District Court improperly granted summary judgment against former employee's retaliation claim, because supervisor's comments "I learned all about you" and "I spoke with another manager" a month before the employer began imposing discipline that lead to termination, and an appeals board's apparent departure from or possibly summary statement of the management's stated basis for the...
Read MoreBlog
Hawaii Employment Law Decisions from July 26, 2015 to August 1, 2015- Jeffrey S. Harris
District Court properly entered judgment against employee, because he failed to prove that the employer did not provide him reasonable accommodation for his disability. Katz v. Lew, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 13388 (9th Cir. July 21, 2015). District Court properly granted summary judgment against employee's discrimination claims, because he failed to raise a genuine issue...
Read MoreSept. 18, 2015: John Knorek Speaks at Condominium Council of Maui Employment Seminar
On Friday, September 18, 2015, John Knorek of Torkildson, Katz presented hot topics in employment law at the Condominium Council of Maui Employment Law Seminar. His presentation addressed the question, "is at will employment dead?"
Read MoreOct. 8, 2015: Employment Law Workshop (Maui)
On Thursday, October 8, 2015, John L. Knorek of Torkildson, Katz will be presenting "Employment Handbooks, What's In and What's Out" a Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Update. If your employee handbook hasn't been updated in the past six months, it's out of date. Your employee handbook can be an invaluable organizational tool...or an employment lawsuit waiting...
Read MoreNov. 16, 2015: Ronald Heller to Speak at Seminar on Limited Liability Companies
On November 16, 2015, Ronald Heller will be speaking on Limited Liability Companies at a seminar presented by the National Business Institute. Date: Monday, November 16, 2015 Time: 8:30 a.m. - 4:40 p.m. Location: Ala Moana Hotel, 410 Atkinson Drive, Honolulu, HI 96814 Seminar Overview Explore the Advantageous Uses and Benefits of LLCs Limited liability companies can...
Read MoreJoin Us To Follow Up On Matters Covered During The 22nd Annual Hawaii Employment Law Seminar
Torkildson Katz Moore Hetherington and Harris will host programs to cover in more detail matters discussed during the 22nd Annual Hawaii Employment Law Seminar. The firm will hold the following three one hour programs in our large conference room on the 15th Floor at 700 Bishop Street on the dates and times shown: September 9...
Read MoreHawaii Employment Law Decisions from July 19 to July 25 - Jeffrey S. Harris
A district court properly granted summary judgment requiring an employer to contribute to a trust fund in the month following an employee's termination, transfer to a non-union position or opt-out; assuming that the collective bargaining agreement was ambiguous, based on uncontradicted evidence of industry practice requiring reporting hours that month, coupled with eligibility depending on...
Read MoreHawaii Employment Law Decisions from July 12 to July 18 - Jeffrey S. Harris
The False Claims Act required dismissal of a qui tam relator's claims because he was convicted of the conduct giving rise to the fraud, even if he or she only played a minor role. Schroeder v. CH2M Hill, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 12287 (9th Cir. July 16, 2015). A district court properly dismissed a former...
Read MoreHawaii Employment Law Decisions from July 5 to July 11 - Jeffrey S. Harris
There are only two requirements in order for a whistleblower to be an "original source" who may recover relief under the False Claims Act: (1) before filing the action, the whistleblower must voluntarily inform the government of the facts which underlie the allegations of the complaint; and (2) the whistleblower must have direct and independent...
Read MoreHawaii Employment Law Decisions from June 28 to July 4 - Jeffrey S. Harris
A district court properly granted summary judgment against a former employee's claim that the employer violated Section 510 of ERISA by discharging her for the purpose of interfering with her benefits under a plan, because even though she established a prima facie case by showing her discharge occurred 18 months before she would have been...
Read More