HireCentrix News - News Articles

Tennessee Court Makes It Easier to Sue Employers Over Illegal Firings

Written by Insurance Journal Wednesday, 29 September 2010 23:00

In a decision that some legal observers found surprising, the Tennessee Supreme Court has reversed precedent and made it easier for workers to sue their employers when they believe they were fired illegally.

The court ruled 3-2 last week that employers must prove that workers' claims of discrimination or retaliation are false or else face a trial, according to The Tennessean.

Decades of precedent had put the burden of proof on workers, who had to prove they were not fired for legitimate reasons before they could take a case to trial, often a difficult task.

"Rarely do you have somebody who says, 'I'm firing you because you're black' or 'because you're over 40,''' said Wade Cowan, the attorney for the plaintiff in the case, Gossett v. Tractor Supply Co. Inc.

Cowan said the absence of such evidence has kept too many legitimate lawsuits from reaching trial.

According to the American Bar Foundation, in federal court more than 40 percent of employees in these type of cases are never able to go to trial because their cases are dismissed. Before this week's decision, Tennessee courts followed the federal model for deciding whether employment cases could go to trial.

Business groups and attorneys said the federal model is good. They predicted the state Supreme Court's decision will invite frivolous lawsuits and increase the cost of doing business in Tennessee.

< Prev		Next >

» Pew Research : In Two Years of Economic Recovery, Women Lost Jobs, Men Found Them

The sluggish recovery from the Great Recession has been better for men than for women. From the end of the recession in June 2009 through May 2011, men gained 768,000 jobs and lowered their unemployment rate by 1.1 percentage points to 9.5%....

» Legal Alert: California's New Law Imposes Stiff Penalties on Employers who Misclassify Employees as Independent Contractors

Executive SummaryCalifornia's Governor Jerry Brown recently signed into law a bill that will dramatically increase penalties for employers who willfully misclassify employees as independent contractors. The new law compels a $5,000 to $25,000 fine...

» Are You at Risk? What Cybercriminals Do With Your Personal Data

When that their names, email addresses, billing and shipping addresses, phone numbers and the last four digits of their credit card numbers may have been exposed during a data breach earlier this month, the online shoe retailer emphasized that...

» U.S. Unemployment Rate is 9.1% so why can’t businesses find great employees?

Are we really helping them or ourselves?Government assistance – promotes - “Why work?”Unemployment benefits – promotes – I can get by!Meal trucks – promote – here is a hand out!

» Good Cop – Bad Cop Method of Fee Collecting

Before I even start this brief article I should mention that my client relationships are generally rock solid. They realize the vast amount of effort and work that goes into each search and more than 95% of the time so appreciative that they gladly...