Discrimination and Unlawful Harassment

For how much did one of the most important employment cases of 2020 just settle?

December 4, 2020 | by Eric B. Meyer

On June 15, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Bostock v. Clayton County that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which makes it unlawful for employers to discriminate based on sex, also prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and transgender status. It was a landmark opinion.

One of the actions consolidated into the Bostock action was EEOC v. R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes. The EEOC argued specifically that Title VII prohibits discrimination based on transgender status. On November 30, 2020, it settled.

And I’ve got all the details for you. Continue reading

Want three ways to improve employment of U.S. veterans with disabilities? The EEOC has got your back.

December 1, 2020 | by Eric B. Meyer

Image by Shonda Ranson from Pixabay

Late last week, the EEOC revised and released three publications that discuss how the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) apply to veteran employees and those who employ them.
Continue reading

HELP! My employee with a disability wants a reassignment to an open position. (But, we have a better internal candidate.)

November 30, 2020 | by Eric B. Meyer

Image Credit: reassign by Ralf Schmitzer from the Noun Project

Imagine that you have an employee who becomes disabled and can no longer perform the job’s essential functions. Being the good employer that you are, consistent with the Americans with Disabilities Act, you engage the employee in an interactive dialogue to explore possible reasonable accommodations. After a lot of back and forth, the only possibility is a transfer to another director position.

Except, here’s the thing. Continue reading

That time when all the employment lawyers got paid and the litigants got zilch!

November 23, 2020 | by Eric B. Meyer

Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay

Just about the only folks guaranteed to get paid in an employment discrimination case are the lawyers. Continue reading

The EEOC has a new 114-page religious discrimination playbook. But, 2 of those pages got me like 🤔🤔🤔

November 18, 2020 | by Eric B. Meyer

Sowlos, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Yesterday, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced here that it had released for public comment this new draft guidance on religious discrimination in the workplace. Continue reading

He used the “N”-word twice . . . and may just win his race discrimination claim too?!?

November 12, 2020 | by Eric B. Meyer

Pixabay.com

A black man who was fired after recording a rap song, claims that his race — not his use of the “N”-word twice in the video — motivated his employer to end his employment.

And, according to a federal judge in California, he may be right.

Five ways that a Biden presidency may reshape employment law and HR-compliance

November 9, 2020 | by Eric B. Meyer

Once the networks called the presidential election for Joe Biden over the weekend, something dawned on me. Maybe, I should write about how the new administration may impact employment law.

I mean, what other employment lawyer/blogger would think to do that? Dibs! Continue reading

She settled her disability discrimination claim for cash and a lateral transfer. Then she sued for . . . retaliation?!?

November 6, 2020 | by Eric B. Meyer

Alexas_Fotos on Pixabay

If I felt a little snarkier, I would have gone with this instead of the confused emoji. Continue reading

The Holocaust denier I wrote about last year got re-hired — and then fired AGAIN!

November 5, 2020 | by Eric B. Meyer

Image by macdeedle from Pixabay

Last year, I wrote here about a Florida high school principal who was fired because, allegedly, he refused to say the Holocaust happened because “not everyone believes” it actually occurred. Continue reading

Paid sick leave for COVID-19 is flattening the curve…with fewer employment lawsuits too?

November 2, 2020 | by Eric B. Meyer

Image by Markéta Machová from Pixabay

Back in March, President Trump signed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) into law. The FFCRA allows eligible employees to receive either paid sick leave or expanded family and medical leave for specified reasons related to COVID-19.

Recently, COVID-19 numbers have begun spiking again. However, a new study has found that the FFCRA has actually helped to flatten the curve. Continue reading