Late last month, I blogged here about some smoke signals from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that it may be backpedaling on pursuing discrimination claims on behalf of a transgender employee, in a case where the employer had raised a religious-freedom defense. Since then, other dominos have fallen, which indicate that…
Welcome to Jungle, baby. (Best $24 I’ve ever spent. Probably.) Yesterday, I foreshadowed a blog post about actual legal stuff. Employment-legal stuff, even. ***lighters up*** These five words I swear to you. [cue music] The “D” in ADA. Today, I’m going to talk about the Americans with Disabilities Act. Since…
Oh yes, something awesome happened yesterday! [cue music] So, I’m at Barnes & Noble yesterday with three of my kids as the fourth was next door getting her ears pierced with my wife. I’m minding my own business, while the three for whom I’m responsible are occupying themselves with legos,…
Acosta replaces Andy Puzder, who withdrew his nomination on Wednesday. So, who is Alexander Acosta? Reporting here at The Washington Post, Jonnelle Marte has the details: Acosta served as an assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s civil rights division under President George W. Bush and is a former U.S. attorney for the Southern…
Amidst controversy, controversy and more controversy, Andy Puzder, CEO of CKE Restaurants, which owns, operates and fast-food restaurant franchises Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s, withdrew his nomination as Secretary of Labor, yesterday. And, just like that, we’re back to square one. So, who will lead the Department of Labor? Well, let’s go through what was reported as the original Trump…
It’s deja vu all over again. Yesterday, in this post, I stressed how important it is for employers to take complaints of discrimination — even the head-scratchers — seriously. Today, I’ve got for you an opinion from a Kentucky federal court, where an employer’s swift, measured response to a series complaints…
When I conduct anti-harassment training for supervisors, one of the points I stress is that all complaints of harassment and discrimination — no matter how minor — must be taken seriously. Why? For a few reasons. By addressing harassment right away, it reduces the chances of repeat performances. That’s good for the employee.…
Ready, fire, aim. That’s the approach that many employers take when seeking to enforce a covenant not to compete with a former employee. Ready, fire, aim. When there’s a even a whisper that a former employee has gone to work for a competitor, the former employer often rushes into court,…
You know, it’s one thing to communicate with employees on FMLA to express concern for their well-being or determine whether they plan to return to work as scheduled. But, when you turn into the FMLA Police, that’s when problems ensue. [cue music] Don’t do this. Consider this recent Eleventh Circuit…
A little over three years ago, I blogged here about the Senate and House each introducing the Family and Medical Insurance Leave Act. (FAMILY Act). The FAMILY Act, which never made it out of Congress to President Obama, would have created a national paid family and medical leave program for all workers,…