You are about to enter another dimension. A journey into the world of discrimination and retaliation. Consider, if you will, the case of an employee who suspects that he or she is about to be fired or demoted for misconduct...more
9/6/2024
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Demotions ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Performance Reviews ,
Performance Standards ,
Protected Activity ,
Retaliation ,
Termination ,
Wage and Hour
The following may be a true story. The events depicted allegedly took place in Lompoc, California, in 2020. Out of deference to the judges involved, their names have not been used. Out of respect for the victim, her story...more
“Millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute.” That slogan became a rallying cry for Federalists during the XYZ Affair in 1798. Way back then, France and England were at war. What a surprise. The fledgling United...more
You’ve got an employee who is an outspoken critic of your company’s equal employment policies or practices. He or she has violated your dress code by wearing anti-discrimination messages, fomented discontent amongst your...more
If you answered no, then you’d better have the records needed to prove the number of overtime hours worked by your employees and the rates paid for them. If you don’t have the records, then borrowing a rhyme from the legal...more
When I was in high school, the foreign language offerings were French and Spanish. That was a long, long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away. Today, the best I can do in Spanish is ask your name, what time it is, and how to...more
Chutzpah is a Yiddish word derived from the Aramaic ḥuṣpāh. It means impudence, gall, and an audacious disregard for rules. In the world of employment law, it can aptly describe employees who try to get what they want...more
3/12/2024
/ Back Pay ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Groff v DeJoy ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Religious Beliefs ,
Substantial Burden ,
Title VII ,
Undue Hardship ,
Vaccinations ,
Wage and Hour
Branch Rickey, former General Manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers and the man who gave Jackie Robinson his shot in the Big Leagues, once said that luck is the residue of design. (Actually, the phrase may come from the British...more
It’s an election year. Be careful out there.
“A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away,” I represented labor unions. Actually, it was more like 30+ years ago and a few miles down I-85 in Atlanta. Just like that opening...more
12/19/2023
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Relations ,
Misclassification ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act ,
Union Elections ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
In August 2022 the National Labor Relations Board issued its decision in Tesla, Inc.,holding that an employer bears the burden of proving “special circumstances” if it “interferes in any way with its employees’ right to...more
12/12/2023
/ Dress Codes ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Special Circumstances Doctrine ,
Tesla ,
UAW ,
Uniforms ,
Union Insignia ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
It’s the fourth quarter. Three seconds are left on the clock, and your team is losing by one point. Your place kicker confidently trots onto the field to attempt the game-winning field goal. As he does, the TV announcer says,...more
In Part One of this two-part bulletin, we explored the expansive meaning of religious beliefs entitled to an accommodation under Title VII and the reluctance of courts to second guess whether a belief is “religious” in...more
On September 25 a federal court in New York dismissed a lawsuit accusing an employer of failing to accommodate an employee’s religious beliefs as a member of the “Temple of the Healing Spirits” located in “Deland city,...more
Hair. In some religions it is considered a sacred gift from God that should not be cut. In other religions, it must be styled, covered, or cut in particular ways. These religious practices may result in employees’ requesting...more
In the Broadway musical Pajama Game, based on the 1953 novel 7½ Cents by Richard Bissell, employees at the aptly named Sleep-Tite Pajama Factory want a pay increase of 7½ cents per hour.
(Like I said, the novel was written...more
In its recent en banc opinion in Hamilton v. Dallas County, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit overturned nearly 30 years of precedent that required Title VII plaintiffs to allege that they had been subjected to...more
Must an employer preserve business-related text messages between employees using their personal cell phones? Can a judge punish an employer for failing to do so? According to a federal judge in Texas, the answer to the first...more
Can the playing of rap music in the workplace create a sexually hostile environment? Can it do so even when both men and women are offended by the lyrics? In Sharp v. S&S Activewear, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth...more
At one time or another, one of your employees may have had a serious health condition resulting in multiple absences, followed by a release to return to work with restrictions that you believed prevented the employee from...more
A recent opinion from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit provides good reason for employers to make a robust effort at maintaining and disseminating a policy against discrimination and harassment....more
Common sense suggests that once the discipline train has left the station an employee should not be able to derail it by filing a charge of discrimination or engaging in other protected activity. This concept is typically...more
With a shout-out to Shakespeare and a TV quiz show that ran in the mid-1950s and ended in scandal, this is a question that any business using independent contractors needs to answer. When adjusted for inflation and the...more
Back in April, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued an opinion that appears to make it much easier for collective actions under the Fair Labor Standards Act to proceed to trial. Last week, the court hit the...more
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, roughly 24 percent of working Americans performed some work at home in 2019. Because of the nightmare that 2020 has become, with its pandemic, hurricanes, forest fires, and social...more
This year has come in like a lion and -- with the pandemic continuing, protesters still marching, and a presidential election looming -- it will not go out like a lamb. Issues ranging from systemic racism to wearing masks...more