A university professor did not have her employment contract renewed after two years on the job. Why not? She claimed it was in retaliation for previous internal complaints of discrimination. According to the school, there were several decision-makers, and most didn’t know she had complained. (So, how could they have…
The Employer Handbook Blog
What’s the worst that could happen to a former employee who hacks your network and lies to the feds about it?
Well, I don’t know if it’s the worst, but getting sentenced to 24 months in prison for a network intrusion and making false statements to a government agency sounds pretty bad. I was reading about this situation last night, and it sounded like something I would have blogged about before.…
Did you know that companies can sue for race discrimination too? (And potentially win.)
I’ve been practicing law for over 20 years, and I must concede that I did not know this. Here’s how it works. Let’s say two companies bid for a public contract. One is minority-owned; the other is not. The minority-owned company submits the lowest bid by a million dollars. However,…
Employers do not need to recreate accommodations that do not exist to help employees with disabilities
Federal anti-discrimination laws, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act, help ensure that individuals with disabilities have the same rights and opportunities at work as everyone else. Both laws require employers to provide individuals with disabilities with reasonable accommodations if needed to perform the essential functions…
A bipartisan group in Congress wants to make it easier for employees to prove age discrimination
On Monday, three House Republicans and three House Democrats reintroduced the Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act (POWADA), billed as a bipartisan proposal to strengthen anti-discrimination protections for older workers. How does POWADA accomplish this? The Age Discrimination In Employment Act makes it unlawful for an employer “to fail or refuse to hire…
An employee couldn’t show that ending her temporary position was discriminatory. I wonder why…
If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and swims like a duck, it’s probably a duck. Hold that thought while I tell you about someone who probably wouldn’t believe me. The plaintiff in the federal court decision I read last night had worked for the same employer…
As one person found out on Monday, it’s not so easy to prove sexual orientation bias when you’re straight.
One of the largest jury verdicts in recent memory for a claim of employment discrimination was a $25.6 million award to a white manager who alleged that her former employer fired her because of her race. But these wins involving discrimination against the so-called “majority” are few and far between.…
Noncompetition Agreements and Restrictive Covenants in New York
In June, the New York Senate approved this bill prohibiting noncompetition agreements and certain restrictive covenants. I wrote that the days of noncompetition agreements in New York “are as limited as the Knicks’ chances of winning another NBA title.” Oops. There are multiple reports, among them this one from Judy Greenwald…
This is what a settlement with the EEOC looks like after they sue for discrimination
A few months ago, I blogged about a lawsuit in which the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleged that an employer denied a deaf job applicant’s accommodation request and terminated his candidacy because verbal communication and hearing were job requirements for the position in a remote setting. Late last month,…
How can you tell if in-office work is truly an essential function of an employee’s job?
Wait, Eric! Didn’t you blog about this yesterday? Actually, yesterday’s post explored how you can tell if full-time work is essential to an employee’s job. But, to answer today’s question about in-office versus remote work, I’ll use the same Eleventh Circuit decision I addressed yesterday. We have an employee on…