Discrimination and Unlawful Harassment

Was COVID-19 a disability for this plaintiff? How about you be the judge today?

March 3, 2022 | by Eric B. Meyer

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Fortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic is waning. Yet, past workplace incidents are now surfacing in court as COVID-19 discrimination lawsuits. A common thread with many of these lawsuits is an employee with COVID-19 who gets fired and claims disability discrimination.

That begs the question: when is COVID-19 a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act?

I’ll supply a fact pattern. You grab a gavel, black robe, and perhaps one of those white wigs, and we’ll see what you think. Continue reading

Everything “employment law” mentioned in last night’s State of the Union Address

March 2, 2022 | by Eric B. Meyer

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In case you missed President Biden’s State of the Union Address last night, I’ve got you covered with everything HR compliance that came up. Continue reading

You can stand with Ukraine. Just remember to stand up for your Russian employees too.

March 1, 2022 | by Eric B. Meyer

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It wasn’t long ago that the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission noticed a spike in reports of mistreatment and harassment of Asian Americans and other people of Asian descent during the COVID-19 pandemic. Continue reading

How much medical information can we get from employees who may have disabilities?

February 24, 2022 | by Eric B. Meyer

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The Americans with Disabilities Act has strict rules about the scope and manner of disability-related inquiries and medical examinations of workers. Continue reading

The Women’s National Team settled its equal pay claims with U.S. Soccer for $24M.

February 23, 2022 | by Eric B. Meyer

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About six years ago, five players on the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team (USWNT) filed a Charge of Discrimination with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF). The women claimed that they were paid up to four times less than their male counterparts for doing basically the same job. Continue reading

Without this key element, you can kiss that retaliation claim goodbye

February 22, 2022 | by Eric B. Meyer

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A plaintiff asserting a retaliation claim against his employer must establish three elements:

A protected activity (such as complaining about discrimination),
A materially adverse employment action (such as a termination of employment), and
A connection between the first and second element (i.e., an employer fired him for complaining about discrimination)

Why did a federal judge call an appellate decision on private COVID-19 mandates an “orgy of jurisprudential violence?”

February 18, 2022 | by Eric B. Meyer

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And that’s just the tip of the iceberg in this blistering (albeit, PG-rated) 58-page dissent to yesterday’s non-precedential Fifth Circuit decision, in which the majority concluded that a private company’s workplace vaccine mandate could irreparably harm individuals with disabilities and strong religious beliefs. Continue reading

That time the EEOC recovered $250K for a C-Suite employee who claimed disability discrimination

February 17, 2022 | by Eric B. Meyer

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Proving that the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission doesn’t just enforce anti-discrimination laws on behalf of the “little guy,” the EEOC announced on Monday that it had recovered $250,000 from a company that allegedly terminated its former CFO because of his disability.

Yes, that’s when it happened. Or, at least when the EEOC announced a settlement that it had reached — Happy Valentine’s Day!