It depends. Suppose the company is firing the employee for poor performance, which has nothing to do with the underlying lawsuit that someone else filed. In that case, the termination would not violate the Fair Labor Standard Act’s antiretaliation provision, which makes it unlawful to retaliate against an employee for…
American support for labor unions is at its highest level in over 50 years, and most non-union workers would consider joining a union. With the increased popularity of organized labor and the National Labor Relations Board making it easier for unions to organize and employees to show union support, are…
Here’s a situation that may arise from time to time. Perhaps, you’ve dealt with it too. One employee complains to the company about a co-worker’s alleged unwanted sexual contact in the workplace. So, what does the company do? Title VII Of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (and any number…
Remember when we used to hang out on Friday afternoons on Zoom and talk about employment law? It wasn’t as dorky as it sounds. We called it The Employer Handbook Zoom Happy Hour. I usually had a few guests presenting with me. But there were no PowerPoints. Actually, it was…
That’s the vibe I got from reading this recent Fifth Circuit decision affirming the lower court’s dismissal of age discrimination claims. The plaintiff was one of five Zone Human Resources Directors (ZHRDs) for the defendant. Each ZHRD had its own zone. In 2018, the defendant decided that each ZHRD would…
Last night, just as I finished revising my Expert Analysis submission on workplace drug testing to Law360, another new Law360 article on cannabis use caught my eye. Whether by industry regulation or perhaps in an employee handbook, rules of ethics govern many workplaces. Rules of Professional Conduct govern the practice…
I can’t tell you how to get toothpaste back in the tube. However, I can offer two ways to avoid losing a discrimination lawsuit when a biased supervisor recommends terminating a direct report. Before I share these tiny pearls of wisdom, I want to remind you to register (here) for the…
A recent decision from the Third Circuit Court of Appeals addresses the extent to which an employer may lawfully dig up reasons to terminate a current employee who has already sued for discrimination. The plaintiff initially filed a lawsuit against his employer alleging race discrimination, retaliation, and a race-based hostile…
This one company I’m going to tell you about today allegedly acted so egregiously that it drew the attention of (and a lawsuit from) the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Imagine that someone comes to HR one day and complaints about sex discrimination. Do you? Reassure the complainant that the…
You guys remember ‘Central Park Karen,’ right? I wrote about her last year. ‘Central Park Karen’ (not her real name) is a white woman who worked as a portfolio manager for an investment company in New York. That is until a video went viral on social media. That video depicted…