When a longtime government agency employee sued her employer for violating the Equal Pay Act, she argued that the defendant paid her male coworker more for “essentially the same job.” In her mind, their roles “were complementary and [their] duties equal.”
But that’s not enough to show prevail under the Equal Pay Act. Continue reading
Over the past few years, employers encountered a spate of religious accommodations requests from employees seeking religious exemptions from getting the COVID-19 vaccine. Last week, plaintiffs filed a series of new lawsuits against a national drugstore chain, accusing it of failing to accommodate the religious beliefs of employees who objected to prescribing contraceptives and abortifacient drugs. This week, the Supreme Court has agreed to reexamine Title VII’s undue hardship standard, which may soon require more than a de minimis cost to the employer.
With so much going on with religious discrimination, the timing is perfect for welcoming EEOC Commissioner Andrea Lucas as today’s guest on The Employer Handbook Zoom Office Happy Hour at Noon ET. Continue reading
On Wednesday, I blogged about a woman who worked as a “helper” for a construction company. She alleged that she had to endure misogynist comments from her general manager, who told her in front of others that, since she had “t*** and an a**,” she could not perform certain functions of her job that would otherwise position her for advancement within the company.
But that isn’t the half of it. Continue reading
A woman received a promotion at a construction company from laborer to helper. Helpers either work on the ground or “at elevation.” The woman had experience working at elevation at another company. She wanted to work at elevation again in her new job to improve her skills because advancements would bring pay raises and advance her craft.
But there was a problem. Continue reading
Last May, I wrote about this religious discrimination case involving an employer’s duty to accommodate a plaintiff who needed Sundays off to observe his religion. The court decided the case in favor of the employer, which led to this appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court in August, asking that it revisit its 1977 decision in Trans World Airlines, Inc. v. Hardison. In Hardison, the Court concluded that Title VII of the Civil Rights act of 1964 does not require a religious accommodation if it results in more than a de minimis cost to the employer, i.e., an undue hardship.
Last week, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case. Continue reading
I told you that the first Zoom Office Happy Hour of 2023 at The Employer Handbook would be a big one! Continue reading
Yesterday, I wrote about a man who claimed that his employer retaliated against him by forcing him to resign after he objected to attending workplace training on anti-racism and gender identity.
It was a good story. We employment lawyers have plenty of them. But, perhaps, it wasn’t great.
But what if I told you that the man’s son also worked for the same employer, objected to attending the same training modules, and eventually sued the same employer for race and religious discrimination? Continue reading
The federal court decision I read last night reaffirms one of the many reasons I enjoy practicing employment law: I’ll never run out of good stories to tell.
Litigators often counsel witnesses to answer, “I don’t recall,” rather than guess or speculate the response to a question at a deposition. But, sometimes, that approach can backfire. Continue reading
The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits employers from discriminating against qualified individuals because of a disability. A qualified individual can perform the job’s essential functions with or without a reasonable accommodation. Often, an individual with a disability will approach a supervisor or HR, identify their limitations, and ask for help. It’s a modest burden.
Then, it’s the employer’s job to continue a good faith, interactive process to determine whether a reasonable accommodation exists to help the employee without creating undue hardship on the business. When done right, it’s a win-win. But, when the employer impedes the process, it often results in a lawsuit. Continue reading
The Employer Handbook Blog