Burger Time and Astrosmash…who’s with me, Millennials! [Sigh] What does any of this have to do with employment law? Not much, I guess. The lede said “points,” and then I started thinking about video games, and I’m a sucker for Intellivision nostalgia. Well, anyway, the key here is points. Last week, the…
Articles Posted in Discrimination and Unlawful Harassment
“Off-the-clock” discriminatory Facebook messages can create a hostile work environment
As I type this post, I’m watching two of my kids — one dressed as Olaf; the other Elsa — yelling at each other to stop singing Frozen tunes. Now, they’re wrestling — I don’t remember that from the movie. For a snowman, that Olaf is pretty tough. Oh, damn!…
A recap of EEOC Commissioner Chai Feldblum’s hour-long Twitter Q&A
Yesterday, EEOC Commissioner Chai Feldblum took over the Bloomberg Law Twitter handle (@Bloomberglaw) for an hour, and answered questions from employment-law Twitter nerds like me. Commissioner Feldblum covered the EEOC Select Task Force on Harassment, ADA/FMLA interplay, discrimination and social media, and much more. You can view the entire Q&A here.…
Latest study indicates rampant transgender discrimination at work
On Tuesday, voters in Houston, TX took to the polls and said no to Prop 1. That’s a ballot measure that would have outlawed discrimination at work against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees and job applicants. Amanda Terkel at The Huffington Post reports here that, despite having widespread support from local…
Court upholds employee firing after complaining about gay slurs. Was that a mistake?
Mr. Gaff worked as a custodian at a University. He claimed that, on several occasions, his subordinate called him a “fa***t.” So, Mr. Gaff complained to his supervisor. Then, Mr. Gaff was later fired. Retaliation? Are you going to be at the ABA Annual Labor & Employment Law Conference in Philly…
More EEOC rules on employer wellness programs are coming. Will yours make the cut?
Do you follow me on Twitter? If you do, you may have watched me live-streaming some of my one-year-old, who won Halloween hands-down. Well, that and you would have gotten the early heads up that the EEOC was issuing its proposed rules on the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), and its…
YouTube clips of “Live with Kelly and Michael” doom a manager’s discrimination claims
Personally, I’m more into The View. (And by The View, I mean The Walking Dead). [Disclaimer: This post involves an employer client of mine. However, I was not involved in this particular action]. If you’re going to play hooky, try not to have clips of it on YouTube. The case…
Did you hear the one about the HR Manager who’d never heard of Title VII?
The bottom of the first page of this recent federal court opinion in EEOC v. Star Transport, Inc. really grabbed my attention: In December 2008 or January 2009, Edward Briggs became Star Transport’s Human Resources Manager. He received no training on anti-discrimination laws, was not aware of any exceptions to…
Fact or Fiction: Denying a discretionary bonus may be discrimination?
That’s right folks. It’s time for another edition of “Fact or Fiction” a/k/a “Quick Answers to Quick Questions” a/k/a QATQQ f/k/a “I don’t feel like writing a long blog post.” Many claims of discrimination require proof of what’s called an “adverse employment action.” A firing would qualify; so would an…
Attendance may be an essential job function under the ADA. But, how do you know?
The regulations to the Americans with Disabilities Act include a non-exhaustive list of reasonable accommodations that may apply to allow an employee with a disability to perform the essential functions of the job. They include job restructuring; part-time or modified work schedules; reassignment to a vacant position; acquisition or modifications…