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The Employer Handbook BlogA “relentless and ruthless” campaign of 1,000 age-based insults might force an older employee to resign
“This case is close,” reasoned a federal appellate court. Continue reading
Remember this recent decision when one employee sues you for unpaid overtime
Has anyone ever sued your business for violating the Fair Labor Standards Act? This federal law requires covered employers to pay minimum wage and overtime at time-and-a-half when employees work more than 40 hours in a workweek.
They can be expensive to defend — even the ones that aren’t collective (class) actions.
My source told me that a federal court has blocked the EEOC’s recent LGBT guidance
Who is my “source”?
I got the scoop from EEOC Commissioner Andrea Lucas, who updated us on LinkedIn over the weekend about a Tennessee federal judge who entered this preliminary injunction to stop the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission from implementing this technical assistance document issued in June 2021 that purports to explain employers’ post-Bostock obligations under Title VII concerning dress codes, bathrooms, locker rooms, shows, and use of preferred pronouns or names.
So, where did the EEOC go awry? Continue reading
A worker claimed religious bias over abortion rights. On Thursday, a jury awarded her over $5M!!!
In August 2017, a flight attendant sued her employer and her union in federal court. The plaintiff would amend her complaint a few times. Among the claims that remained in the final version, the plaintiff alleged that both defendants violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by discriminating against Carter’s religious beliefs and practices.
How, you ask? Continue reading
Hold up! Is there an “HR manager” exception that allows employers to retaliate against HR?
Last night, I read this recent decision from a three-judge panel on the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. It involves a human resources manager who claimed that her current employer fired her after it learned that she had earlier given deposition testimony in a pregnancy discrimination lawsuit against her former employer.
Assuming this to be accurate, did the current employer violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964? Continue reading
One use of the n-word can create a hostile work environment. The OTHER n-word.
I had planned to blog about this Fifth Circuit decision for a while. The appellate court concluded that a plaintiff who had pleaded that his supervisor directly called him a “Lazy Monkey A__ N___” in front of his fellow employees stated an actionable claim of hostile work environment.
But then I read this federal court decision from Illinois about a black man who claimed that his employer retaliated against him by creating a hostile work environment with a noose. Continue reading
An end to certain sexual harassment NDAs? Check out this new bipartisan federal bill.
Earlier this year, President Biden signed the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021. The law allows victims of sexual assault or sexual harassment to litigate their claims in court even if they signed an arbitration agreement.
At the end of last month, a bipartisan group of representatives in the House introduced legislation to limit the use of nondisclosure and nondisparagement agreements involving claims of sexual assault and sexual harassment. Continue reading
COVID-19 variants are rising but, whatever you do, don’t collect THIS INFO from employees.
At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) posted a pre-recorded webinar addressing questions arising under any of the Federal Equal Employment Opportunity Laws and the COVID-19 pandemic. The video can be seen on YouTube or in the video player below. A transcript of the webinar is also available. Continue reading