Alaska Employment Law

Federal review of state agency decisions:  The 9th Circuit this morning held that a federal district court has diversity jurisdiction over review of state agency decisions (upon proof of diversity and amount in controversy), even if the state jurisdictional statute places judicial review in the state court system.  The case arose in a Little Title VII context, in Montana.  BNSF v. O’Dea, 2009 WL _______ (9th Cir. July 16, 2009). 

Section 1983 and criticism of supervisors:  Several days ago, a divided 9th Circuit panel rejected two police officers’ claims that they had suffered retaliation after grieving their supervisors: 

The subject matter of the speech before us at best relates “only marginally” to issues of public concern, the grievances were motivated by a personal dispute, and the sergeants’ concerns were never relayed to the press or the public.  Accordingly, Desrochers and Lowes’ speech is “most accurately characterized as an employee
grievance concerning internal office policy.”

Desrochers v. City of San Bernardino, 2009 WL ________ (July 13, 2009)

Eric Treisman, RIP:  The most recent issue of The Alaska Bar Rag carried an obituary of Eric Treisman, who’d worked as an attorney in Alaska in the 1970’s, and then moved to New Mexico.  The obituary omitted his spell, ca. 1972-1974, as Litigation Attorney for Alaska Legal Services in what was then the Statewide ALSC office in Fairbanks.  In the office during the same time were David Wolf, Frank Glass, John Athens, Bonnie Lembo, Marlin Smith, and Deborah Vogt.  Treisman later served as General Counsel for Bristol Bay Native Corporation.  Years later, while in New Mexico, he was an extra in The Milagro Beanfield War.  While in Fairbanks, he reportedly wrote a novel with thinly-disguised depictions of attorneys and judges he’d encountered.