In announcing the resolution of a long investigation into a high-profile target, a state attorney general said that “celebrity and fame does not absolve someone from following the law.” A four-year probe into allegations of sexual harassment at three New York City restaurants owned in part by celebrity chef Mario Batali has ended with an […]
Two landscaping workers died when a trench they were digging collapsed on them. OSHA identified many violations of safety standards, and the employer pled guilty to a criminal charge of “causing or risking widespread injury or damage.” The dead workers’ estates filed wrongful death actions against the employer. State Law Sets the Rule Under state […]
Sophisticated employers are well aware of the critical importance of meting out discipline in an evenhanded and fair manner, and documenting all disciplinary actions carefully. Employers who proceed carelessly in this regard can easily find themselves facing a claim that the discipline was meted out for an unfair or even discriminatory reason. Here’s a case […]
A fact issue existed as to whether an employee accepted an agreement to have any employment-related dispute resolved via arbitration. Therefore, a lower court wrongfully compelled arbitration of his race and age discrimination claims. That’s what a new ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit says. Timothy Boykin is a 73-year-old […]
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit rejected hostile work environment and retaliation claims. A transgender city worker filed the claims. The appeals court affirmed a lower court’s decision that the employer’s response to harassment against her was consistent with Title VII requirements. While working for the city of Detroit, Jane Doe began […]
The EEOC issued a new technical assistance document. The document sets forth what it says are the agency’s “established legal positions” relating to discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Released on the anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, 140 S.Ct. 1731 (U.S. 2020), the document offers […]
The Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Compliance Programs conducted a routine compliance check, and it will cost a federal contractor $1 million. The office evaluated the Worley Group. Worley’s parent company is a federal defense contractor. The office determined that the company illegally discriminated against 42 female, Black and Hispanic employees with respect to […]
A Florida federal court tossed disability discrimination claims a former employee filed. Bungornluck Rodda has asthma. She worked at the University of Miami as an administrative assistant beginning in July 2007. She was let go in November 2017. The university said it terminated Rodda during a departmental reorganization. Rodda sued, alleging she was really fired […]
Let’s get right to the heart of these two new employer-friendly federal appeals court rulings on the important subject of reasonable accommodation under the ADA. First, an accommodation request that conflicts with a federal safety regulation need not be provided. And second, the ADA does not obligate employers to create new positions to accommodate an […]
