Partner Joshua Zuckerberg and counsel LaKeisha M.A. Caton, both members of Pryor Cashman’s Labor + Employment and Litigation Groups, recently penned an expert analysis article for Law360. An excerpt can be found immediately below.

On Nov. 23, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit applied the Fair Labor Standards Act's important willfulness standard in a lawsuit alleging violations of the Family and Medical Leave Act. The court's importing of this standard could have far-reaching implications.

It signals the federal appellate courts' desire to articulate a unified standard for willfulness across various discrimination statutes. Such a unified standard may be a welcome form of judicial consistency for employment law practitioners.

In Olson v. U.S., the plaintiff alleged that the Bonneville Power Administration, or BPA, violated the FMLA by willfully interfering with her rights under the act.[1] The FMLA makes it "unlawful for an employer to interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise [of] or the attempt to exercise, any right provided by the Act."[2]

However, the critical question in this case of first impression for the court was how far back could Andrea Olson go to attack BPA's conduct. Under the FMLA, an action must generally be brought within two years after the date of the last event constituting the alleged violation for which the action is brought.

Read the full publication in the PDF or via the link below.