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Abstract: 

Our regular survey of important appellate decisions reviews the facts and findings of cases involving domestic violence and employment. In Cree, Inc. v. Labor & Industry Review Comm’n, 400 Wisc. 2d 827, 970 N.W.2d 837 (Wisc. 2022), the Wisconsin Supreme Court upheld an employer’s withdrawal of a job offer after disclosure of his felony conviction for domestic assault. In a case involving the personal privacy and security of a domestic violence victim, the Washington State Supreme Court ruled that public employees who are domestic violence survivors have the right to preclude the state from disclosing their names and locations to protect their safety. In Oregon, the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office agreed to a nearly $200,000 after a domestic violence survivor’s employment discrimination and retaliation claim survived a motion to dismiss; the employee, who had tried to end a romantic relationship with a co-worker and was assaulted and strangled by him, had been subjected to a series of trumped up internal investigations that the court ruled amounted to gender-based discrimination under the Equal Protection Clause. In Alabama, a firefighter’s immediate resignation following arrest on domestic violence charges was ruled not constructive discharge in violation of due process, even though the officer, who had had eight previous incidents of domestic violence, recanted his resignation when he discovered in would mean the loss of some retirement benefits.

Keywords: Domestic Violence and Employment Law; Constructive Discharge; Survivor Privacy Rights

Affiliations:  1: Contributing Editor; 2: Associate Editor.