The Inbox, Transition to Football Edition

Here at the Suits by Suits Global Operations Center, we’re a bit bummed that our beloved Washington Nationals Baseball Club has now exhausted any chance it ever had of making the playoffs, as have the almost-local Baltimore Orioles.  All is not lost, however, because now we can turn our undivided focus to our Washington football team – the one with the name that is something of a point of dispute.  The football season here will be exciting, even if it is off to a rough start. 

Glum as our sporting life may be, it’s a worthwhile distraction from the possibility of a government shutdown, although perhaps not as fun as our other new Washington fad: debating the merits of green eggs and ham. 

In any event, news of disputes between employers and executives – and news in related areas – continues to come in over our electronic transom.  Here are the highlights:

• Here’s a story related to the Affordable Care Act that you may not have expected: a whistleblower suit arising out of the District of Columbia’s work to establish one of the exchanges called for by the new law.  This week, a federal judge in D.C. allowed Jennifer Campbell’s suit against the District to proceed.  Campbell, who seeks $5 million, alleges she was fired after she spoke out publicly about problems with a contract to set up the insurance exchange. 
• We’ve written about former TV anchorman Larry Connors’ suit against his employer and the non-compete clauses at the heart of it.  But non-competes are apparently common in the radio business too: this interesting article looks at a few different ones being used in the Atlanta market. 
• Not sure how well this translates (sorry), but language education company Rosetta Stone is trying to dismiss a Florida lawsuit brought against it by competitor Open English.  Open English alleges two employees violated non-compete clauses and stole trade secrets when they joined Rosetta Stone.   Shortly after Open English sued Rosetta Stone in Florida, Rosetta Stone filed its own case against Open English in California; Rosetta Stone argues that the Florida case should be thrown out to allow the California case to go forward.  The parties disagree over whether Florida or California law would apply to the dispute, as well – what’s Californian for “conflict of laws?”
• Esteemed colleague P. Andrew Torrez wrote last year about this suit against Abercrombie & Fitch, alleging the clothing retailer violated Title VII by discriminating against employees who wore hijabs; now, the case is apparently settled for just over $70,000 – details here and here.   

• Noncompete Agreements ‎
• The Inbox
• Whistleblowers