Upcoming Speaking Engagements

Here is a list of my upcoming speaking engagements:

May 4, 2011 - American Bar Association, Federal Service Labor and Employment Law Committee Midwinter Meeting, Social Media and Privacy in the Workplace

June 10, 2011 - Maryland State Bar Association, Labor and Employment Section, Social Media in the Workplace

July 28-30, 2011 - ALI-ABA, Practitioner Planning Chair, Current Developments in Employment Law: The Obama Years at Mid-Term

July 28, 2011 – ALI-ABA, Current Developments in Employment Law, U.S. Supreme Court Employment Law Developments

July 29, 2011 – ALI-ABA, Current Developments in Employment Law, New Federal Retaliation and Whistleblower Claims (Speakers: Robert B. Fitzpatrick, Robert B. Fitzpatrick, PLLC (Washington, D.C.); Frank C. Morris, Jr., Epstein Becker & Green, P.C. (Washington, D.C.))

July 29, 2011 – ALI-ABA, Current Developments in Employment Law, Emerging Employment Issues Under State Law

July 30, 2011 – ALI-ABA, Current Developments in Employment Law, Moderator, Cutting-Edge Employment Law Issues (Speakers: Judge Ann D. Montgomery, U.S. District Court (Minneapolis, Minnesota); Charlotte Fishman, Pick Up the Pace (San Francisco, California); Richard T. Seymour, The Law Office of Richard T. Seymour, PLLC (Washington, D.C.))

October 5, 2011 – D.C. Bar, Update on Virginia employment cases

I hope you can make it to at least one.

Please be sure to visit our website at http://RobertBFitzpatrick.com

Can an Employer in the Employment Application Shorten the Statute of Limitations for Anti-Discrimination Claims?

The answer, rather uniformly, is affirmative. Recently, in Dunn v. Gordon Food Services, Inc., 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13387 (W.D. Ky. Feb. 10, 2011), Chief Judge Russell upheld the employer's shortening of the statute of limitations where the employment application with Ms. Dunn, on its last page, had eleven clauses to which the applicant had to agree as a condition of being considered for employment, and the fourth clause stated that the applicant agreed "that any action or suit against [the employer] arising out of any employment or termination of employment, including but not limited to claims arising under the State or Federal civil rights statutes, must be brought within one year of the event giving rise to the claim or be forever barred."  This clause went on to state that the applicant "waive[d] any statute of limitations to the contrary."  The Court, citing a plethora of authorities, both inside and outside the Sixth Circuit upholding such provisions, sustained the defense motion for summary judgment based on that clause.  See also Ravenscraft v. BNP Media, Inc., No. 09-C-6617, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 37919, 2010 WL 1541455, at *1 (N.D. Ill. Apr. 15, 2010); PSC Info Group v. Lason, Inc., 681 F. Supp. 2d 577, 587 (E.D. Pa. 2010); Cole v. Federal Exp. Corp., No. CV-06-3485, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 71431, 2008 WL 4307090, at *9 (E.D. Pa. Sept. 19, 2008); Vincent v. Comerica Bank, No. H-05-2302, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 28613, 2006 WL 1295494, *5-6 (S.D. Tex. May 10, 2006); Badgett v. Federal Express Corp., 378 F. Supp. 2d 613 (M.D.N.C. 2005); Fink v. Guardsmark, LLC, No. CV 03-1480-BR, 2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16970, 2004 WL 1857114, at *1 (D. Or. Aug. 19, 2004); Johnson v. DaimlerChrysler Corp., No. C.A. 02-69 GMS, 2003 WL 1089394, at *1 (D. Del. Mar. 6, 2003).

Please be sure to visit our website at http://RobertBFitzpatrick.com