Race Category Archives — Page 10 of 23 — The Employer Handbook Blog Published by Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Employment Lawyer

This great federal court decision I read offers seven keys to a proper severance agreement

November 21, 2019 | by Eric B. Meyer

A lawyer claimed that his employer had discriminated against him based on his race, color, gender, and age, when it terminated his employment and filled a position nearly identical to that which he held prior to his termination with a younger, African-American woman. So he sued.

Oh, I forgot one important fact. By the time he sued, the lawyer-plaintiff had already signed a severance agreement and release (the “Release”). Continue reading

You be the judge: Does this sound like race discrimination to you?

November 20, 2019 | by Eric B. Meyer

Highway Patrol Images [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Maybe you’ve been reading this employment law blog for years. Or today could be your first time here. (What took you so long?) You may be a licensed attorney, an HR professional, or just a blog groupie on the dark path to a restraining order. Whatever your background and experience, I’m guessing that you can determine whether the plaintiff I’m about to describe to you, a former Ohio police trooper, has a viable claim for race discrimination. Continue reading

Six million reasons to remember that the EEOC continues to take your company’s background checks seriously

November 19, 2019 | by Eric B. Meyer

By U.S. Government – Extracted from PDF file here., Public Domain, Link

On April 25, 2012, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued its Enforcement Guidance on the Consideration of Arrest and Conviction Records in Employment Decisions Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The EEOC believes that the use of criminal record history and other background checks can have a disparate impact by disproportionately screening out certain minorities without any business-related need.

After several potholes and speedbumps trying to enforce its guidance in the courtroom against employer-defendants, the EEOC has finally won a big race. Continue reading

This leaked deposition transcript from a race discrimination case is like a bizarro embassy scene from Lethal Weapon 2.

October 24, 2019 | by Eric B. Meyer

13-Lethal-Weapon-II-South-African-Embassy-Scene-Very-Funny-YouTube-1024x388

Image Credit: YouTube.com

Do you know that scene from Lethal Weapon 2? The one where Joe Pesci (Leo Getz) tells the representative from the South African embassy to convince his friend Danny Glover (‘Alphonse’) not to move to South Africa because he’s black.

I’ll pause for a sec while you watch it.

Common sense prevails! School reinstates black man it fired for repeating a racial slur directed at him as he told the person to stop

October 22, 2019 | by Eric B. Meyer

Image Credit: Photofunia.com

Yesterday, I blogged here about a black man who was fired for repeating a racial slur directed at him as he told the person to stop. According to multiple reports, his employer’s position was that it had a zero-tolerance policy on racial slurs in the workplace — inexcusable, regardless of context.

Well, the school hired him back.

Still, I asked readers of this blog how they would have handled a similar situation in their workplace. Continue reading

A black man was fired for repeating a racial slur directed at him as he told the person to stop

October 21, 2019 | by Eric B. Meyer

Image by Pexels from Pixabay

Last week, I quizzed you on how to handle a request for a religious accommodation to be excused from attending a weekend company holiday party. That was easy.

Today’s ‘what would you do’ is much more difficult. Continue reading

NJ issues “Guidance on Race Discrimination Based on Hairstyle”

October 3, 2019 | by Eric B. Meyer

NJ-high-school-wrestler-forced-to-cut-dreadlocks-YouTube-1024x577

Image Credit: YouTube

Just before Christmas last year, a referee in a high school wrestling match in New Jersey told an African-American wrestler that he must cut his dreadlocks or forfeit the match. This made national news.

Sometimes, it doesn’t take a law degree to know that an employer may have really screwed something up.

September 20, 2019 | by Eric B. Meyer

Image Credit: Publicdomainfiles.com (http://www.publicdomainfiles.com/show_file.php?id=13929356417087)

I can often draw upon my years of experience as an employment lawyer to predict from reading the first paragraph of a federal court opinion how the court is going to decide the discrimination claim before it. Continue reading

Her resignation letter described a “great experience” at work. Then she sued for hostile-environment constructive discharge.

September 18, 2019 | by Eric B. Meyer

Fred the Oyster [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

One of the first hits when you Google ‘resignation letter’ is this career advice from Monster. The job board offers some tips for crafting a letter of resignation, among them: a statement of intent that you will be leaving your job, the date of your last day on the job, and your contact info. One of the optional items Monster suggests including is a highlight of your time there.

Monster’s advice is pretty spot on. Except, that is, when the individual later decides to assert claims of hostile work environment and constructive discharge.

Because, as you’ll find out in this post, nothing undermines those claims like a thoughtful resignation letter. Continue reading

🔥🚒👨‍🚒Firefighter fired for hostile social media posts may have been discriminated against🔥🚒👨‍🚒

July 22, 2019 | by Eric B. Meyer

U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Seaman Barry Riley [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

A white South Carolina firefighter posted threats on Facebook that he would run over Black Lives Matters protesters.

The fire department began receiving complaints about these posts. Plus, the posts violated various provisions of the employee handbook. So, the next day, the firefighter was, err, fired. (For more on the initial lawsuit, you can read this story from CBS News.)

Fast forward three years and the firefighter is this close to a federal jury hearing his race discrimination claims. Continue reading