Featured Articles

9th Cir: Consequential Wage Loss Under the FMLA

Will Schendel
June 27, 2008 17:17

In a Ninth Circuit opinion published this morning, the issue was: Whether the FMLA allows a plaintiff to recover damages for absences from work [i.e., lost wages] that were caused by an emotional condition that itself resulted from the employer’s wrongful denial of FMLA leave. The 9th Circuit...

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9th Cir: Hard Look at Beaufort Sea Drilling

Will Schendel
November 20, 2008 18:15

The 9th Circuit this morning reversed the Interior Department’s approval of Shell Oil’s plan for three years of exploratory drilling in the Beaufort Sea, and remanded for a “hard look” under NEPA.  Alaska Wilderness League v. Kempthorne, 2008 WL _______ (9th Cir.  Nov. 20, 20...

DAlaska: In Limine Order With Real Bite

Will Schendel
November 20, 2008 01:58

In Taheri v. Evergreen Aviation Ground Logistics Enterprises, Inc., the plaintiff employee complains of retaliatory termination.  In response to Rule 26, interrogatories, and a court order, plaintiff apparently supplied less-than-full responses.  On the employer’s in limine motion, U. S. Di...

Occupational Licensing: Witness Immunity Doesn’t Prevent Professional Discipline

Will Schendel
November 19, 2008 23:06

When a state licensing board sought to discipline an architect for misconduct as an expert witness in an arbitration, the architect claimed testimonial immunity.  [The architect issued a report that failed to include all known relevant and pertinent information on a boundary dispute, as required by ...

Mandatory Electronic Filing in the 9th Circuit

Will Schendel
November 18, 2008 18:01

Electronic filing is mandatory in 9th Circuit cases on January 2, 2009.  Training for Alaska lawyers will occur on December 9th in Anchorage (live) and in Juneau and Fairbanks (video).  More information here, courtesy of Paul Eaglin.

9th Circuit: Davis-Bacon Act Enforcement

Will Schendel
November 17, 2008 22:14

The 9th Circuit, in a panel that included District of Alaska Judge John Sedwick, has affirmed the Department of Labor’s judgment that a non-union contractor underpaid its roofing employees by a) claiming excessive credit for contributions to a non-union industry apprenticeship training fund; ...

Internal Investigation: Defense Counsel as Investigator

Will Schendel
November 17, 2008 17:55

When several employees alleged a hostile work environment created by several supervisors,  the employer hired its regular outside labor counsel to conduct the investigation.  He tape-recorded some (perhaps not all) of the interviews.  He rendered an opinion to the employer, apparently that no HWE ex...

The Weekend: Ray Davies and Brian Wilson

Will Schendel
November 15, 2008 09:51

What do old professors do when they want to hang on to their rock and roll roots? They write a “legitimate” book about their musical heroes, of course. Tom Kitts, Professor of English at St. John’s University in New York City, gives us Ray Davies: Not Like Everybody Else, an engaging c...

DAlaska: Beistline Certifies Public Policy Claim to Alaska Supreme Court

Will Schendel
November 14, 2008 18:25

Two Fairbanks police officers have sued the City of Fairbanks, claiming that the City demoted one and required the other to undergo a psychological evaluation, in retaliation for exercising their free speech rights.  The officers claim that the City’s conduct violates Alaska public policy, as ...

Recent Occupational Licensing Decisions in Alaska

Will Schendel
November 13, 2008 22:11

The State of Alaska Office of Administrative Hearings conducts hearings for a number of occupational licensing bodies.  Earlier this year, it started to post its decisions on-line.  Recent OAH decisions include the following: Medical Board: The Board affirmed a reprimand and civil fine ($2,500) to a...