So much labor-and-employment-law news this week, I’ll do what I can to cram it into a single post. Here goes… From Seth Borden at Labor Relations Today comes this news about the Senate agreeing to — gasp — seat a full five-member National Labor Relations Board. How could this happen?…
Articles Posted in Discrimination and Unlawful Harassment
Iowa S. Ct.: Upon review, firing the attractive female was not sex discrimination
So, by now, all of you must be familiar with the case in Iowa — I’ve blogged the heck out of it here and here — where the male dentist fired the attractive female hygienist, ostensibly because his wife was concerned that the hygienist’s continued employment might affect their marriage…
One step closer to federally-protected LGBT rights in the workplace
Normally, I get my Thursday post fodder from the Wiggity Wiggity Wonky Wednesday edition of Cracked Magazine. Hard hitting stuff like “7 Dick Moves Everyone Pulled in Classic Video Games” and “The Worst Imaginary Friends to Be Stuck With.” But, for today’s post, I read this newspaper called the Washington Post.…
Obesity as a workplace disability? One court bucks the trend and says no.
In mid-June, the American Medical Association concluded that obesity is a disease “requiring a range of medical interventions to advance obesity treatment and prevention.” This news led Jon Hyman at the Ohio Employer’s Law Blog to conclude that classification of obesity as a “disease” has huge employment law implications;…
The one about the porta-potty harassment
Hey, they can’t all be about Brazilian waxes and irresistible attraction. After the jump, we get down and dirty. * * * At a hospital construction site in Kentucky, male employees used porta potties. Now, these porta-potties weren’t your standard, run-of-the-mill porta potties like the one in the picture. No,…
YYYOUCH! Employee fired for refusing Brazilian wax claims sex discrimination.
You know, maybe I should have gone with the porta-potty-harassment post that I originally had planned for today. Nah. My analytics tell me that my best-received posts have a common theme: crotch and Brazil. Besides, everyone knows that nothing says Friday like a porta-potty post. Just wait ’til Friday. So…
Supreme Court DOMA ruling “In Plain English”; impact on employers
Want an explanation of yesterday Supreme Court decision regarding challenges to California’s ban on same-sex marriage and the federal Defense of Marriage Act, check out Amy Howe’s analysis “In Plain English” at SCOTUSblog.com. And for more on yesterday’s decision and the impact it may have on your business, check out:…
Employee teased with small penis jokes has a viable sexual harassment claim
[Whichever one of you had the voodoo doll positioned in such a way that wouldn’t allow me to pun this lede, I’m gonna git you sucka!] In Hayes v. Erickson Air-Crane, Co. (opinion here), a male plaintiff was constantly barraged with small penis nicknames from his male co-workers ranging from…
Supreme Court delivers two — count ’em TWO — wins for employers
This week, I am on vacation. The Supreme Court didn’t get my memo. Fine. But, I’m not putting down my beer to write this post. So, you get a one-handed rundown of the two employment-law decisions the court issued yesterday. Pardon my typos after the jump… * * * A…
When a hostile work environment isn’t a hostile work environment
Every so often, I get a call from an employee. The call goes something like this: “I need an employment lawyer. Are you an employment lawyer?” “Yes.” “Good. Because I am dealing with a hostile work environment.” “Well, I generally only represent employers. So—” “— But, my hostile work environment…