The Employer Handbook Blog

Can an Employer Use Age to Decide Who Gets a Fitness-for-Duty Exam?

November 13, 2026 | by Eric B. Meyer

At one hospital, clinicians 70 and older needed vision and cognitive tests to get or keep clinical privileges. They had to take the tests every two years. The EEOC challenged the policy.

TL;DR: A federal court denied both sides’ motions for summary judgment in an ADA and ADEA challenge to mandatory testing for clinicians 70 and older. Disputes remain over whether the tests protect patients, whether 70 is a defensible cutoff, and whether individual assessments could do the job.

📄 Read the court’s decision

How Long After a Discrimination Complaint Can a Retaliation Claim Still Stick?

November 12, 2026 | by Eric B. Meyer

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Months passed between her discrimination complaint and the day she learned her contract wouldn’t be renewed. In between, she says, the company took away a major account and started preparing colleagues to take over her work. Continue reading

She Said Her Supervisor’s Bias Cost Her a Contract Renewal. Why Did the Chair Say No, and Was That Enough?

November 11, 2026 | by Eric B. Meyer

The new department chair had read his predecessor’s evaluation. He’d also taken some of the urologist’s patients to the operating room and seen firsthand what happened after her referrals. Continue reading

When Does an Angry Response to a Discrimination Complaint Become Retaliation?

November 10, 2026 | by Eric B. Meyer

A nurse asked whether HR would get implicit bias training. A week later, she says, the head of HR came to her office and angrily asked why she’d brought it up. Continue reading

Free ADA CLE This Friday: Better Documentation, Stronger Defenses

November 9, 2026 | by Eric B. Meyer

Two hours of free ADA CLE, and you can leave your credit card in your wallet. Continue reading

She Complained to the CEO About Racism. Her Email Helped the Company Defend Her Firing.

November 6, 2026 | by Eric B. Meyer

She emailed the CEO to explain that she had confronted a coworker about racism. The company read that email as confirmation that she’d lied to HR about the confrontation.

The Eleventh Circuit found that reading reasonable. Here’s how a complaint about discrimination became part of the employer’s defense. Continue reading

They Said The Executive Team Made the Firing Decision. Then the Executives Denied Being Involved.

November 5, 2026 | by Eric B. Meyer

Before telling an employee that the CEO approved her firing, it helps to check with the CEO. Especially if someone may eventually ask the CEO about it under oath. Continue reading

Employees Had to Arrive Early. The Manager Had the Keys. Who Pays for the Wait?

November 4, 2026 | by Eric B. Meyer

Being early is usually a good thing. Being required to arrive early and then waiting outside a locked workplace raises an important wage and hour question.

TL;DR: A federal appeals court revived a grocery employee’s unpaid-wage claims after she alleged that employees had to arrive fifteen minutes before their listed shifts but sometimes couldn’t enter or clock in. Required waiting time can be paid time even before productive work begins. The court also declined to dismiss the recurring fifteen-minute waits as too trivial to count.

📄 Read the court’s decision.