Employment Law Chronicle for Virginia & the District of Columbia

Reversing a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) decision, a divided 2-1 panel of the Fourth Circuit held that an employer's termination of a union employee for calling a supervisor a "stupid f***ing moron" did not violate the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The full text of the decision and pointed dissent can be found here.

Media General Operations, Inc., d/b/a The Tampa Tribune v. National Labor Relations Board, No. 08-1153 (March 13, 2009). Before KING and DUNCAN, Circuit Judges, and Rebecca Beach SMITH, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Virginia, sitting by designation.

In two recent decisions, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit focused on relevant standards of review for two issues of interest to Virginia immigration and employment lawyers:

In Woods v. Prudential Ins. Co., No. 07-1580 (June 11, 2008), the Fourth Circuit concluded that the trial court erroneously applied the "abuse-of-discretion" standard of review to plaintiff's ERISA claim instead of the more rigorous "de novo" standard of review to determine whether the plan administrator properly denied plaintiff's benefit claim.

In Teshome-Gebreegziabher v. Mukasey, No. 08-1060 (June 16, 2008), the Fourth Circuit clarified that the "clear and convincing" standard of review applies to an immigrant's motion to stay deportation.

According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, approximately 230 workers have filed a federal lawsuit against Smithfield Foods Inc. under the Fair Labor Standards Act alleging that the Company failed to pay 30-45 minutes of daily overtime for donning and doffing of protective gear, walking to and from the production line, and working after the day officially ends.