That’s right folks. It’s time for another edition of “Fact or Fiction” a/k/a “Quick Answers to Quick Questions” a/k/a QATQQ f/k/a “I don’t feel like writing a long blog post”. Until about five years ago, a plaintiff had to prove a materially adverse employment action in order to recover…
At least that’s what a federal court in Utah opined. I promise that this is not a prurient post gratuitously conceived to drive internet traffic to The Employer Handbook. And this case has nothing directly to do with Pennsylvania, New Jersey or Delaware employers (Ok, that last line was shameless.…
Last month, the Supreme Court handed down – if not the most important – certainly, the highest-profile decision of this term with Wal-Mart v. Dukes. However, in addition to this headline-grabber, this term saw four other significant employment-law decisions from the High Court about which employers must take note. After…
There once was an employer in Racine. With a manager whose antics were racy. The court said, “You lose!” Now, tell everyone the news. And if you disobey, it’ll cost you big money. *** Although I feel rhyming “Racine” with “racy” was pure Shakespeare, I’m fairly certain that Edward Lear’s…
Consider this scenario: Employee believes he is being discriminated against. Employee complains to Human Resources. HR investigates, but is unable to substantiate the employee’s claims. Employee nonetheless sues his employer, alleging discrimination. While the lawsuit is pending, the employer fires the employee for reasons it claims are unrelated to the…
In a 6-2 decision, the Supreme Court held yesterday that a company may not retaliate against an employee who orally “filed a complaint” about perceived Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) violations. After the jump, I’ll break down this decision, just what it means to orally file a complaint, and the…
The United States Supreme Court today in Thompson v. North American Stainless, LP ruled that an employer violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act if it takes action against an employee who is in the same “zone of interest” as another employee who files a Charge of Discrimination with…
The EEOC reported this week that retaliation charges outpaced race discrimination charges at the agency during fiscal year 2010. This is the first time that retaliation charges (under all statutes) surpassed race discrimination charges at the EEOC, making retaliation charges the most frequently type of charge filed at the EEOC…
A big part of my job as a labor and employment attorney is providing anti-harassment training to employees and supervisors. First, I help them identify what constitutes unlawful harassment in the workplace. Then I walk them through how to report and address it. Here, I emphasize that retaliation against a…
I was reading an article in the Gwinnett Daily Post — yeah, that’s right, the GDP — and it starts out like this… BUFORD — When Buford City Schools bus driver Michele Threlkeld finished her final route on the last day of school, she reported to her supervisor’s office, as…