Age Category Archives — Page 12 of 15 — The Employer Handbook Blog Published by Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Employment Lawyer

HELP WANTED: Seeking Senior VP of Sales, ideally 45-52 years old. Wait, WHAT?!?

August 17, 2015 | by Eric B. Meyer

I was going to blame the tardiness of today’s post on technical difficulties. Except, the only thing that was technically difficult about it was trying to muster the energy to blog last night after spending four hours in the sun with my 6-year-old at the Eagles first preseason game. I’m happy to report that the Eagles won, and, to the delight of the intoxicated masses who hung around in the fourth quarter — most everyone but me and my son — Tim Tebow scored a touchdown.

“Patience” is a great G N’ R song; not a reasonable accommodation under the ADA

June 17, 2015 | by Eric B. Meyer

Wow! I thought I’d seen it all in the employment space in the past 72 hours with this Rachel Dolezal downward spiral (bing, bang, boom).

But, this recent federal-court opinion I read last night. The one about an employee with Attention Deficit Disorder who was fired after discussing vaginal massages with a co-worker (even Tyrion Lannister would blush) restores my confidence in my chosen profession.

Rather than just walk away, why did this employee claim violations of various federal employment laws? Because the blog gods are good, my friends.

The pharmacist who refused to give flu shots lost his age discrimination claim

February 25, 2015 | by Eric B. Meyer

In a world, where an employee cannot prove age discrimination after getting fired for playing golf during his medical leave, comes the story of a pharmacist *** dramatic pause *** who wouldn’t give flu shots. While we wait for Hollywood to greenlight this movie — I’m thinking Gary Oldman as the pharmacist and Blossom‘s Jenna von Oy as the customer — you’ll just have to settle for a short blog post about the age discrimination lawsuit that ensued after the pharmacist was fired.

As detailed in this recent Pennsylvania federal court opinion, a drug store decided to require that its pharmacists immunize customers upon request. The plaintiff, a pharmacist, was morally opposed to administering the flu vaccine because a close friend of his had contracted Guillain-Barre Syndrome after receiving a flu vaccine. The drug store didn’t doubt the sincerity of the plaintiff’s beliefs. Nonetheless, it fired him because he refused to immunize customers, which was an essential part of his job. Continue reading

Caught playing golf during his leave, court slices plaintiff’s ADEA claim

February 20, 2015 | by Eric B. Meyer

See what I did there?

(Yes, folks, it was either that or a riff on clown’s mouths and windmills).

Federal appellate court foils the age discrimination claims of “Superman”

October 9, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

General Zod is not impressed

More on this case after the jump…

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The sleepy, old man with old ideas may have an age discrimination claim

September 11, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

Psst.

Want the secret to spotting a potential age discrimination claim a mile away?

I’ve got it for you after the jump.

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What’s hot at the EEOC? Plus, a legal roadmap for managing the aging workforce.

April 10, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

Thumbnail image for bagelcreamcheese.jpg

Whatcha doin’ two weeks from today?

Want to grab some breakfast with me? Maybe hear about what’s hot at the EEOC and get a legal roadmap for managing the aging workforce?

In you’re in the Philadelphia area and would like to learn more about these topics, then come on down to our offices on Thursday, April 24 at 8:30 AM for a free presentation with a complimentary continental breakfast. Lawyers can get CLE. HR credits will also be offered.

6 keys to having your age discrimination release hold up in court

September 26, 2013 | by Eric B. Meyer

You’re about to have a reduction in force and you’re going to offer a severance package to those effected: one week of salary for every year of service in exchange of a full release of all claims. If one or more employees affected by the reduction in force is 40 years of age or older, you’d better make sure that your release language complies with the the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (“ADEA”), as amended by the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act (“OWBPA”). Unlike other general releases, by statute, an ADEA/OWBPA release must have certain required elements for it to be effective.

One employer, in this recent case, learned the hard way. The employer RIFed the plaintiffs, but failed to inform them “about the group of employees who were being terminated as a result of the reorganization or about employees who were not selected for termination,” as the law requires. Consequently, the age discrimination release that the plaintiff signed wasn’t worth the paper it was printed on.

Kinda like this blog.

A supervisor’s swine flu death wish on an older employee leads to an age bias claim

September 10, 2013 | by Eric B. Meyer

Yesterday, our guest blogger offered three tips for successful onboarding.

Unable to match that, today, I have a less than successful way to encourage attrition — unless of course you like defending age discrimination claims.

A federal court has permitted a plaintiff’s claims that his ex-employer created a age-based hostile work environment to proceed to trial. And, get a load of the supervisor stupidity:

Princeton study reveals that older employees face “subtle bias” in the workplace

July 25, 2013 | by Eric B. Meyer

Under federal law, the bar is set higher for proving age discrimination, as opposed to other forms of unlawful discrimination based on protected classes such as race, gender, or disability.

While difficult to prove, a recent article from The New York Times suggests that age discrimination in the workplace may be more common than we realize.