Partner Deanna Forbush of our Labor & Employment Practice Group recently secured a victory in the Nevada Supreme Court on a matter of first impression that will benefit all employers by establishing a two-year statute of limitations for wrongful termination claims.

The decision in Patush v. Las Vegas Bistro, LLC upheld the lower court’s decision to dismiss as time-barred a wrongful termination action filed by a former employee nearly four years after her termination.

In clarifying the applicable limitations period, the Nevada Supreme Court determined that wrongful termination claims – including those involving alleged violations of public policy – are analogous to personal injury claims and therefore subject to the standard two-year limitations period.

In so ruling, the justices rejected the appellant’s argument that her claims should be subject to the four-year limitations period for actions based on an unwritten contract. The court opined that wrongful termination claims “fundamentally seek redress for a violation of personal rights protected by public policy, not of a contractual dispute.”

Deanna, who rejoined Fox in July, had fully briefed the matter for client Las Vegas Bistro, LLC during her time at the Clark Hill law firm. Las Vegas Bistro is now a Fox client. She was assisted in the case by Jeremy Thompson, a Clark Hill associate.