Does the name Amy Cooper ring a bell? You may remember her better as the “Central Park Karen” who was fired after she called the police because a Black man asked her to obey park rules and keep her dog on a leash. As you probably recall, a now-viral video shows Cooper threatening the man, […]
Did you know that retaliation claims can challenge a broader range of employer conduct than claims of discrimination? A new ruling from a federal appeals court demonstrates the point. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (which covers Alaska, Arizona, California, Guam and Hawaii) ruled that a college employee could proceed with a retaliation claim within […]
An important new decision from a federal appeals court says a former employee can proceed with claims against her old employer based on a data breach – even though the breach did not lead to identity theft or fraud against her. “In an increasingly digitized world,” the court advised, “an employer’s duty to protect its […]
A new ruling from a federal appeals court provides important insight for employers and HR pros on how to successfully defend employee claims of bias or retaliation. And while the case involves a state-specific law called the Washington Law Against Discrimination, its lessons apply equally to claims filed under other similar state laws as well […]
Conflicting federal, state and local laws on marijuana use raise tough questions for HR professionals. For example, should you require employees to submit to a drug test? And if so, when it is OK to fire someone who fails? How does medical marijuana factor in? Are workers entitled to accommodations? A recent Nevada Supreme Court […]
A newly filed lawsuit says CVS Health violated Virginia law when it dismissed a nurse practitioner who declined to prescribe or administer abortion-inducing drugs because of her religious beliefs. The suit says CVS accommodated the nurse practitioner’s religious beliefs for more than three years before abruptly pulling the accommodation and terminating her employment. It relies […]
It’s been a long and winding road for the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) since the law was passed in 1990. From the start, the statute’s text was filled with malleable terms and sometimes equivocal language that was in dire need of clarification and interpretation. Thankfully, in the three-plus decades since the law became effective, […]
This employer-friendly ruling highlights just how much freedom companies have to set job requirements – and choose the best candidates for the position. In this case, a Black applicant accused a university of not hiring him due to racial bias. A federal court disagreed. Key takeaways for HR: Managers might be able to list qualities […]
A new disability bias suit accuses the Salvation Army of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act by terminating a cashier on the basis of his disability. Like a legion of cases before it, the suit says the events triggering the wrongful termination coincided precisely with what has proven to be a surprisingly dangerous move for […]
A federal appeals court upheld a jury’s decision to award more than $5 million to a former IBM worker who said he was discharged for opposing what he believed was unlawful race bias. The case was filed under Washington state law, but it applies a rule that exists under federal laws against discrimination as well: […]
The tight labor market is pushing some employers to hire outside the U.S., while other global companies have been doing it for years! However, if you’re hiring globally, here’s one factor you must realize immediately: One size does not fit all when you’re creating global benefits. As if HR doesn’t have enough on its plate, […]
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reluctantly affirmed a lower court’s decision to reject sex bias claims filed by female detention officers who – unlike their male counterparts — were not allowed full weekends off. The case involved nine female detention service officers at the Dallas County Sheriff’s […]
A federal appeals court has upheld a decision to reject disability bias claims filed by a sleepwalking worker who mistakenly climbed into a co-worker’s hotel room bed during an out-of-town trip. Jennifer Harkey began working for NextGen Healthcare in 2008 in a position called “implementation specialist.” Things went well for a decade, and she was […]
The Eleventh Circuit upheld a $300,000 award for a fired employee after a jury determined her termination amounted to disability discrimination in violation of the ADA. Due to injuries sustained in a car accident, Ashley Merard had a tracheostomy tube that was visible on the front of her neck. In July of 2017, she was […]
It sounds simple and straightforward, but in plenty of cases it just doesn’t work out that way: To defeat a claim of unlawful age bias, provide a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for the challenged job action. That’s what a Philadelphia employer was able to do in a lawsuit that accused it of violating the federal Age […]
A federal jury awarded $5.1 million to a flight attendant who was fired after she sent pro-life messages to her union president, the National Right to Work (NRTW) Legal Defense Foundation announced. The flight attendant worked for Southwest Airlines and was a member of its union – the Transportation Workers Union of America (TWU) Local 556 – […]
