditional “But For” Causation Doctrine

Where a person seeks compensation for injury resulting from wrongful conduct, there must be a demonstrated connection between the wrong alleged and the injury — i.e., causation. The default rule, developed in connection with tort law, is that the plaintiff must show “the harm would not have occurred” in the absence of the wrongful conduct. This is also known as the “but for” causation standard. More ›

U.S. Supreme Court Will Rule on Obama’s Recess Appointments

The fate of hundreds of mostly pro-union federal agency rulings now rests with the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Court this week agreed to take up Noel v. Canning, the case involving President Obama’s controversial recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”). As we have reported, the D.C. Circuit in January ruled that the President violated the Constitution by appointing a board majority pursuant to his recess appointments power, even though the Senate was technically in session. More ›