Ready. Fire. Aim. That’s often the approach companies take when they learn that a former employee with restrictive covenants like a noncompetition or nonsolicitation agreement has gone to work for a direct competitor. Many rush into court demanding that a judge enter a temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction…
Let’s see if you agree with me. The defendant operated a hotel and event venue. The plaintiff had an opioid addiction and had been prescribed methadone to treat her addiction. She took methadone daily. In 2021, the plaintiff applied for the position of banquet bartender with the defendant. The plaintiff…
I’ve defended way more retaliation lawsuits than I can recall. The facts and circumstances may vary, but the law doesn’t. A plaintiff claiming retaliation generally must: (1) engage in protected activity (e.g., an internal complaint of discrimination or participate in an EEOC proceeding); (2) suffer a materially adverse employment action;…
Antisemitism is nothing new. About a year ago, ResumeBuilder.com surveyed 1,131 U.S. hiring managers and recruiters about their views of Jewish individuals and their perception of antisemitism in the workplace. Of those surveyed – remember, these are the people making the hiring decisions — 29% said antisemitism is acceptable in…
The U.S. Army employed a “septuagenarian civilian doctor.” Well, at least it used to. The Army ended his employment as Chief of Surgery and replaced him with a military officer half his age. So, he sued the Army for age discrimination. As part of discovery, the record confirmed that the…
If only a federal appellate court had reacted that way when a female plaintiff claimed an equal pay violation because she and other females were paid less than the “local industry standard.” But, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals wasn’t buying the ‘back-of-the-envelope math’ the plaintiff was selling. Allow me to…
Just as I had finished raiding my kids’ hauls for all the Butterfingers and 100 Grands, it was at that moment that I remembered that the sweetest part of Halloween, the real HR nerd candy, was that the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission had announced the opening of 2022 EEO-1…
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission doesn’t think so. Last week, the EEOC announced that it had sued a company called “Meathead Movers,” the largest independent moving company in California, for allegedly refusing to hire people based on age. Here’s more from the press release: The EEOC’s lawsuit charges that…
Suppose that several employees complain that a coworker is creating a “hostile work environment” because they were afraid that she (the coworker) was going to report them (the employees) for engaging in unspecified misconduct in the workplace. Can the employer respond by mandating an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) referral as…
Yesterday, the National Labor Relations Board swung the pendulum even further in favor of unions when it issued its Final Rule on joint employment. In a press release, the Board described the new standard like this: An entity may be considered a joint employer of a group of employees if…