If you guessed 15 minutes, you would be right, according to a recent decision from the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. And you don’t need to point a gun at the employee’s head? A rusty fork in the doo-dads “knowing and intelligent” waiver based on a “totality of the circumstances”…
Confession: I find bankruptcy VERY boring. And I loathe it. I’m a labor and employment attorney. When partners approach my door with bankruptcy assignments, I pick up the phone and pretend to yell at opposing counsel. So far I’m batting 1000. But when I learned that the Third Circuit in…
My blog designers told me that if I want to build SEO — that’s Search Engine Optimization to you rookies — I’d better write about employment law issues affecting Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware (duh!) and “optimize” my blog post titles with the keywords near the front. Learn more about…
In some cases, a plaintiff will argue as part of his Title VII discrimination action that his former employer didn’t fire him. But rather he was constructively discharged. That’s fancy speak for being forced to resign. But here in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware, a plaintiff can’t just prevail in…
Robert Rank-And-File, an employee of Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Delaware, Inc., claims that Sally Supervisor told him, “Sleep with me, or you’re fired!” Robert declines Sally’s advances only to have Sally fire him. If Robert decides to pursue an action under Title VII against Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Delaware, Inc., how can he prevail at trial?…
Look what just arrived in today’s mail. It’s a charge of discrimination from the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Looks like Robert Rank-And-File — the guy Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Delaware, Inc. fired from data entry — alleges that the company terminated him because he’s disabled. I’ll show you after the jump.…
Can an employer terminate a disabled employee because accommodating the employee would create a significant risk of substantial harm to the employee or others in the workplace? Yes. This is called the “direct threat” defense. To meet its burden, however, the employer must prove the following two elements by a…
Ever been to a Gentlemen’s Club? (Pause…) (Wait for it…) Me neither. But I hear that dancers tend to have a few physical characteristics in common. Or how about a Chinese restaurant? Ever notice that the employees are all…Chinese? Is that why my job applications always end up in the…
The are two classes of plaintiffs who may assert claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act: Those who have a “disability”; and Those who not have a disability but who, nonetheless, are “regarded as” disabled by their employer. We know that a disability is an actual impairment that substantially limits…
Our old buddy Robert Rank-And-File from Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Delaware, Inc. is having problems at work again. This time, however, the culprit is not Sally Supervisor. It’s Lisa Leadperson. What is your company’s potential exposure here? Find out after the jump. Oh, that Lisa! She must not have been paying too much…