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Tim K. Garrett

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Tim Garrett helps employers solve complex issues related to all aspects of labor and employment law, providing in depth counseling and developing creative solutions to underlying business issues. He is an experienced trial lawyer, defending employers of all sizes in employment litigation claims across the country. His work has ranged from defending a major university during a significant wage and hour collective action involving thousands of employees to the successful defense of a major healthcare provider in a gender discrimination / retaliation case. In addition, Tim has served as nationwide labor and employment counsel for the largest nonprofit dialysis company in the U.S.

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Wise employers know that a single severe act can be enough to satisfy the standard of “severe or pervasive” and be sexual harassment.  But how severe does the act have to be?

A recent 6th Circuit ruling gives some assistance.  In Ault v. Oberlin College, the Court discussed why a single physical incident was sufficiently severe.  The ruling is likewise informative because it also discusses why several infrequent but boorish comments were not sufficiently severe or pervasive.
Continue Reading Single Severe Act Can Be Sexual Harassment – But How “Severe”?

Can employers enter into pacts not to “poach” each other’s employees? That is the question at the center of a recent case claiming that two universities conspired to depress compensation for faculty members in violation of federal antitrust law. A radiologist at Duke University School of Medicine filed the suit after applying and being rejected…

Is the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Young v. United Parcel Service, here, a limited ruling, applicable only in the context of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA)? Or, does the decision ring in a whole new (and less employer-friendly) era in discrimination case law? It is too early to tell. Allow this explanation for why.

The Supreme Court ruled that UPS may have violated the PDA by not providing a temporary light duty assignment to a pregnant driver who was on temporary, pregnancy-related restrictions. But the Court found that neither party was entitled to their desired interpretation of the PDA.
Continue Reading Supreme Court Revives Pregnancy Discrimination Case

Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Tim Garrett wrote an article summarizing the SEC’s April  1 announcement that it had settled an enforcement action over an employer’s use of a restrictive confidentiality agreement.

Tim made the point that the SEC’s action was consistent with similar efforts by the National Labor Relations Board and the Equal Employment…

Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Tim Garrett commented on the Supreme Court decision, Young vs. UPS, questioning whether an employer must provide equal accommodations regarding limited duty to employees who have pregnancy-related limitations and those whose limitations are not pregnancy-related. The Supreme Court referred the case back to the 4th Circuit for review. In…

Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Tim Garrett authored an article outlining steps that companies should consider to provide a safe workplace. In the wake of recent incidents of violence at the workplace, Tim asserts, employers should adopt policies and procedures to foresee issues and be prepared when situations arise. The article discusses some factors contributing…

As of March 27, “spouse” under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) will include same-sex spouses for any legally recognized marriages based on the laws of the state of celebration. On February 25, as expected, the Department of Labor (DOL) published its final rules on the definition of spouse under the FMLA in light of the Supreme Court’s Windsor decision. Based on this final rule, the definition of spouse will be based upon the law of the jurisdiction where the marriage was entered into (place of celebration) rather than based on the law of the state of the employee’s residence (or work) “to ensure that all legally married couples, whether opposite-sex or same-sex, will have consistent federal family leave rights regardless of where they live.”
Continue Reading DOL Issues Final Rule Revising the Definition of “Spouse” Under the FMLA

Bass, Berry & Sims attorneys Tim Garrett and Dustin Carlton authored the article “Handling Workplace Issues in a Politically Charged Climate” that was published by InsideCounsel on December 17. Citing heightened public interest in an employer’s response to workplace harassment due to recent high profile NFL scandals, the authors remind employers about best practices related…

Bass, Berry & Sims attorneys Tim Garrett and Dustin Carlton authored the article “Analyzing Recent NFL Scandals: Is Some Conduct Ever ‘Off Duty’?” that was published by InsideCounsel on December 4. In the article, the authors discuss recent allegations involving off-duty behavior of NFL players and how the league responded to the behavior. The authors…

Voters in Massachusetts have approved a statewide law mandating employers with at least 11 employees provide those employees with up to 40 hours of paid sick time per year.  This mandate makes Massachusetts the third state requiring paid sick days, behind Connecticut and California.  Under the new law, effective July 1, 2015, Massachusetts employees can…

From the Bass, Berry & Sims Blog Network
From the Bass, Berry & Sims Blog Network

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