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The Employer Handbook BlogNo pants in the office leads to sexual harassment claims, you guys.
i·ro·ny (noun)
/ˈīrənē,ˈiərnē/
1. the expression of one’s meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect.
Articles Posted in Discrimination and Unlawful Harassment
Senate on the brink of approving bill to improve LGBT workplace rights
Earlier this week, I blogged about Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) promising that the Senate would take up the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.
Yesterday, the Senate obtained enough support to put ENDA to a full vote. Every Senate Democrat agreed to press forward. And even some Republicans helped get the bill to cloture, most notably conservatives Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Dean Heller (R-Nev.), who announced on Monday that he would back ENDA. With 60 members of the Senate supporting ENDA, the matter is ripe for a vote.
However, while it appear likely at ENDA will make it through the Senate, passage in the House is another story. Concerned with the impact ENDA may have on American businesses, House Majority Leader John Boehner reconfirmed yesterday that he would oppose the bill.
Let’s play: What did Senator Harry Reid say to affect your workplace?
Earlier this week, Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) offered some pointed remarks from the Senate floor. He blasted “radical Tea Party Republicans,” lambasted “mainstream Republican colleagues, who remained silent even as the anarchists among us committed political malpractice,” and then proclaimed, “This work period, the Senate will consider the…”
a. “…Twerk for Work Act, which would provide incentives to employers who hire unemployed Miley Cyrus wannabes who shake what their mamas gave them.”
b. “…Fox; specifically, a bipartisan effort to learn what does the Fox say?”
Philadelphia bill would require companies to accommodate pregnant employees
Last week, I brought you this news of a bill pending in New Jersey, requiring employers to make available reasonable accommodation for pregnancy-related needs when requested by the employee with the advice of her physician.
Yesterday, I read this article in The Legal Intelligencer about this potential amendment to Philadelphia’s Fair Practices Ordinance, which too would require employers to make reasonable workplace accommodations for employees who have needs related to pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition.
What, you may ask, do the bill’s sponsors have in mind for reasonable accommodation?
How not to respond when an employee complains about sexual harassment
If true, well then, good gawd, this!
Court rules that company need not allow mass unscheduled prayer breaks
We’re talking religious accommodations here at the ole Handbook.
Last week, it was the Mark of the Beast. Before that, we explored Ramadan bagel parties.
Today, we’re sticking with the Ramadan theme. Unfortunately, I don’t know any Ramadan tunes to soundtrack this post. So, let’s just go with Christian rock.
New NJ bill targets pregnancy and childbirth discrimination
New Jersey is the home of deep fried hot dogs and the Law Against Discrimination, one of the most employee-friendly anti-discrimination statutes in the country. Here, pregnant employees can order a ripper with relish at Rutt’s Hut, but, somehow, are not entitled to preferential leave treatment in the workplace.
However, a new bill pending in the NJ Senate would change all that.
Not the hot dogs, silly. They rule. You know what doesn’t rule? Leaving a quart of Rutt’s Hut relish in the backseat of your buddy’s car overnight during a high-90s Summer heat wave. Sorry, dude.
An employer is not required to change supervisors as an ADA accommodation
Work got you anxious and depressed? Well then, you may be disabled under the Americans with Disabilities Act. But if you think that the ADA requires your employer to transfer you away from the supervisor who is giving you a hard time, think again.
In Lu v. Longs Drug Stores (opinion here), Ms. Lu claimed that her supervisor discriminated against her based on her national origin and then retaliated against her after she complained. She further alleged that the abuse caused her to develop anxiety, depression, shingles, and diabetes.
On Ms. Lu’s behalf, her treating physician requested that the employer transfer her away from her supervisor. The employer declined and, ultimately, terminated Ms. Lu after she missed over a year of work to treat for her various disabilities.
EEOC sues over failure to accommodate the Mark of the Beast
Last month, the EEOC announced here that it had sued two companies, claiming that they violated federal law by failing to accommodate an employee’s religious beliefs:
According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, Beverly R. Butcher, Jr. had worked as a general inside laborer at the companies’ mine in Mannington, W.V., for over 35 years when the mining companies required employees to use a newly installed biometric hand scanner to track employee time and attendance. Butcher repeatedly told mining officials that submitting to a biometric hand scanner violated his sincerely held religious beliefs as an Evangelical Christian. He also wrote the mining superintendent and human resources manager a letter explaining the relationship between hand-scanning technology and the Mark of the Beast and antichrist discussed in the Book of Revelation of the New Testament and requesting an exemption from the hand scanning based on his religious beliefs.
NY Court: Indefinite leave may be a reasonable accommodation for disabilities
New York City.
As Jay-Z and Alicia Keys sang, it’s the “concrete jungle where dreams are made of. There’s nothin’ you can’t do.”
That includes taking indefinite leave as a “reasonable” accommodation under the New York City Human Rights Law.