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The Employer Handbook Blog“Take it or leave it” is not a religious accommodation strategy
A weekend schedule change. A Sunday church conflict. And apparently no one at the company thought to have a conversation about it. Continue reading
Articles Posted in Discrimination and Unlawful Harassment
ADA Risk: Undoing a Working Accommodation After Years of Success
A new manager walks in, looks at a long-standing accommodation, and decides it’s over. The employee had been doing the job successfully for years. That’s where the risk starts.
Coworker Says the N-Word. Employer Fires Him Within a Week. Court: No Liability.
One racial slur. One termination. Zero liability. The Third Circuit’s newest hostile work environment decision is a masterclass in what prompt employer action actually looks like.
New Executive Order Bans “Racially Discriminatory DEI Activities” by Federal Contractors and Their Subcontractors
President Trump’s new executive order for federal contractors bans something called “racially discriminatory DEI activities.” Read the definition and you’ll find it’s just discrimination — conduct Title VII has prohibited for sixty years. What the order actually adds is a new enforcement mechanism, and that’s what federal contractors need to understand. Continue reading
Can a White Employee Sue for Race Discrimination Under the NJLAD Without Any Heightened Burden? The Third Circuit Says Yes.
The Third Circuit just predicted that New Jersey’s “reverse discrimination” rule is incompatible with the NJLAD. Federal courts in New Jersey are no longer applying it.
Can an Employee Turn a Completed PIP Into an Age Discrimination Claim?
Put simply, a performance improvement plan is designed to improve performance, not expose employers to liability. Courts used to see it that way too. That changed when the Supreme Court redefined what counts as an adverse employment action — and suddenly PIPs were in play.
TL;DR: An IT employee placed on a three-month performance improvement plan that she successfully completed did not suffer an adverse employment action under the ADEA. The First Circuit, applying the Supreme Court’s 2024 decision in Muldrow v. City of St. Louis, held that a PIP constitutes an adverse action only if it actually changes the terms or conditions of employment — and this one didn’t. The court also rejected the employee’s constructive discharge claim, finding that quitting ten months after finishing the PIP, with no one telling her to leave and no evidence of intolerable conditions, did not amount to a forced resignation.
Can “I Felt Pressured” Undo a Signed Severance Release?
She signed a severance release, collected her benefits, and then sued anyway. The Sixth Circuit just explained why that didn’t work – and why the employer’s paperwork made all the difference.
You Can’t Sue Your Staffing Agency to Cover Your Own Title VII Liability
According to the EEOC, a company told its staffing agencies not to send women for laborer jobs because women would “distract” male workers. When the EEOC sued, the company turned around and sued the staffing agencies too. A federal court just explained why that doesn’t work.
When Supervisors Threaten Retaliation at Onboarding and Then Deliver
Two supervisors warned a new hire in his first weeks on the job: file an EEO complaint against us, and we’ll end your government career. Then they did. Continue reading
“Focus on Your Health” Is Not a Lawful Reason to Fire Someone
Whatever the actual reason for firing an employee, the written explanation becomes evidence. A Mississippi restaurant is about to find out what that means. Continue reading