They were so bad that a federal judge applied a rarely-used rule of civil procedure to consider summary judgment on its own after identifying for the parties material facts that may not be genuinely in dispute. Boy, that was about as witty as Groundskeeper Willie’s standup routine at Springfield Elementary. (Note…
Articles Posted in Retaliation
If this isn’t a ringing endorsement for updating your employee handbook, then what is?
I get that employee handbooks are not contacts and are subject to change and all that stuff. But, companies should be prepared to enforce any existing policy in an employee handbook as written. A multi-billion-dollar company with an overly broad attendance policy learned this lesson the hard way recently. According…
You can’t be retaliated against for NOT reporting sexual harassment. The more you know.
I didn’t even have to go to law school to figure that out. Unfortunately for a plaintiff and her lawyer, they learned this lesson the hard way. Twice. The plaintiff began working for the defendant as a full-time order processor. Within two years, the defendant promoted the plaintiff to the…
THIS action fell just short of possible discrimination and retaliation. (Whew!)
The plaintiff in this action has worked as a human resource specialist. She claimed that, beginning in 2019, her male supervisor made unwelcome sexual comments to her, and, when she reported those comments to his direct supervisor, they were ignored. So the plaintiff says she filed an Equal Employment Opportunity (“EEO”) complaint.…
Are you in the clear waiting four weeks to fire someone who complained about sexual harassment?
I’ve got some ‘splaining to do before we get into the meat and potatoes. First, if a company fires someone because they complain about discrimination, that’s retaliation. It doesn’t matter if the firing happens a day, week, month, or year later. If the complaint motivates the adverse employment action, and you get…
I’m not done with yesterday’s post yet. You need to hear about the retaliation claim!
On Wednesday, I blogged about a woman who worked as a “helper” for a construction company. She alleged that she had to endure misogynist comments from her general manager, who told her in front of others that, since she had “t*** and an a**,” she could not perform certain functions…
Now, THIS is a retaliation lawsuit worthy of becoming a bar exam question.
Sometimes, when deciding whether to blog about a recent federal court decision, I skip the “Factual Background” section and go right to the “Discussion.” That’s where I usually find the most concise, “meat-and-bones” explanation of what the case is about. I did that last night when I read this Minnesota…
Can you rescind a job offer because you learn a candidate sued a prior employer for discrimination?
Probably a bad idea. Especially if defending U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission lawsuits isn’t your jam. The EEOC newsroom is usually full of great blog fodder, and this press release about a recent $60,000 settlement of a unique retaliation lawsuit scratched my itch. According to the EEOC, it sued an employer…
Fired hours (minutes?) after he complained about discrimination, an employee sued and LOST his retaliation lawsuit.
As I read this summary judgment opinion last night, I fully expected the judge to send the plaintiff’s retaliation claim to trial. But plot twist! He didn’t. “I feel like you are racially discriminatory towards me.” The plaintiff, a black man, worked daily with the defendant’s President and Owner. One…
The guy who may have solicited prostitutes at work could win his retaliation lawsuit too
A recent decision from the Third Circuit Court of Appeals addresses the extent to which an employer may lawfully dig up reasons to terminate a current employee who has already sued for discrimination. The plaintiff initially filed a lawsuit against his employer alleging race discrimination, retaliation, and a race-based hostile…