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Articles Posted in Discrimination and Unlawful Harassment

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A job duty performed 5% of the time is probably not ADA-essential, you guys

“Smithers, refill my lime rickey. And find me a dunce cap. Post haste.” The Americans with Disabilities Act requires employers to provide a reasonable accommodation, upon request, to an individual with a disability to enable that person to perform the essential functions of the job. Oftentimes, the questions arises: What are…

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Enforce your social media policies evenly. Otherwise, it’s bloggy-blog time.

An employee who was allegedly fired for violating a company’s social media policy is going to have his day in court. And on this blog. Chris Redford, a white male, worked for a Louisiana TV news station. The station has a social media policy prohibiting employees from responding to viewer…

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EEOC Commissioner Feldblum responds to my post about transgender discrimination

You’re right, Commissioner Feldblum. Social media is awesome! Last Friday, I posted here about a recent federal-court decision addressing the sex discrimination claims of a transgender employee. What drew my attention to the case was this Facebook status update from EEOC Commissioner Chai Feldblum, in which she touted the court’s decision as further support for…

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Did a federal court just rule that transgender discrimination is sex discrimination?

Back in April, the EEOC concluded that transgender discrimination is discrimination based on sex and, therefore, violates Title VII. That same month, a federal court denied another employer’s motion to dismiss the sex discrimination claims of a transgender employee. However, in denying the motion to dismiss, the court did not…

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ADA accommodation requests generally require a, um, oh what’s the word? “Request.”

  The Americans with Disabilities Act requires an employer to accommodate an employee with a disability, if doing so will enable that individual to perform the essential functions of the job. The exception is if the accommodation would create undue hardship for the employer. But when is that duty to accommodate…

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Can a company regulate employee weight and appearance?

According to a New Jersey appellate court, Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa can do it. Two years ago, a NJ trial court judge dismissed the claims of 22 female cocktail servers, also known as “BorgataBabes,” who claimed that they were victims of gender and weight discrimination. Borgata dictates that its BorgataBabes, both…

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Firing an employee for complaining on Facebook about discrimination = retaliation

And when the employer practically admits as much at a deposition = hella-stupid retaliation Yet, that’s what apparently happened, as described in the recent Michigan federal court decision in Brown v. Oakland County. Before I discuss that decision, I have a little contest for you. There is a great* employment-law decision involving…