In this Friday post, I shared some technical guidance from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice to help employers navigate the Americans with Disabilities Act when using software, algorithms, and artificial intelligence to assess job applicants and employees. But employers using hiring software can discriminate in other…
More employers now are using software, algorithms, and artificial intelligence to make smarter hiring decisions. There’s nothing inherently unlawful about that. Except, consider this. Maybe the algorithm intentionally or unintentionally “screens out” an individual with a disability, even though that individual can do the job with a reasonable accommodation. Tangentially, an…
His claims were so old that they predate the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Let’s see how his ADA lawsuit turned out. (Spoiler alert: Not well). I’d been meaning to blog about this Sixth Circuit decision for a while. Here are the relevant facts: In 1980, the plaintiff suffered…
Probably not. My Google Alerts were blowing up this weekend with reports of the story: Florida teacher allegedly fired after discussing sexuality with students Florida Teacher Fired for Discussing Sexual Orientation Sparks Debate Teacher Says She Was Fired After Talking to Students About Sexuality Most of the reports I read…
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is providing strategies for employers to expand employment opportunities for workers with unemployment gaps. And there’s also a double-secret EEO-1 Component 1 Report filing extension. Employing the unemployed Last week, the EEOC and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance…
That reads a little bit like a headline from The Onion. But according to this press release from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, a company will pay $79,000 and provide other relief to settle a federal disability discrimination lawsuit in which the EEOC charged that the company violated the…
Last night, I read this federal court opinion where a defendant, sued after firing a plaintiff who used CBD for her disability, got the entire case dismissed. So, let’s talk about how and why. According to the plaintiff’s complaint, she had a disability for which she used an over-the-counter CBD…
Hopefully, this question doesn’t have you clutching your pearls. I assume that your business has both an anti-harassment policy and regular training. But some of your employees are jerks. Some use foul language, make rude comments, and even cross the line into behavior that may foster a hostile work environment,…
The general rule in employment law is that an employer’s inconsistencies and contradictions breathe life into discrimination claims. But there are some exceptions. Proving pretext. For example, last night, I read this federal court decision involving an employee fired shortly after complaining to HR about an offensive comment from a…
I can’t make this stuff up. The former Zamboni driver for a professional hockey team claims that the team unlawfully fired him based on his age (68) and disability (benign prostatic hypertrophy, which causes a frequent and uncontrollable need to urinate). Unfortunately for the plaintiff, a rather startling admission may…