Retaliation

Can out-of-state remote workers handpick the most favorable state employment laws for a lawsuit?

December 13, 2024 | by Eric B. Meyer

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In the evolving landscape of remote work, many employees believe they are shielded by the laws of the state they reside in. However, a recent decision from the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey — of all places !!! — reveals a harsh reality: working remotely from another state does not necessarily entitle employees to the protections of that state’s laws. This case serves as a critical reminder of the complexities surrounding jurisdiction in employment law. Continue reading

How can your business avoid retaliation claims? Just do what this company did.

October 22, 2024 | by Eric B. Meyer

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When an employee complains about discrimination or unethical business practices, there’s often a concern that they’ll construe any subsequent adverse employment action as retaliation. Continue reading

The EEOC just sued some employers for preventing transgender employees from using restrooms consistent with their gender identity

October 2, 2024 | by Eric B. Meyer

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In 2015, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission determined that a federal agency that denied an employee equal access to a common bathroom/facility corresponding to the employee’s gender identity discriminated based on sex and could not restrict a transgender employee to a single-user restroom. About five years later, the Supreme Court ruled that discrimination based on transgender status is sex discrimination in violation of Title VII.

Yesterday, the EEOC announced a lawsuit against several employers claiming that forbidding transgender workers from using restrooms consistent with their gender identity contributed to a hostile work environment based on their sex.
Continue reading

Lying lawyer loses lawsuit. Let’s look.

September 18, 2024 | by Eric B. Meyer

André Koehne, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Early in my career, I learned that it’s bad form for a lawyer to accuse another party of having “lied.” Judges generally frown upon this.

So, you can imagine that my interest was piqued when I read an Eighth Circuit decision issued yesterday weighing “the appropriate sanction for a plaintiff who lied in a deposition and withheld information.”

Can we refuse to hire someone who previously filed an EEOC charge against us?

August 30, 2024 | by Eric B. Meyer

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The answer is yes. (You weren’t expecting that, were you?)

But here’s the thing.

Oh, you think you know retaliation, do you? Wait until you see this.

July 30, 2024 | by Eric B. Meyer

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Yesterday, I read a press release in the EEOC’s Virtual Newsroom announcing the resolution of a retaliation lawsuit. In my twenty-plus years of practicing employment law, I didn’t recall seeing retaliation claims quite like this one. Continue reading

Firing fast in certain situations can help defeat retaliation claims. Yes, firing FAST!

July 25, 2024 | by Eric B. Meyer

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The common logic is that firing an employee shortly after complaining about workplace discrimination isn’t a good look. Continue reading

50,000 reasons to reconsider scolding an HR Manager for investigating sexual harassment claims (i.e., doing their job).

July 18, 2024 | by Eric B. Meyer

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Yesterday, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced that a Pennsylvania-based construction company will pay $50,000 and furnish other relief to settle a retaliation lawsuit.

Poor Yelp reviews — and not retaliation — are why this rude restaurant hostess got fired

June 21, 2024 | by Eric B. Meyer

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The hostess at an Asian-American restaurant in Chicago, Illinois, was employed in that role for about two years.

Two years the restaurant probably wishes it could have back. Continue reading

Retaliation can come in all shapes and sizes

May 15, 2024 | by Eric B. Meyer

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Earlier this month, a federal appellate court addressed a few situations involving retaliation claims in the workplace in which parties (and sometimes courts) may misapply the law, namely, Title VII of the Civil Rights of 1964.

So, let’s clear this up. Continue reading