Discrimination and Unlawful Harassment

Indirect consequences of not accommodating disabilities at work can land employers in hot water

July 11, 2023 | by Eric B. Meyer

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Yesterday, we discussed how an employee asserting a failure-to-accommodate claim under Title VII must establish that their request for a religious accommodation resulted in an adverse employment action. The same appellate court deciding that case also recently confirmed that the same maxim applies to failure-to-accommodate claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

But, there’s a rub. Continue reading

No religious accommodation. No discipline. No problem.

July 10, 2023 | by Eric B. Meyer

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Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 creates a statutory obligation for covered employers to make reasonable accommodations for workers’ religious observances, short of incurring an undue hardship. At a minimum, aggrieved employees generally must establish three elements in a failure-to-accommodate lawsuit:

A employee in Puerto Rico needed an accommodation to avoid the humidity. Ok.

July 7, 2023 | by Eric B. Meyer

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I’m neither a doctor nor a meteorologist but an employment lawyer. And, like the First Circuit Court of Appeals in this recent decision, I struggle with what the employer in Puerto Rico could have done differently to accommodate one of its workers. Continue reading

Can employees use their religion as an excuse not to work with LGBTQ coworkers?

July 6, 2023 | by Eric B. Meyer

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Last week, the Supreme Court unanimously agreed that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 requires an employer that denies a religious accommodation to show that the burden of granting an accommodation would result in substantial increased costs in relation to the conduct of its particular business. The next day, the Supreme Court concluded in 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis that the First Amendment superseded a state’s anti-discrimination law which would have forced a website designer who does not believe in same-sex marriage to create wedding websites for gay couples.

Since then, I’ve seen folks asking whether employees with sincerely-held religious beliefs about same-sex marriage can get a religious accommodation from their employer to refuse to work with a gay coworker? Continue reading

Can a lateral transfer be discriminatory? The Supreme Court is about to weigh in.

July 5, 2023 | by Eric B. Meyer

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Last week, the Supreme Court made it more difficult for employers to establish that an employee’s request for a religious accommodation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 creates an undue hardship.

But there’s much more to Title VII than just religious accommodations. And the Supreme Court isn’t done with the statute yet. Last week, it agreed to determine whether Title VII prohibits discrimination in transfer decisions absent a separate court determination that the transfer decision caused a significant disadvantage. Continue reading

The Supreme Court just revamped religious accommodations at work. I’ll explain in plain English.

June 30, 2023 | by Eric B. Meyer

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About 50 years ago, Congress tweaked Title VII, a federal law that makes it unlawful to discriminate against workers based on their religion. It clarified that employers must “reasonably accommodate. . . an employee’s or prospective employee’s religious observance or practice” unless the employer is “unable” to do so “without undue hardship on the conduct of the employer’s business.”

But what does that mean? Continue reading

What was an employer thinking fired a worker two days after complaining about “retaliation” and “harassment”?

June 29, 2023 | by Eric B. Meyer

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On August 7, 2018, a worker sent an email. The email stated, “I fear retaliation” and “my colleagues and I have been the victims of continuous harassment, both sexual and emotional.”

On August 9, 2018, just two days later, the company fired her.

How do you think that turned out? Continue reading

Could two little resumé errors torpedo an employee’s claims that her race got her fired?

June 28, 2023 | by Eric B. Meyer

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In 2016, a public employer sought a new Health Commissioner. They thought they had found the ideal candidate. Her resumé stated that she held a master’s degree in Public Health and had experience as a licensed sanitation. The candidate nailed the interview. Ultimately, the employer hired her for the Health Commissioner position because of her “excellent” resumé and interview.

Or so it thought. Continue reading

Starting today, most of your workers have new, federal pregnancy-related employment protections

June 27, 2023 | by Eric B. Meyer

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Today, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act takes effect. Continue reading

Even in one of the most employee-friendly states, COVID-19 isn’t necessarily a disability

June 26, 2023 | by Eric B. Meyer

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Near the beginning of the pandemic, an employee in New Jersey reported to work but felt ill; specifically, he felt “cold, clammy, and weak.” After going home, the employer told him not to return until he tested for COVID-19. The next day, the plaintiff went to a free clinic where he obtained a COVID-19 test. While waiting for the results, the employee reported to his employer that he felt better, and offered to return to work, maintaining social distance from others. The employer fired him instead.

Is this disability discrimination? Continue reading