March, 2024

Folks, misgendering an employee can be severe and pervasive enough to create a hostile work environment.

March 29, 2024 | by Eric B. Meyer

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I’m going to tell you about a transgender man who worked for three years as a sergeant for a state prison. While working at the prison, he began the process of medically and socially transitioning to align with his gender identity. He underwent hormone replacement therapy, obtained a legal name change, and decided to live openly as a man.

Since he had to disclose his gender identity at work, the employee contacted Human Resources. On a phone call with the HR director, during which the employer inquired if he “had the surgery,” the employee could hear people laughing.

As others learned about the man’s transition, he endured what the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals described as “constant and humiliating harassment.”

“This case illustrates why the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) exists.”

March 28, 2024 | by Eric B. Meyer

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Imagine being an employer-defendant and reading that sentence as the lede in a court’s summary judgment opinion.

Ouch! Continue reading

Generally, an employer’s duty to accommodate takes more than an employee merely disclosing a disability

March 26, 2024 | by Eric B. Meyer

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In a recent Fourth Circuit decision, the plaintiff learned this lesson the hard way. Continue reading

Let’s get back to basics: FMLA notice requirements

March 25, 2024 | by Eric B. Meyer

Employees who want to take leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act must give at least 30 days advance notice if possible and practical. If 30 days’ notice is not practicable, for example, when the employee does not know when leave will begin, or if circumstances change or there is a medical emergency, the employee must provide notice of the need for leave as soon as possible and practical.

The employer can deny the leave if the employee does not satisfy the FMLA’s notice requirements. Continue reading

“March Madness” is checks notes not a serious health condition.

March 22, 2024 | by Eric B. Meyer

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The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament began yesterday. Last night, I read that the average worker will spend seven hours watching it, with 26 percent of Americans saying they’re prepared to skip work altogether to watch. Cynically, I imagine some of these workers are currently on intermittent FMLA. Continue reading

A new bill in congress would guarantee all workers get two weeks of paid time off

March 21, 2024 | by Eric B. Meyer

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Yesterday, several House Democrats announced the introduction of the Protected Time Off (PTO) Act to guarantee all full-time workers access to at least ten paid days off from work each year. U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (VT), who proposed a 32-hour workweek last week, is introducing companion legislation in the Senate. Continue reading

An employer settled claims it refused to accommodate a pregnant worker who then miscarried

March 20, 2024 | by Eric B. Meyer

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“Miscarriages can be personally devastating. No one should have to choose between getting the pregnancy care they need and losing a job.” Continue reading

In rejecting an employee’s claim that DEI training fostered a hostile work environment, a federal appellate offered a stern warning to employers

March 19, 2024 | by Eric B. Meyer

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Earlier this year, I wrote about a white employee in Colorado who claimed his former employer subjected him to a hostile work environment by requiring him to attend anti-harassment training.

Here’s how bad documentation can cost a company big bucks when a former employee sues

March 18, 2024 | by Eric B. Meyer

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Employment lawyers and human resources professionals regularly preach that managers must document employee performance issues as a best practice so that if/when that manager wants to terminate the employee, the company has the “receipts” to justify the decision. Continue reading

The Thirty-Two Hour Workweek Act, introduced this week in Congress, is exactly what you think it is

March 15, 2024 | by Eric B. Meyer

The same week that the U.S. Department of Labor’s rules on analyzing and determining who is an employee or independent contractor under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) took effect, both houses of Congress introduced legislation to shorten the workweek. Continue reading