It may seem like firing a poorly performing employee would be cut and dried. But when that employee belongs to a protected class and feels they were discriminated against, things get tricky. One company recently landed in court because of…
Employment Law
Showing a preference for younger employees can violate the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) and land a company in court -- something coffee giant Starbucks is facing right now. A nationwide class action lawsuit has been filed, claiming the…
What do you think: If news gets out that a new employee was once a man but is now a woman, are co-workers likely to hassle her? An Illinois federal judge said yes. The judge refused to dismiss her claims…
A new ruling from a federal appeals court favors employers who seek to steer employees toward arbitration and away from a courtroom in the event of an employment-related claim or dispute. The ruling makes it relatively easy for employers within…
With OSHA's emergency temporary standard (ETS) in place and going into effect in Jan. 2022, many employees have begun to push back against the COVID-19 vaccine mandate. Most recently, a religious group petitioned the 5th Circuit to put a stop…
Every employer knows that firing an employee who makes discrimination complaints can lead to a retaliation lawsuit. But what happens when the employee is fired for how they made the complaints, and not for making them? A court addressed this…
The EEOC has issued new guidance addressing religious objections to workplace COVID-19 vaccination requirements. This updated EEOC guidance discusses the interplay between vaccine requirements and Title VII. Title VII applies to employers with at least 15 employees. It does not…
The recent outcome of a discrimination lawsuit shows employers that racial bias doesn't just affect minority employees. When one company discriminated against a white male worker, it ended up paying $10 million to settle the suit. Here's what happened. Fired…
It's never good when harassment occurs in the workplace, but when an employee is subjected to multiple types of harassment, the employer is going to be held liable if it doesn't take swift action. Here's a breakdown of a recent…
An office manager said that when she told her employer she was pregnant, it told her that she could take up to three months of FMLA leave but pressured her to return to work sooner. She and her supervisor agreed…
The IRS just offered employers a helping hand. How? By removing barriers to hire retirees and possibly even encourage employees who reach retirement age to continue working. As a business, you know how hard it is to keep a full…
Finding substantial evidence supported a Tennessee school district’s decision to dismiss a teacher for driving under the influence and threatening a co-worker, the Court of Appeals of Tennessee upheld his dismissal. For almost 20 years, the teacher instructed students with…
When an employee quit her job after only five days, citing terrible working conditions, she sued for constructive discharge. But a court sided with the company, ruling the employee didn't give the employer enough time to correct the situation. Here's…
Sometimes, an applicant or employee is not qualified for a job because of a basic inability to adequately perform its essential functions. At other times, disqualification occurs because the plaintiff lacks required credentials for the position. That was the case…
The transition from an onsite workforce to a fully remote workforce was quick. And at the time, few really expected the pandemic to last as long as it has. Now, we have to deal with the fact most federal, state…
A jury ruled in favor of an employee who said his employer unlawfully neglected to reasonably accommodate his claustrophobia when it put him an an office with no window. Robert Turco was a senior project manager for Zambelli Fireworks, which…
