You’re about to have a reduction in force and you’re going to offer a severance package to those effected: one week of salary for every year of service in exchange of a full release of all claims. If one or more employees affected by the reduction in force is 40…
Articles Posted in Discrimination and Unlawful Harassment
Employee asks court to stop company from making her work Saturdays
Sounds like someone’s taken a page out of the Lionel Hutz playbook. Patrice Williams is a Seventh-Day Adventist. Seventh-Day Adventists believe that the Sabbath runs from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday. Because of her sincerely-held religious beliefs, Ms. Williams requested that her employer not require her to work during the…
Court ok’s firing EAP employee upset with company’s workplace investigation
J. Neil DeMasters worked as an EAP counselor for Carilion Clinic. During the course of his employment, a co-worker came to him complaining to have been a victim of sexual harassment. Mr. DeMasters relayed his co-worker’s complaint to HR. Then he was fired. Does Mr. DeMasters have a possible retaliation…
Does the ADA mandate transfer preferences for disabled employees?
Last Friday, I had the pleasure of speaking at the National Employment Lawyers Association – New Jersey Annual Conference. I must admit that I was a bit leery. While it sounded legitimate enough — they asked me to speak on a panel addressing accommodation issues under the Americans with…
How ordering cheesesteaks can help employers with disability-accommodation requests
In Philadelphia, we’re known for certain things, such as cheesesteaks. Ordering the cheesesteak is a bit of an art form. For example, I could order a “Cheese steak, with Cheez Whiz and fried onions.” Or, I could simply say, “Cheese wit.” As most anyone around her knows that Cheez…
Body shots + booty shorts + live office sex = no sexual harassment
Sounds like one crazy party. Or just another Thursday at the Pine Woods Apartments. Kristen Glemser had no idea… On December 7, 2006, Kristen Glemser, a marketing/leasing agent for Pine Woods showed up for work, just like she would any other day. Except that some of the ladies in the…
EEOC Commissioner Feldblum provides answers on obesity as an ADA disability
About two years ago, the EEOC sued a Texas company, alleging that the company engaged in disability discrimination, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, when it fired a 680-pound worker because he was morbidly obese. The EEOC alleged that the employee’s immense weight interfered with his ability to…
Waitress suspended for posting racist customer receipt on Facebook
It’s a story that first made news over the weekend and is quickly picking up steam, ironically, because of social media. A customer at a Tennessee Red Lobster restaurant allegedly left a racist message on a receipt. An African American waitress subsequently posted the receipt to Facebook with the message: “This…
A supervisor’s swine flu death wish on an older employee leads to an age bias claim
Yesterday, our guest blogger offered three tips for successful onboarding. Unable to match that, today, I have a less than successful way to encourage attrition — unless of course you like defending age discrimination claims. A federal court has permitted a plaintiff’s claims that his ex-employer created a age-based hostile…
Under the ADA, even a 15-minute task may be an essential job function
Kolja Vraniskoska worked as an Environmental Services Technician for Franciscan Communities, Inc., a nursing home. Ms. Vran– (eh, let’s go with Ms. V) — had several responsibilities as an ES Tech, one of which was pushing and unloading a linen cart. Franciscan required that each ES Tech take a linen…