She signed a severance release, collected her benefits, and then sued anyway. The Sixth Circuit just explained why that didn’t work – and why the employer’s paperwork made all the difference. TL;DR: The Sixth Circuit affirmed summary judgment for an employer after finding that a former employee’s severance release was…
Two supervisors warned a new hire in his first weeks on the job: file an EEO complaint against us, and we’ll end your government career. Then they did. TL;DR: The Fourth Circuit vacated summary judgment for the employer on a Title VII retaliation claim after finding that an employee’s testimony…
Some employment cases turn on close calls, messy comparators, or shaky documentation. This one turned on something simpler: an employee who admitted to a string of workplace misconduct and still tried to turn the termination into a discrimination, retaliation, and hostile-work-environment case. TL;DR: An Illinois federal court granted summary judgment…
That escalated quickly. A university fired its HR director and asked him to return his work laptop. He refused for months. Campus police eventually obtained a felony arrest warrant. When the former employee finally showed up with the laptop, officers arrested him. He then sued for retaliation. TL;DR: The U.S.…
A manager allegedly makes racially inappropriate jokes. Months later, the company eliminates a position in a nationwide cost-cutting initiative and reduces an employee’s hours. So she sues for race discrimination, retaliation, and hostile work environment. But she loses. TL;DR: The Eleventh Circuit affirmed summary judgment after a nationwide restructuring…
Employees do not need to use legal buzzwords to be protected from retaliation. But they do need to complain about the right thing. General workplace grievances are not the same as opposing unlawful discrimination, and courts continue to enforce that distinction. TL;DR: An employee’s internal grievance about unfair treatment…
Me? I probably would not tell the EEOC that I removed a Black employee from work because of her “introduction of race” into the workplace. Especially after she complained about race discrimination triggered by a question about attending a Black Lives Matter protest. But that is exactly what happened…
Performance improvement plans are often treated as neutral management tools. This case shows how quickly a PIP can become the centerpiece of a retaliation claim once an employee raises equity concerns. TL;DR: After an employee raised “boys’ club” concerns, her employer placed her on a performance improvement plan about…
If retaliation claims could be proven just by pointing to an employer’s handbook, summary judgment would be extinct. This court made clear that policies don’t replace proof. TL;DR: An employee argued that retaliation could be inferred because the employer’s harassment policy required managers to report complaints “up the ladder,” so…
HR professionals do not have a crystal ball. When an employee files an EEOC charge, no employer can predict how that dispute might later be reframed in a lawsuit or expanded with new legal theories. A recent Fourth Circuit decision recognizes that reality, while still reinforcing something practical…