“Hire Younger Tellers” – No Direct Evidence of Age Bias in Sixth Circuit
In Pelcha v. MW Bancorp and Watch Hill Bank, (6th Cir., No. 20-3511, 01/12/2021), employee Melanie Pelcha, age 47, was terminated from her employment on the recommendation of a new supervisor who had implemented a rule requiring employees to submit advance written...
No Appellate Jurisdiction for Review of Motion to Dismiss under FAA
In United States ex rel. Paul Dorsa v. Miraca Life Sciences (6th Cir. , No. 20-5007, 12/30/2020), Paul Dorsa filed suit against Miraca Life Sciences, Inc., alleging unlawful retaliation under the False Claims Act, and the U.S. government intervened. Miraca sought to...
Sixth Circuit Finds District Court Misapplied Diversity Jurisdiction under FAA
In Hale v. Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, LLC (6th Cir., No. 20-3412, 12/15/2020), the Sixth Circuit reversed and remanded the district court's dismissal of the plaintiff's petition to vacate an arbitrator's award. Hale had initiated arbitration against Morgan Stanley...
Sixth Circuit Upholds Discharge of Employee for Racial Slurs on Facebook
In Bennett v. Metropolitan Government of Nashville & Davidson County (6th Cir., No. 19-5818, 10/6/2020) the Plaintiff Bennett was a white employee of the Emergency Communications Center. Bennett was discharged for racial comments she made from her public Facebook...
Fifth Circuit Compels Arbitration Under Whistleblower Statute for Federal Contractors
In Robertson v. Intratek Computer, Inc. (5th Cir., No. 19-50792, 10/2/2020), Robertson sued the employer for violating the whistleblower statute for federal contractors, 41 U.S.C. § 4712. The district court compelled arbitration and the Fifth Circuit affirmed....
Eleventh Circuit: No “Mulligan” in Review of $4M Arbitration Award
In Gherardi v. Citigroup Global Markets, Inc. (11th Cir., No. 18-18131, 9/17/2020), Gherardi, an investment advisor for Citigroup Global Markets ("Citi") brought claims in arbitration against Citi for wrongful discharge. An arbitration panel awarded him nearly $4...