July, 2015

Who win$ di$crimination law$uit$? The lawyer$, of cour$e.

July 31, 2015 | by Eric B. Meyer

About 3 years ago, after a 6-day trial, a Colorado federal jury concluded that a plaintiff had been retaliated against for participating in a discrimination complaint process. But, the jury didn’t award her much: $14,000 for out-of-pocket expenses, and $5,000 for emotional distress, pain, suffering, embarrassment, humiliation or damages to reputation.

Then, her lawyers filed a motion for attorney’s fees and costs. Continue reading

Survey shows that the new proposed #overtime rules may be like whoa!

July 30, 2015 | by Eric B. Meyer

You know those proposed overtime rules from the Department of Labor. The ones where the salary-level for the white collar exemption will jump from $23,660 per year to over $50,ooo in 2016. Well, check this out. Continue reading

The limits of addressing mental illness at work

July 29, 2015 | by Eric B. Meyer

Many of us, including me, have a loved one or friend who has suffered through mental illness. With proper treatment, counseling and support, the symptoms may be controllable. However, sometimes medication and treatment aren’t enough.

Mental illness, which generally qualifies as a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act, can disrupt the workplace. And, it can create a big problem where the employee is a threat to himself or others. Continue reading

NJ Supreme Court: Whistleblower law protects watchdog employees too

July 28, 2015 | by Eric B. Meyer

Can a person whose job is to ensure that the company follows a particular standard of care; i.e., a watchdog employee, bring an action against the company under New Jersey’s Conscientious Employee Protection Act (CEPA), the state’s whistleblower law?

In case you missed it, earlier this month, the New Jersey Supreme Court answered this question (here) with a resounding yes! The logic is that CEPA is a very broad, remedial statute, and there is nothing in the letter of the law that carves away protections for watchdog employees. Therefore, when an employee “blows the whistle” on an unlawful (or what he/she reasonably believes is an unlawful) employer activity, that employee may have a claim under CEPA — even if the whistleblower is employed as, well, a whistleblower.

Image Credit: By Metal_whistle.jpg: Markus Schweissderivative work: MichaelFrey (Metal_whistle.jpg) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Consider this approach to the ADA interactive process

July 27, 2015 | by Eric B. Meyer

Yesterday, the Americans with Disabilities Act turned 25. To celebrate the 25th anniversary, the EEOC has created a new resource (here), which addresses the state of the ADA, lists important milestones, and offers links to a series of ADA resources.

Save the Family and Medical Leave Act, I get more calls about the ADA from business owners, HR professionals, and decisionmakers, than any other employment law. Continue reading

Know when to fold em, but, especially when you get fired for posing at work in KKK garb and makeshift crosses

July 24, 2015 | by Eric B. Meyer

I did very ~~good~~ well on my math SATs. But, here’s some simple math:

Fired for posing at work in KKK garb and makeshift crosses + Meyer’s blog fodder = Don’t appeal your race discrimination loss
Continue reading

Third Circuit Employment Law 101: Independent Contractor or Employee

July 23, 2015 | by Eric B. Meyer

Back when I first started this blog, when I believed that my blogging success would translate into Aston Martins and beach homes, rather than “Can you please email me a copy of your FMLA PowerPoint?”, I had a series of “Third Circuit Employment Law 101” posts. Well, I don’t think I’ve done a “101” post for nearly 5 years. Time to break that streak.

Oh, hold on a sec, I need to respond to another PowerPoint-request email…

Coming soon: A new, comprehensive LGBT anti-discrimination bill in Congress

July 22, 2015 | by Eric B. Meyer

On Monday, I got into last week’s EEOC ruling that sexual-orientation discrimination is sex discrimination and, therefore, violates Title VII. Yesterday, I took up the First Amendment Defense Act, which has been described by the ACLU as “Indiana on Steroids.”

On Thursday, make way for the Equality Act, according to Chris Johnson at the Washington Blade (here). Continue reading

New bill in Congress would permit discrimination against unwed moms and promiscuous men

July 21, 2015 | by Eric B. Meyer

Oh, and it would allow businesses to fire LGBT employees too. Sorry EEOC.

It’s the First Amendment Defense Act, which has been described by the ACLU as “Indiana on Steroids.” Continue reading

Why the EEOC’s rebuke of sexual-orientation bias may barely affect your workplace.

July 20, 2015 | by Eric B. Meyer

Last Friday, I briefly mentioned the EEOC’s recent decision, in which it concluded that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the federal anti-discrimination law that bans employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, and sex, also forbids discrimination based on sexual orientation (e.g., lesbian, gay, bisexual). The EEOC concluded that sex discrimination also takes into account “sex-based considerations,” which includes sexual orientation. Continue reading