FYI: Central Ohio Employment Law Update

Sixth Circuit Sends Stern Warning About AI Hallucinations in Briefs

2026-03-18T09:37:00.006-04:00

From time to time, a client will mention that she is using AI to answer their employment law questions. Supposedly, AI will replace lawyers at some point in the future. That may be, but we are not there yet. Last week, the federal Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals lowered the boom on two law firms that relied on AI to help write their appellate briefs without

Sixth Circuit Rejects FLSA Complaint Which Failed to Describe Substantial Duties Performed During Uncompensated Lunch Breaks

2026-03-17T11:17:00.007-04:00

Last week, a unanimous Sixth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a FLSA overtime compensation collective action complaint involving automatic unpaid lunch breaks and the denial of an informal request to again amend the complaint. Westerling v. East Tennessee Children’s Hospital Ass’n, No. 25-5744 (6th Cir. March 10, 2026). The Court concluded that the plaintiff’s amended

Sixth Circuit Holds EFAA Prohibits Mandatory Arbitration of Entire Case and Not Merely Sexual Harassment Claims

2026-02-26T11:53:00.005-05:00

Yesterday, a divided Sith Circuit held that a complaint sufficiently plead a hostile work environment claim and unanimously concluded that the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act (the “EFAA”) prohibits the mandatory arbitration of the plaintiff’s entire case, including her ADA claims, and not just her sexual harassment allegations under Title VII. Bruce v.

Ohio Court Finds Former Employee In Contempt for Refusing to Remove Employer's Confidential Information From Website

2026-02-25T14:35:00.000-05:00

Last week, the Cuyahoga County Court of Appeals affirmed a contempt order against a former employee who posted confidential and trade secret information of his employer on his website for pecuniary gain in violation of a prior non-disclosure agreement and in violation of an agreed/consent order entered by the trial court after a preliminary settlement conference. Combs v. Sherwin-Williams

When Enough Is Enough: Sixth Circuit Affirms Dismissal When Employer's Actions and Belief Were Sufficient

2026-02-13T11:48:00.002-05:00

Yesterday, the Sixth Circuit affirmed an employer’s summary judgment dismissing a workplace harassment and retaliation claim. Hamm v. Pullman SST, Inc., No. 25-1617 (6th Cir. 2-12-26). The plaintiff alleged that he was harassed by his co-workers and the construction superintendent and then was fired in retaliation for complaining. The Court found that the employer’s

Political Beliefs Will Not Save Title VII Claims Without Comparator or Replacement Evidence

2026-02-05T11:49:00.004-05:00

Last month, the Sixth Circuit affirmed summary judgment for an employer despite claims that the receptionist had been fired, at least in part, for expressing her political beliefs about law enforcement officers. Hightower-Mathis v. NextCare Michigan Providers, PLLC, No. 25-1623 (6th Cir. Jan 16, 2026). The plaintiff receptionist made comments to police officers seeking treatment

Appeals Court Remands Age Discrimination Discharge Claim for Trial Based on Decisionmaker Comments About Retirement Plans and Proximity to Retirement Age

2026-02-04T09:56:00.000-05:00

Last month, the Cuyahoga County Court of Appeals reversed an employer’s summary judgment on an age discrimination claim on the basis that the decisionmaker’s comments about the plaintiff’s repeated retirement equivocations constituted direct evidence of discrimination when he was laid off shortly after the comments were made. Selzer v. Union Home Mortgage, 2026-Ohio-38. While

Interesting FLSA and FMLA Issues Arise in 2026 as well as Remote Workers Working Hours

2026-01-28T11:04:00.008-05:00

Earlier this month, the Department of Labor issued a few interesting opinion letters which will be of interest to both employers and employees. One involved the FMLA and the others the FLSA. In FMLA2026-2, the DOL instructed that FMLA time off includes time travelling to and from the medical provider office, which should not have been necessary to explain. In FLSA2026- 2, the

Cuyahoga Court Enforces Cognovit Note Against Employee for Employer's Training Expenses

