The Employer Handbook Blog
…other staff, on the job, wasn’t protected activity, regardless of whether the underlying harassment complaints were themselves legitimate. The court was direct that if the harassment happened as described, it…
Search Results for: concerted activity
The ADA at 36: Why Good Faith and Documentation Are Still Where Cases Are Won or Lost.
…still qualifies if it would substantially limit a major life activity when active. What the reset changed for your defense Making coverage easy to establish moved the whole fight downstream,…
When “Boys Will Be Boys” Becomes Exhibit A
…he believed discrimination was behind them. Without that, there was no protected activity for the company to retaliate against. None of this stopped the underlying conduct from resurfacing once the…
She Called Equity Training Racist. Her Own Words About a Black Employee Said Otherwise.
…this is the more useful holding for HR. To count as protected activity, an employee’s belief has to be objectively reasonable, not just sincerely held. The employee genuinely believed the…
Trashing an Employee on Social Media Can Count as Retaliation
…can itself count as retaliation, and that criticizing an industry-wide practice can count as protected activity even without naming the employer directly. 📄 Read the opinion The Social Media…
Texas Voted to Require Bible Readings in Public Schools. Try That at Your Company and See What Happens.
…religious activity as a condition of employment. A mandatory Bible reading policy in a secular workplace would almost immediately surface at least three problems. First, a policy that requires employees…
When a False Harassment Accusation Gets Your Employee Fired, Can You Be Sued for Defamation? A Federal Appeals Court Says Maybe.
…statute. Filing a harassment complaint is protected activity, which means terminating the complainant, even for lying, can look like retaliation. The complainant loses that protection only if they lacked a…
The Racial Slur the CEO Knew About. The $21 Million Verdict That Followed.
…protected activity, the expansion could seem like retaliation. The inquiry here started as HIPAA and grew into a broad leadership review after the employee spoke up at a board meeting….
The Moment FMLA Protection Kicks In Might Be Earlier Than You Think
…paperwork is protected activity, reversing the district court on that point, but affirmed summary judgment for the employer because two-plus years of documented performance problems and a signed last-chance agreement…
“De Minimis” Is Not a Magic Eraser for Seven Daily Minutes of Off-the-Clock Work
…Because whether a pre-shift activity is integral and indispensable depends on what the employee actually does, employers with large, diverse workforces need to run that analysis role by role. De…