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Articles Posted in Discrimination and Unlawful Harassment

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How much leave from work is unreasonable under the ADA? [SPOILER ALERT: Not much]

That’s because, last week, a federal appellate court held that long-term medical leave is not a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act. 12 weeks of FMLA plus 2-3 more months of leave. The case is Severson v. Heartland Woodcraft, Inc., and you can read the Seventh Circuit’s opinion here.…

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No, President Trump, NFL owners cannot legally fire players that #TakeTheKnee

And it has nothing to do with the First Amendment and freedom of speech. ICYMI, some NFL players decided to protest during this week’s games. On September 23, at a rally for Alabama Republican Senate candidate Luther Strange, President Donald Trump called upon National Football League owners to fire NFL players…

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Does the ADA require you to favor minimally-qualified disabled employees over rock-star job applicants?

It depends. (Of course, it does). Suppose that you employ someone who, during the course of his employment, becomes disabled. This disability makes it impossible for the employee to perform his current job. Enter the Americans with Disabilities Act. The ADA requires an employer to provide a reasonable accommodation to a qualified…

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Is the EEOC going “wishy-washy” on LGBT rights at work?

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission believes that discrimination based on LGBT status amounts to sex discrimination. Sex discrimination is unlawful under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. However, some recent comments imply that the EEOC’s position on LGBT rights at work may change. Like, how about…

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3 complaints and an investigation with discipline, how could an employer not know about possible harassment?!?

I’m not sure what kind of evidence a federal jury was expecting when it concluded that two plaintiff-intervenors (i.e., the alleged victims of sexual harassment on whose behalf the EEOC pursued claims) did not do enough to notify the employer-defendant about possible harassment in the workplace. And neither did a federal judge…

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“Perverse and absurd,” today’s post isn’t really as fun as it sounds.

Not even close to that fun. No, it’s about a guy who got fired after his employer concluded that he had gained unauthorized access to its electronic files. It just so happens that the plaintiff accessed those files to assist his employer in defending two discrimination actions that other employees…

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Can a man claim pregnancy discrimination? A man, baby!

Austin Powers, Eric? Yeah, sorry. I’m all tapped out after yesterday’s fantasy football spectacular. So, pregnancy-discrimination, eh? The facts in Estate of Andrew Tyler Pennington v. Southern Motion, Inc. (opinion here) are rather straightforward. Mr. Pennington worked for Southern Motion, Inc. According to the plaintiff, shortly before Mr. Pennington’s employment with Southern Motion…

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Your company’s generous parental leave benefits could actually trigger a discrimination lawsuit

Just before the Labor Day weekend, I blogged here about an Americans with Disabilities Act complaint filed in federal court by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that should have employers scrutinizing their leave policies and procedures. Today, I’ve got news of another EEOC lawsuit filed in my backyard in the Eastern…

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Does the ADA ever require six months of employee leave? Sure does, says the EEOC.

Is this the face of a company that would fire an employee who was on leave receiving treatment for breast cancer rather than granting her request for additional leave for more treatment? Yes indeed according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.According to this press release and this complaint filed in…