One racial slur. One termination. Zero liability. The Third Circuit’s newest hostile work environment decision is a masterclass in what prompt employer action actually looks like. TL;DR: A Black factory worker claimed his employer subjected him to a racially hostile work environment after a coworker used the n-word while talking…
President Trump’s new executive order for federal contractors bans something called “racially discriminatory DEI activities.” Read the definition and you’ll find it’s just discrimination — conduct Title VII has prohibited for sixty years. What the order actually adds is a new enforcement mechanism, and that’s what federal contractors need to…
I am an employment lawyer. I have spent over two decades helping employers avoid liability. Last week, I got a cease and desist letter. Against me. TL;DR: I received a cease and desist letter demanding that I immediately stop using the name “The Employer Handbook.” After careful legal review, I…
The Third Circuit just predicted that New Jersey’s “reverse discrimination” rule is incompatible with the NJLAD. Federal courts in New Jersey are no longer applying it. TL;DR: The Third Circuit predicted that the New Jersey Supreme Court would abolish the “Background Circumstances Rule,” the heightened burden imposed on majority-group plaintiffs…
Put simply, a performance improvement plan is designed to improve performance, not expose employers to liability. Courts used to see it that way too. That changed when the Supreme Court redefined what counts as an adverse employment action — and suddenly PIPs were in play. TL;DR: An IT employee placed…
She signed a severance release, collected her benefits, and then sued anyway. The Sixth Circuit just explained why that didn’t work – and why the employer’s paperwork made all the difference. TL;DR: The Sixth Circuit affirmed summary judgment for an employer after finding that a former employee’s severance release was…
According to the EEOC, a company told its staffing agencies not to send women for laborer jobs because women would “distract” male workers. When the EEOC sued, the company turned around and sued the staffing agencies too. A federal court just explained why that doesn’t work. TL;DR: A federal court…
He worked as a building superintendent for three and a half years. His employer conceded he did the work. He was never paid wages after his first two weeks. The New Jersey Supreme Court just explained why that arrangement is going to cost the employer. TL;DR: The New Jersey Supreme…
Two supervisors warned a new hire in his first weeks on the job: file an EEO complaint against us, and we’ll end your government career. Then they did. TL;DR: The Fourth Circuit vacated summary judgment for the employer on a Title VII retaliation claim after finding that an employee’s testimony…
Whatever the actual reason for firing an employee, the written explanation becomes evidence. A Mississippi restaurant is about to find out what that means. TL;DR: The EEOC has sued a Mississippi restaurant under the Americans with Disabilities Act, alleging it fired an employee with a seizure condition just days after…