When a plaintiff sues, alleging a supervisor subjected them to a hostile work environment, the defendant may avoid liability — even if the harassment actually occurred — if it took prompt remedial action to protect the plaintiff. Also, if a plaintiff fails to take advantage of corrective opportunities the defendant…
Here’s the thing. When a plaintiff asserts a disability discrimination claim against a current or former employer, one of the elements of the claim is establishing … wait for it … a disability. It’s critical. Even in an employee-friendly state like New Jersey. I read a New Jersey appellate court…
Employment lawyers and HR professionals generally preach that employees view “it’s not a good fit” to explain their termination of employment as code for discrimination or retaliation. It’s HR101. But yesterday, a federal court of appeals explained that this well-intentioned but often misconstrued rationale isn’t always a thinly-veiled, pretextual excuse…
Last night, I read a federal appellate court decision in which an employee with back spasms, sciatica, fibromyalgia, and pinched nerves claimed that her employer didn’t give her the help she needed to do her job. The plaintiff requested a “standing footrest” and “ergonomic chair” as reasonable accommodations. But she…
Yesterday, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced (here) that an employer will fork over $400,000, split among 11 women, stemming from a written policy that violates both the Pregnancy Discrimination Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. According to the EEOC’s complaint it filed in federal court in 2021,…
The EEOC has guided employers to accommodate employee use of certain prescribed medications, and excuse failed drug tests that reflect the presence of those drugs — if it is done safely — because those individuals who test positive likely have an underlying disability. But, when employee self-medicate — like with…
As more businesses transition from allowing remote work to mandating a return to the office, apart from the general employee backlash, one of the biggest HR compliance issues companies face is how to address the spike in medical-related requests to continue to work from home. As part of its earlier…
Can an employer have a categorical policy of hiring the most qualified candidate when a qualified disabled employee requests reassignment to a vacant role, even if he or she is not the most qualified applicant? The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says no. But the EEOC doesn’t wear the black…
If you haven’t done FMLA training for your supervisors, hopefully, this post will motivate you to get some on the calendar. The case I want to share with you today involves a lab tech with several disabilities. As they worsened, she was often late to work due to her disabilities.…
The plaintiff in the case I read last night worked in Hawaii as a customer service representative. She was a clinically obese woman with a long history of diabetes and hypertension, resulting in physical limitations related to neuropathy in her hands and feet. However, her job involved sitting at a desk, taking…