Discrimination and Unlawful Harassment

Appellate court rules that age discrimination against certain job applicants is okay — sort of.

January 28, 2019 | by Eric B. Meyer

https://www.theemployerhandbook.com/files/2019/01/resume-cv-resume-template-application-apply-business-1445849-pxhere.com_.jpg

Image Credit: Pxhere.com (https://pxhere.com/en/photo/1445849)

Last week, the full Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals issued this decision in which it held that an outside job applicant cannot pursue a disparate impact claim under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.

What does this mean in plain English?

Continue reading

Girl Scout Cookies and Employment Law – Almost Everything That HR Needs To Know

January 25, 2019 | by Eric B. Meyer

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Won’t you help little Ivy Meyer achieve her Girl Scout Cookies sales goal?

It’s that time of year again.

Coworkers have begun bombarding you with requests to purchase Girl Scout Cookies. So, in that spirit, let’s tackle:

Whether unions will start organizing your workplace if you relax your no-solicitation policy to allow employees to sell Girl Scout Cookies;
Can employees use your email system to proselytize if co-workers use it to sell Girl Scout Cookies; and
A bonus discrimination case involving the sale of Girl Scout Cookies gone terribly wrong.

Another court greenlights discrimination claims for a medical marijuana user fired for failing a drug test

January 22, 2019 | by Eric B. Meyer

By xrmap flag collection – Based on image from xrmap flag collection 2.7, colors from image at World Flag Database, Public Domain, Link

In the United States, medical marijuana use is legal in 33 states and the District of Columbia. However, the laws governing the use of medical marijuana vary from state to state. Continue reading

Workplace lessons from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

January 21, 2019 | by Eric B. Meyer

See page for author [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Continue reading

How can HR convince the C-Suite to purchase anti-harassment training in 2019?

January 17, 2019 | by Eric B. Meyer

Image Credit: Pixabay.com (https://pixabay.com/en/share-price-stock-exchange-business-1013626/)

It’s easier than you think. But, you need to speak the right language.

And that language is money. Continue reading

When can you fire the employee who just complained about discrimination or took FMLA leave?

January 15, 2019 | by Eric B. Meyer

Sarah Klockars-Clauser [CC BY-SA 2.0]

Oh, I get it. You just clicked on this post for a friend.

She was raped by her supervisor, the company suspended her and put the harasser back to work. How mad did this make a federal jury?

January 11, 2019 | by Eric B. Meyer

Ken Lund from Reno, NV, USA [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Nope. Madder. Continue reading

Litigating against LGBT rights may win one case, but still be bad for business overall.

January 10, 2019 | by Eric B. Meyer

By Phillips 66 Company – http://hrcpdocctr.phillips66.com/HR_P66_Comm/Benefits/BenefitHighlights.pdf, Public Domain, Link

Among Fortune 500 companies, 91% prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, and 83% prohibit discrimination based on gender identity. [Source] But, under federal law, circuit courts remain split as to whether Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 forbids discrimination based on LGBT status.

So, let’s say you’re a Fortune 500 company accused of LGBT discrimination in a jurisdiction in which the law may permit that type of abhorrent behavior.

Do you defend by arguing that the law permits LGBT discrimination? Continue reading

Justice Kavanaugh’s first SCOTUS opinion may speak volumes on how he’ll decide the next big employment case

January 9, 2019 | by Eric B. Meyer

U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Yesterday, Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh delivered the opinion for a unanimous Supreme Court in a case called Henry Schein, Inc. v. Archer & White Sales, Inc. Although the Court’s decision has nothing to do with employment law — it’s a case about antitrust issues and arbitration — there’s a little something from Justice Kavanaugh’s that may be more than a little something.

At least as it relates to a big employment case that could be coming down Supreme Court Boulevard in 2019. Continue reading

Now, about those federal courts running out of money this Friday…

January 8, 2019 | by Eric B. Meyer

AgnosticPreachersKid [CC BY-SA 3.0 or GFDL], from Wikimedia Commons

It’s time we double down on yesterday’s doom and gloom. Continue reading