Articles Posted in Retaliation

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Fired Over $15. Or Was It the HR Complaints?

A laundromat worker reimbursed herself $15 from the register for a taxi fare—something she claimed was standard practice with a receipt. Three days later, she was fired. But because she had just complained about racial harassment, disability discrimination, and unpaid wages, the timing raised red flags.

The Second Circuit said a jury should decide whether she was fired for taking the $15—or for speaking up. Continue reading

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You’d expect a company to listen when its Chief People Officer—especially one with nearly three decades of labor and employment law experience—raises concerns about compliance. Instead, this employer—a law firm—reassigned her shortly thereafter and fired her within the week of returning from bereavement leave. A jury just awarded her $3.27 million for retaliation.

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Employees might think pressing record is harmless—especially when trying to document what’s said in a heated meeting. But one Director of Social Services found out the hard way that secret recordings—even legal ones—can land employees on the unemployment line. Continue reading

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Title VII, the federal antidiscrimination law prohibiting race discrimination, is not a general civility code. An aggrieved employee must establish that they were subjected to behavior based on their race that was severe or pervasive enough to interfere with their working conditions. As we learned yesterday, no rational person would countenance the claims of a white employee offended about discussions and initiatives focused on antiracism and racial justice.

Conversely, a recent decision from the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals serves as a lesson for employers on unlawful racial harassment, retaliation, and HR missteps.

Slurs, Stereotypes, and Grease?!?

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Some people seem to think the workplace is their personal soapbox, where they can broadcast whatever pops into their heads—no matter how offensive, misguided, or just plain dumb. One former employee learned this the hard way when he posted an anti-LGBTQ+ comment on the company intranet, mistakenly thinking it was an anonymous survey response. His employer quickly shut that down, and so did the courts. When he appealed all the way to the Supreme Court, hoping for a lifeline, the justices responded yesterday with a firm “no thanks.”

Turns out, the highest court in the land had better things to do than entertain a “my bigotry is protected” argument. Continue reading

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In a recent employment discrimination case, the plaintiff, a Black employee, claimed his termination following a workplace investigation into complaints about his conduct at work, was racially motivated. The employer tried to dismiss the case, but failed. Find out why and I’ll throw in a few takeaways about the importance of conducting fair and unbiased workplace investigations. Continue reading

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I just had to write about a federal court decision from earlier in 2024 that I finally got around to reading. It serves as a critical reminder for employers: All complaints about a hostile work environment must be taken seriously—even when they involve a comedian hired to entertain at a company event. Continue reading

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Last night, I read an Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals decision in which the court tackled the tricky terrain of retaliatory harassment and termination claims under Title VII. The former is not something I encounter too often, and there was enough “there there” in this case to send the claim of retaliatory harassment to a jury. Continue reading

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Human resources professionals often encounter bizarre and unexpected situations, especially around the holidays. However, few can top the case where an employee’s choice of attire—or lack thereof—led to a significant legal battle over retaliatory discharge. This recent federal court decision serves as a humorous yet critical reminder of the importance of timing and documentation in handling retaliation claims.

The Incident: A Wardrobe Malfunction

Picture this: It’s a typical evening in February 2022, and a truck driver for a hauling and grading company arrives at a warehouse in Houston, Texas. As she navigates the lot, she spots a co-worker strolling in front of his tractor wearing nothing but underwear and penny loafers. Naturally, she Facetimes another co-worker to share the “very odd and uncomfortable sight.”

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