A director for a major transit authority applied for two internal promotions. She didn’t get either. Feeling that she was more qualified than either successful candidate, the director reported discrimination internally and later filed a Charge of Discrimination with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Among other things, she alleged…
Earlier this month, a federal appellate court had to decide whether a hospital employee could perform her job remotely or whether the job’s essential functions required her to come to work in person. Spoiler alert: The plaintiff lost the failure-to-accommodate claim she asserted under the Americans with Disabilities Act. But…
Employees who want to bring federal anti-discrimination claims in court can’t just file the lawsuit. Instead, they must first file a charge of discrimination with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. There are time limits to filing with the EEOC. The EEOC website states: In general, you need to file…
Imagine a business that gives its employees two days off each week. There’s nothing abnormal about that. However, the company uses a sex-based policy to determine which two days an employee can pick. Only men can select full weekends off—women cannot. Instead, female employees can pick either two weekdays off…
TL;DR: Yes. But, working overtime must be an essential function of the job. Here’s an example from a recent Fifth Circuit decision. The plaintiff worked as a detention officer. One of the requirements for the job of detention officer was to “work overtime as required,” including “up to sixteen (16)…
The Americans with Disabilities Act makes it unlawful for an employer to discriminate against a qualified applicant or employee with a disability. According to a lawsuit that the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed yesterday, an employer did both. To the same individual. Here’s more from the EEOC press release:…
Yes, alcoholism can be a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The EEOC notes here that the ADA may protect a “qualified” alcoholic who can meet the definition of “disability.” What is a “qualified” alcoholic? Someone who can perform the job’s essential functions with or without accommodation. An employer can…
I promised you a doozy today, and I plan to deliver! About a year ago, a federal jury in Texas concluded that a flight attendant’s sincerely-held religious beliefs (specifically, those underpinning her pro-life stance on abortion) unlawfully motivated her labor union and employer to discriminate against her. How mad was…
Yesterday, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency tasked with enforcing the new Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), released proposed regulations for public comments. 275 pages of them. But I only needed the first eight or so to realize that the PWFA, which requires covered employers to…
Did you know that in 2022, claims of religious discrimination at work filed with the EEOC were up over 650% from the previous year? SIX HUNDRED AND FIFTY PERCENT! The driving force was a significant increase in vaccine-related charges filed based on religion. Combine that with the recent Supreme Court…