Image by DigitalShards from Pixabay I’ve talked a fair amount recently about retaliation claims (here and here), mostly focusing on timing as the possible link between a protected activity (such as a complaint of discrimination) and an adverse employment action (like a firing). The plaintiffs in those cases were unsuccessful…
Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay You’ve been here before. One of your employees just complained about discrimination in the workplace. Or maybe s/he just participated in an HR investigation. A few days or weeks later, s/he violates your work rules and you have clear grounds to fire the employee. Now…
By Nut-hardware.jpg: Muke derivative work: Xoristzatziki (talk) – Nut-hardware.jpg, Public Domain, Link I can tell you this. It takes more than a few posts from a couple of ‘Wingnuts.’ Some mean-spirited Facebook posts. The plaintiff, in this case, worked for a unionized airline. The plaintiff ran to become the union president.…
Image Credit: Pixabay.com Yesterday, I was reading this case about a woman who was fired while taking leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act. She later sued, claiming FMLA interference; i.e., that her employer had denied her FMLA benefits to which she was otherwise entitled. An employee fired while…
Ischa1, Helder [Public domain], via Wikimedia CommonsA few days ago, I blogged about How does one of your employees actually prove discrimination in court? And I suppose that was a bit of a misnomer because there’s more to it. So, let’s talk about that today. Late last week, the Third…
Image Credit: Pexels.com (https://www.pexels.com/photo/facebook-glasses-privacy-privacy-policy-267372/) Asking for a friend, of course. A bunch of your employees just resigned, set up a competing venture, plundered a bunch of your trade secrets, and have begun contacting your customers. But, hold up! Your IT administrator examined their company laptops and struck gold! He reviewed…
Image Credit: http://www.freestockphotos.biz/stockphoto/14050 (nicubunu acquired from OCAL (Website)) On most days, I blog for you, my readers, to educate you on new legal issues and to keep you ahead of the HR-compliance curve. This is not most days. Tuesday, December 4 will be one of those days. If you haven’t…
By Chris Potter (Flickr: 3D Judges Gavel) [CC BY 2.0 ], via Wikimedia CommonsYesterday, I blogged here about the most important employment law decision of 2018. It’s a case called Minarsky v. Susquehanna County (opinion here). If you missed my post, well, it was long. 1,888 words long. So, here’s the super-condensed version:…
By Wolfmann [CC BY-SA 4.0 ], from Wikimedia Commons Minarsky v. Susquehanna County (opinion here) is a sexual harassment case. And there’s a lot to discuss. But the biggest takeaway is that any subsequent employer-defendant asserting a Faragher/Ellerth defense in the Third Circuit will find it very difficult to obtain summary…
You know, I don’t think we’ve ever discussed the False Claims Act here at The Employer Handbook. I don’t think we’ve discussed crowded clown cars either. And, while clowns may pique more interest, alas, this is an employment-law blog. So, I suppose we’ll enjoy our first taste of FCA together.…