Nothing really. But I needed to combine three topics into one quick blog post.
On Genetics
I will be presenting a webinar tomorrow (2/16) at 1:30 PM EST on how the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act will affect your company. If you had to click on the hyperlink, then you probably should sign up for the webinar. You can learn more about the webinar here.
Recently, my friend Sharlyn Lauby, owner and sole proprietor of the HR Bartender Blog invited me to weigh in on a reader question about accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The reader, who is completely deaf, began developing neck pain at work because, the way her desk was positioned, she would constantly have to turn her head to hear anything people would say to her. Although she voiced her concerns to her boss, he just ignored her.
Unfortunately, this is not an uncommon situation. What should employees and employers do in this situation? Check out this post from the HR Bartender to find out.
Other helpful resources:
Hi there, Pennsylvania employers. Do you have employees that remind you of the sleeping gentleman in the picture to the right? After the jump, read about a local employee who was fired after getting caught sleeping on the job four times, and still successfully obtained unemployment compensation benefits!
The United States Supreme Court today in Thompson v. North American Stainless, LP ruled that an employer violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act if it takes action against an employee who is in the same “zone of interest” as another employee who files a Charge of Discrimination with the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
More on this important decision and the immediate impact that it will have on employers after the jump.
I read The Employer Handbook every day. That’ll be $10.”
A federal court has allowed a former prostitute to proceed with claims that her subsequent employer sexually harassed her. More about this defense counsel’s wet dream, after the jump.
The EEOC reported this week that retaliation charges outpaced race discrimination charges at the agency during fiscal year 2010. This is the first time that retaliation charges (under all statutes) surpassed race discrimination charges at the EEOC, making retaliation charges the most frequently type of charge filed at the EEOC last year.
The EEOC’s statistics on retaliation confirm what employers and employment lawyers already know – retaliation claims against employers continue to increase in frequency. Retaliation claims pose a unique hazard to employers; an otherwise baseless claim (for example, an unsubstantiated discrimination claim), when not handled appropriately, can morph into a legitimate retaliation claim. What actions can Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware employers take to prevent a defensible claim from turning into a less than defensible retaliation lawsuit?
My colleague, Katharine Hartman, a labor and employment law attorney who practices with me at Dilworth Paxson LLP, has some suggestions for you after the jump…
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By now, hopefully, you’ve read my post “How Facebook Can Make Or Break Your Case.” I wrote it primarily for my fellow members of the defense bar. So, if you haven’t yet read it, and you generally represent employers, shame on you! Stop reading this and go read it now. RIGHT NOW!
Otherwise, keep reading this post to see what plaintiffs’ lawyers
should be doing with social media to help advance their clients cases.
Bill Leonard at the Society for Human Resource Management reports that the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has approved a final version of its regulations for the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act, a version of which the EEOC put out for public comment back in September 2009.
More after the jump.
A big part of my job as a labor and employment attorney is providing anti-harassment training to employees and supervisors. First, I help them identify what constitutes unlawful harassment in the workplace. Then I walk them through how to report and address it. Here, I emphasize that retaliation against a victim or a witness is never acceptable and is grounds for immediate termination. But, I also remind everyone that an employee who complains about unlawful harassment doesn’t receive a get-out-of-jail-free card. That is, if the “victim” violates company policy — e.g., by participating in behavior that also violates the anti-harassment policy — then discipline will follow. That’s not “retaliation.” Call it a rude awakening.
Just ask the Eighth Circuit. I’ll explain after the jump.
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Confession: I find bankruptcy VERY boring. And I loathe it. I’m a labor and employment attorney. When partners approach my door with bankruptcy assignments, I pick up the phone and pretend to yell at opposing counsel. So far I’m batting 1000.
But when I learned that the Third Circuit in Rea v. Federated Investors ruled that a private employer may refuse employment to a job applicant who has ever filed for bankruptcy, I mustered up the will power for this blog post.*Checks ESPN.com* Consider it my 2011 bankruptcy contribution.
I’ll break down the court’s ruling after the jump.
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