2026-01-12T17:05:00.005-05:00

In October, I reported that the Cuyahoga Court of Appeals had enforced an employer's hiring bonus agreement and required the former employee to repay it when he had resigned before completing training and within 18 months of being hired. In November, the Cuyahoga County Court of Appeals affirmed enforcement of a $10K cognovit note signed by an employee agreeing to repay training

Gray v State Farm Was Amended to Clarify Cat's Paw Theory and Breaks in Causation

2026-01-06T15:52:00.001-05:00

In August, I posted about an interesting Cat’s Paw theory case, Gray v. State Farm Mutual Auto. Ins. Co., (6th Cir. 2025), where the Sixth Circuit reversed an employer's summary judgement due to possible selective enforcement of a time card fraud policy by a manager in retaliation for the plaintiff's prior protected conduct. As I briefly explained: In July, the Sixth

Sixth Circuit Upholds Termination for Time Card Fraud Despite Cat's Paw Theory or Suspicious Timing

2026-01-06T11:41:00.002-05:00

Yesterday, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed an employer’s summary judgment for terminating an employee for time-card fraud despite his arguments about failure to accommodate, retaliation and a cat’s paw theory that was remarkably similar to an earlier decision in Gray v. State Farm Mutual Auto. Ins. Co., 159 F.4th 1024 (6th Cir. 2025) (finding possible selective

Sixth Circuit Rejects ADA Accommodation and Interactive Process Claims When Request to Sit Every 10 Minutes Was Unreasonable on its Face

2025-12-30T11:57:00.005-05:00

Earlier this month, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed an employer’s summary judgment on an ADA claim on the grounds that the requested accommodation was unreasonable on its face, meaning that the employer did not have to even engage in the interactive process or grant the requested accommodation. Bowles v. SSRG II, LLC, No. 25-5329 (6th Cir. 12-17-25). The

Ohio Enacts E-Verify Workforce Integrity Act for Non-residential Construction Employers Beginning in March 2026

2025-12-30T11:07:00.003-05:00

Last week, Governor DeWine signed into law House Bill 264, the E-Verify Workforce Integrity Act, which requires most non-residential construction contractors to utilize e-verify to confirm the legal work status of employees at Ohio Revised Code §§4151.01 et seq. The Act prohibits employers from continuing to employ individuals whose legal work status has not been confirmed by

Ohio Court of Appeals Refuses to Enforce Non-Compete or Award Damages and Dismisses Counterclaims.

2025-12-04T12:17:00.004-05:00

On Monday, the Warren County Court of Appeals upheld the dismissal of both the employer and contractor’s claims involving the enforcement of a non-compete clause and abuse of process claims. Reliant Serv. MJF, L.L.C. v. Brown, 2025-Ohio-5364. The Court treated the non-complete clause involving the independent contractor as though he were an employee of the employer contracting

OFCCP Announces Updated Jurisdictional Thresholds for Affirmative Action for Vets and Disabled

2025-12-02T11:40:00.007-05:00

Earlier this year, President Trump rescinded Executive Order 11246 which required affirmative action by certain federal contractors and subcontractors for women and minorities. However, there are statutory affirmative action obligations which are still being enforced and apply to federal government contractors and subcontractors to benefit veterans and individuals with disabilities

Sixth Circuit Rejects NLRB's Power To Award Compensatory Relief, But Affirmed ULP Against Starbucks

2025-11-12T16:13:00.008-05:00

Last week, a divided Sixth Circuit rejected the NLRB’s right to award compensatory damages as a remedy for unfair labor practices, but unanimously agreed to affirm the finding of an illegal termination by Starbucks during a union campaign. NLRB v. Starbucks Corporation, No. 23-1767 (6th Cir. 11-5-25). The unanimous Court found that the NLRB met its burden of proving that

Columbus Amends Pay Transparency Ordinance To Require Salary Ranges With External Job Postings

2025-11-10T16:32:00.002-05:00

Last week, the Columbus City Council approved amendments to its pay transparency ordinance CCC §2335 which requires all Columbus employers with more than 15 employees to provide job applicants with “a reasonable salary range or scale” with each external job posting. While the ordinance becomes effective in 30 days, it will not be enforced until 2027 by the City Community Relations

