Fourth Circuit Year in Review: Labor & Employment Law Cases October 1, 2010 Through September 30, 2011

Abstract

This paper, which was written for use by practitioners, reviews, analyzes and comments on all of the substantive labor and employment law opinions issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit from October 1, 2010 through September 30, 2011. It also contains comments regarding the composition of the Fourth Circuit bench, including its newest judges (Judges Wynn, Diaz and Floyd), as well as then recent nominee (now confirmed) Stephanie Thacker. Finally, this paper addresses the growing evidence of a fundamental shift in judicial philosophy on the Fourth Circuit, from the most conservative court of appeals in the United States to a fairly moderate or even slightly liberal court. I will address this last topic in considerably more depth, using at least five years worth of case data, in a forthcoming paper.

Keywords: fourth circuit, employment, labor, ERISA, twombly, iqbal, recent cases