You may recall that in 2021 the State of Florida, in a much-publicized move, passed a law called the “Stop W.O.K.E. Act,” which banned Florida employers from mandating employee attendance to any training or instruction that...more
3/8/2024
/ Class Action ,
Discrimination ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
First Amendment ,
Florida ,
Race Discrimination ,
Stop Woke Act ,
Title VII ,
Unconstitutional Condition
If you are an employer covered by the federal Fifth Circuit (Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi), you are probably familiar with the “ultimate employment decision” standard: In determining whether an employee suffered an...more
Many workplaces allow their employees to listen to music or radio on site. But what if employees choose to blast “sexually graphic” and “violently misogynistic” songs throughout a warehouse? Does it matter whether the...more
For employers, figuring out what constitutes an adverse employment action under Title VII may seem elusive. In general, an adverse employment action is an ultimate employment decision that affects job duties, compensation or...more
On December 13, President Biden signed the Respect for Marriage Act, which passed the Senate and House with bipartisan support. Many see the bill as a reaction to a concurrence in the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v....more
12/16/2022
/ Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Diversity ,
Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Joe Biden ,
LGBTQ ,
Marriage ,
New Legislation ,
State and Local Government ,
Title VII
Does a plaintiff have to specify not only the facts but also the law that applies? In Bye v. MGM Resorts, Inc., the Fifth Circuit looks at a common pleading issue: What do you do when a plaintiff pleads facts that may or may...more
An employer establishes a weekend work policy where only male employees can take both days off, and female employees can only take one weekend day off. Sounds like gender discrimination maybe? Well, in Hamilton, et al. v....more
Let’s say you are tired of your current position and want to try something new with the same employer. You apply for a job transfer, and you are turned down. Then you find out that other people were able to make the move more...more
The joint employer rule has been a hot topic in the last several years, mostly in the context of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Recall the drama of the Trump administration's narrower definition of a joint employer for...more
There has been a lot of discussion over the last few years about the joint employer test for liability under employment statutes. Whether it be Uber drivers in California or the back and forth over the Trump administration’s...more
In another chapter in litigation alliteration, in Maner v. Dignity Health, f/k/a Catholic Healthcare West, the Ninth Circuit held that a male employee’s theory that his supervisor’s long-term romantic relationship with a...more
9/9/2021
/ Discrimination ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Preferred Treatment ,
Retaliation ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Summary Judgment ,
Termination ,
Title VII ,
Workplace Romances
Employers seeking to diversify their workforces need to remember that Title VII’s prohibition on class-based discrimination still applies — even if your motives are pure. The EEOC announced that it settled a lawsuit in which...more
Bradley attorneys have partnered with Lexology to draft the Getting the Deal Through Employment chapter for Mississippi.
This guide covers a state snapshot, the employment relationship, hiring, wage and hour,...more
11/10/2020
/ Agribusiness ,
Documentation ,
Employees ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Standards Act ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Form I-9 ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Immigration ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
New Guidance ,
Policies and Procedures ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
State Regulators ,
Title VII ,
Unions
Retaliation claims in employment litigation have been on the rise for years. The typical scenario has an employee reporting some sort of alleged discriminatory act, either against them or a coworker, followed by the employer...more
In a case that garnered big headlines, the Supreme Court weighed in yesterday on whether a claimant’s failure to amend her EEOC charge divests the federal court from hearing part of her Title VII claim. While the decision...more
6/5/2019
/ Affirmative Defenses ,
Amended Complaints ,
Appeals ,
Charge-Filing Preconditions ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Forfeiture ,
Fort Bend County Texas v Davis ,
Jurisdictional Requirements ,
Mandatory Claim-Processing Rules ,
Reaffirmation ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Discrimination ,
Retaliation ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Time-Barred Claims ,
Title VII ,
Waiver Rule ,
Wrongful Termination
Employment law is full of burden-shifting, prima facie standards and evidentiary hurdles. Sometimes, even the courts apply the wrong standard at the wrong stage of a case. That appears to be what happened in the case of...more
5/23/2019
/ Appeals ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Discovery ,
Disparate Treatment ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Evidentiary Standards ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
National Origin Discrimination ,
Pleading Standards ,
Reversal ,
Summary Judgment ,
Title VII
In Wittmer v. Phillips 66, Judge James Ho of the Fifth Circuit wasted no time stating the Fifth Circuit’s position on whether sexual orientation or transgender status are protected classes under Title VII – they are not....more
2/15/2019
/ Appeals ,
Gender Identity ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Interviews ,
Job Applicants ,
LGBTQ ,
Misrepresentation ,
Protected Class ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Summary Judgment ,
Title VII ,
Transgender
Employment lawyers and most HR professionals are familiar with the Faragher-Ellerth defense to a claim of sexual harassment. In short, if an employer can show that (1) it exercised reasonable care to prevent and correct...more
9/13/2018
/ Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Appeals ,
Complaint Procedures ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Dismissals ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Failure to Report ,
Faragher/Ellerth defense ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Hostile Environment ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Retaliation ,
Reversal ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Title VII
If an employee gets a doctor’s note saying she can’t participate in training because of a physical limitation, does that make her disabled? It might if you treat her like she is—at least that is what the Eleventh Circuit...more
1/17/2018
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Descriptions ,
Race Discrimination ,
Reversal ,
Summary Judgment ,
Title VII ,
Unpaid Leave
The Fifth Circuit has issued another opinion in the continuing saga of Jackson State University and its past athletic director, Dr. Vivian Fuller—this one about retaliation against a witness. To refresh everyone’s memory: A...more
U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a memo to all U.S. Attorneys revising how the Department of Justice will address gender identity claims under Title VII. In 2014, the Obama Administration DOJ stated that gender...more
Can an employer distinguish between moms and dads when granting paid parental leave for care for a newborn? Bank JP Morgan appears to believe so. Derek Rotondo requested parental leave when his wife was expecting their second...more
8/8/2017
/ American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Gender Equity ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Paid Leave ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Parental Leave ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Wage and Hour
Just how far do you have to go to accommodate an employee’s off-the-beaten-path religious belief? The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled that you at least have to give the same accommodations you give to disabled...more
On Tuesday, the Seventh Circuit jumped into the Title VII sexual orientation discussion with both feet. In Hively v. Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana, a full-court reversed an earlier three judge panel decision, finding...more
Is there a difference between being discriminated against because of your sexual orientation versus being discriminated against for not conforming to a gender stereotype? In most areas of the country, there most certainly is...more