It was déjà vu all over again yesterday. In its much anticipated decision in Christiansen v. Omnicom Group, Inc. (opinion here), the Second Circuit concluded that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act does not cover discrimination based on sexual orientation. Like the Eleventh Circuit a few weeks ago, a three-judge…
You wouldn’t fire someone because they complained to you about sexual harassment at work. For starters, that would violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. But, Title VII’s anti-retaliation provisions are much broader than that. Title VII prohibits employers from retaliating against an employees who oppose unlawful harassment…
By Versageek (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia CommonsAlcoholism can be a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The EEOC notes here that the ADA may protect a “qualified” alcoholic who can meet the definition of “disability.” What is a “qualified” alcoholic? Someone who can perform…
No, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals didn’t say, “Oh, word?” But, it did just toss a $2,600,000 jury award in favor of a pharmacist in an Americans With Disabilities Act case. From $2.6M to zero That’s zero point zero. In Stevens v. Rite Aid Corp. (opinion here), a pharmacist…
A few weeks ago, a reader emailed me and asked if I would weigh in on how businesses should address employees talking about politics at work. On the one hand, in the private sector, there are no First Amendment Rights. Free speech is a big myth. ( I suppose that the National…
You folks in HR don’t have to read any further. Go do yeoman’s work today by putting the “human” in human resources. Or whatever it is you do each day. But, the lawyers. Let’s see if I can thaw some of your icy hearts with an irresistible invitation and offer.…
Who knew? I received a lot of feedback on last week’s post. That was the one about an EEOC lawsuit alleging that a company violated the Americans with Disabilities Act when it allegedly failed to accommodate a disabled employee’s request to use a service dog. Among the reader feedback was a question about…
On Friday, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, generally considered one of the more conservative appellate courts, issued a mixed-bag ruling in a high-profile LGBT-rights case. Sex stereotyping is unlawful; Title VII covers gender-nonconformity claims. In Evans v. Georgia Regional Hospital (opinion here), the Eleventh Circuit reaffirmed that Title VII of the Civil…
Serendipity may be one of the worst movies of all time. Of this, I am sure. Then again, I can’t stand John Cusack movies, especially that pretentious piece of one-know-what, High Fidelity. But, I’m not writing today to bash John Cusack. And, I’m not made of stone. Hot Tub Time Machine was…
Stick a fork in ’em. Less than six months ago, federal contractors were clutching their pearls over the prospect of having to publicly disclose violations under 14 federal workplace laws, to be eligible for a government contract. The following month, in October 2016, a federal judge iced those “blacklisting rules” with a…