“When are you going to retire?” “Why don’t you retire at 65?” “What is the reason you are not retiring?” A company manager at a manufacturing and distribution company allegedly asked these questions of a direct report as she approached her 65th birthday, according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity…
Last night, I read a NJ Appellate Division opinion about a plaintiff in his fifties who claimed his age motivated the defendant to end his employment. Spoiler alert: it didn’t. There were many reasons why the appellate court affirmed the trial court’s decision to grant summary judgment in favor of…
Notice anything potentially unlawful here? Yesterday, several of us spoke with The Philadelphia Inquirer about the problem with a local restaurant’s job ad discouraging trans men (and any women) from applying.
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. One of your employees has been with the company for several years. Over that span, they reported to the same manager, who consistently provided positive feedback and good performance reviews. All is well. Then, the manager leaves. And there’s a new sheriff…
“Uh, Eric, don’t you mean the superior candidate?” You’d think I would, but I’m reading what the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals wrote in this recent opinion. The plaintiff, a black woman, applied for a job. The company conducted two rounds of interviews, with separate panels in each round, to…
About a year ago, a media organization fired one of its reporters after it found his ‘inflammatory’ Instagram posts (NSFW) showing clips of his off-the-clock standup comedy routines. Last week, an arbitrator, who found some of the reporter’s jokes ‘funny,’ ordered the company to rehire him. Why? I’ll explain by…
I’m not the biggest fan of progressive discipline policies, which can often be too restrictive. Plus, deviations and inconsistencies in their application are ammunition for a plaintiff claiming discrimination to get to trial. But, when companies apply these policies to the letter, they create a formidable defense to these claims.…
I’m going to tell you about what may be the least self-aware employee. At least in recent memory. But first, we need to talk about sex stereotyping. Sex stereotyping is a form of discrimination. Indeed, the Supreme Court has acknowledged that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964…
Discrimination claims are not easy to prove. But, it doesn’t take much for a plaintiff to at least allege in her complaint that her former employer discriminated against her. Except when all you plead are “vague and conclusory” allegations. For example, in a Fifth Circuit decision I read last night,…
The Americans with Disabilities Act requires an employer to provide reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities who are employees or applicants for employment. However, the ADA does not require an employer to assist a person without a disability due to that person’s association with someone with a disability. Still,…