Ohio Court Enforces Repayment of Hiring Bonus

2025-10-29T16:47:00.002-04:00

Last week, the Cuyahoga County Court of Appeals affirmed the terms of an employer’s hiring bonus when the employee resigned less than a year after starting training and was required to repay the entire amount of the five figure hiring bonus. CommuteAir, L.L.C. v. Bremer, 2025-Ohio-4843. The Court rejected the defendant’s argument that he was constructively discharged because

Divided Franklin County Court of Appeals Finds Noose By Itself to Be Sufficiently Severe for Hostile Work Environment

2025-10-23T12:52:00.005-04:00

Last week, a divided Franklin County Court of Appeals reversed an employer’s summary judgment on racially hostile work environment and retaliation claims. Croley v. JDM Servs., L.L.C., 2025-Ohio-4762. The Court found that the existence of a noose in a vehicle temporarily assigned to a new African-American employee on his second day of work by itself – without any racial comments or

Sixth Circuit Rejects Dismissal of Racial Harassment Claim Where Black Supervisor Called Plaintiffs Monkey A--.

2025-09-29T12:33:00.005-04:00

Last week, the Sixth Circuit reversed an employer’s summary judgment on a racial harassment claim brought by two former truck drivers. Smith v. P.A.M. Transport, Inc. , No. 24-5549 (6th Cir. 9-25-25). The Court found that calling the plaintiffs “monkey a__” or ANY derivative of monkey was as racially derogatory as the n-word, even if it was mostly used against them

Ohio General Assembly Amended Employer Notice Requirements to Permit Internet Postings

2025-09-24T11:43:00.000-04:00

Over the summer, Ohio’s General Assembly amended most of the state-specific posting requirements of employers to permit employers to permit those notices on the internet when accessible to employees. This includes:· Child Labor Postings, O.R.C. §4109.08(A)(2)(b) – the abstract of the statute prepared by Director of Commerce·

Ohio's New Mini-WARN Act Becomes Effective Next Week

2025-09-23T10:32:00.002-04:00

Next week, Ohio’s new mini-WARN Act, Ohio Revised Code §4113.31, will become effective. While it essentially codifies existing federal regulations under the federal WARN Act and, with some exceptions, requires 60 days advance notice for the employees, it also contains some state-specific provisions which may catch unwary employers off guard, including: ·

Sixth Circuit Again Rejects Religious Exemption from COVID Testing By Healthcare Worker

2025-09-18T10:20:00.000-04:00

Last week, the Sixth Circuit affirmed an employer’s summary judgment on the Title VII religious discrimination and retaliation claims brought against a hospital by an employee who objected to wearing a mask, being vaccinated and being tested. Henry v. Southern Ohio Medical Ctr., No. 24-3863 (6th Cir. Sept. 11, 2025). The Court concluded that the employee’s requested

Sixth Circuit Rejects Claims After Plaintiff's Public, Profane and Unprofessional Attacks on Colleagues

2025-09-17T09:44:00.003-04:00

Last week, the Sixth Circuit affirmed an employer ‘s summary judgment on Title VII, Rehabilitation Act and First Amendment discrimination and retaliation claims brought by a professor after the plaintiff’s request to transfer to the main campus was denied. Patterson v. Kent State Univ., No. 24-3940 (6th Cir. Sept 12, 2025). There was no evidence that plaintiff’s gender identity

Jury Upholds Employee's Termination After Admission of Post-Incident Evidence Reflecting Subjective Consent to Alleged Harassment.

2025-09-16T12:10:00.008-04:00

Last week, the Sixth Circuit affirmed an employer’s jury verdict on Title VII retaliatory discharge claims where the employee had alleged that she was raped by a security guard, but the employer contended that the contact was consensual and violated its policy when she was still on-the-clock. Graf v. Morristown-Hamblen Hosp. Ass’n, No. 24-5798 (6th Cir. 9-10-25). Summary