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The Employer Handbook Blog

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A federal jury awarded $1,675,000 to a deaf applicant passed over for two warehouse positions

Before discussing the jury verdict, I’ll tell you a little about how we got here. Let’s go back to New Year’s Eve 2020 when the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced (here) that it had sued a distribution company for violating the Americans with Disabilities Act by refusing to interview…

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Here are 105,000 reasons not to force an older worker to retire

“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…

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A court correctly dismissed claims of age discrimination, IMO. But, this employment lawyer still has a bone to pick.

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…

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Do as I say, not as I do? (You won’t believe how much the feds paid to settle allegations of “egregious and continual sexual harassment.”)

Federal agencies, like the U.S. Department of Justice, often publish news releases touting their lawsuits and significant judgments against employer scofflaws. But, I know a big one — a $1.2M judgment — that the DOJ will want to forget. According to multiple reports, including Grace Elletson’s at Law360, the DOJ offered…

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Will training white employees on “white fragility” and other concepts linked to racism create a hostile work environment? Probably not.

Last week, I wrote (here) about a white college professor who successfully alleged that his employer subjected him to a hostile work environment, at least, in part, because of particular training and conferences he attended about racism. But, the same court clarified that “[t]raining on concepts such as ‘white privilege,’…

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Training about racism can foster a hostile work environment. Wait, WHAT?!?

Wait a minute, Eric! Weren’t you just telling us that anti-harassment training is part of the backbone of a compliant workplace? I did. But, occasionally, employers can step over the line. I’ll give you a recent example from a federal court opinion involving a college professor claiming he was forced…

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An EEOC Commissioner takes issue with a billionaire’s position on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Folks, I did not have EEOC Commissioner Andrea Lucas giving billionaire Mark Cuban a public antidiscrimination lesson on my Bingo board. But, as I was scrolling through X on Monday, here is what I saw: On Sunday, Mr. Cuban, of Shark Tank fame, the former principal owner of the NBA’s…

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EEOC launches new outreach effort to help underserved communities and vulnerable workers

As part of its current Strategic Plan, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission aims to raise awareness of employment discrimination laws and ensure that individuals know their corresponding rights and responsibilities. Meanwhile, the EEOC’s Strategic Enforcement Plan for Fiscal Years 2024-2028 (SEP) prioritizes protecting vulnerable workers from employment discrimination. On…