Retaliation

Hear ye! Hear ye! 45,000 reasons not to publicize details of an employee’s EEOC charge of discrimination

December 7, 2017 | by Eric B. Meyer

For those of you who work in HR, what do you do when you learn that an employee has filed a charge of discrimination with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act?

Raise your hand if the answer is not publicizing details of the charge, including the employee’s name, union affiliation, and information about the medical restrictions on his ability to work, in a letter to 146 members of his union local. Continue reading

A noogie could be retaliation. (I’ll take “What We Were Never Taught In Law School” for $400.)

October 17, 2017 | by Eric B. Meyer

noogie || noun noog·ie \ ˈnu̇-gē \

According to Merriam Webster, a “noogie” is the act of rubbing one’s knuckles on a person’s head so as to produce a mildly painful sensation.

But, could a noogie be considered an act of retaliation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964?

(Hey, what did you expect? It can’t be Harry Potter around here every day.) Continue reading

“Perverse and absurd,” today’s post isn’t really as fun as it sounds.

September 15, 2017 | by Eric B. Meyer

Not even close to that fun.

No, it’s about a guy who got fired after his employer concluded that he had gained unauthorized access to its electronic files. It just so happens that the plaintiff accessed those files to assist his employer in defending two discrimination actions that other employees had pending against the employer. Either way, because of the firing, the plaintiff alleged retaliation.

How can firing an employee who is trying to help his employer with discrimination claims be considered retaliatory? See, e.g., the headline of today’s blog post.

I’ll explain. Continue reading

Court says, yes, you can fire a worker whom you believe made up a discrimination claim at work.

June 12, 2017 | by Eric B. Meyer

Got that?

It’s not just people who fabricate complaints of discrimination at work, but those whom you believe fabricated discrimination claims.

Everybody, roar it with me, “Yassssss!”

70,000 reasons not to fire a witness for participating in a sexual harassment investigation

March 27, 2017 | by Eric B. Meyer

You wouldn’t fire someone because they complained to you about sexual harassment at work. For starters, that would violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

But, Title VII’s anti-retaliation provisions are much broader than that.

This one will get you to hire slow and fire fast to avoid retaliation claims

March 2, 2017 | by Eric B. Meyer

As in faster than an employee can complain about discrimination to HR or to the EEOC.

Drama following a bra-less woman’s meeting with the CEO supports her retaliation claim

January 9, 2017 | by Eric B. Meyer

Nope, no clickbait here. And no irony in the lede either.

Plus, I feel like I’ve seen this one before.

New Year’s Resolution for 2017: Stay classy at The Employer Handbook

January 3, 2017 | by Eric B. Meyer

Starting tomorrow.

Today, let’s talk about the employee who claimed sexual harassment because her male co-worker constantly stared at her with an erection — which she subsequently photographed and showed to other co-workers, and all of that morphed into a retaliation claim.

So, basically, this post will be like a sophisticated bar exam question.

Racist code names for customers are bad. And, so is firing someone for complaining about it.

December 28, 2016 | by Eric B. Meyer

These are the key allegations underpinning ***Googles “underpinning”*** yes, underpinning a complaint filed in California against luxury retailer Versace.

Bad things often happen when employees feel they have to resort to self-help

November 30, 2016 | by Eric B. Meyer

Like one-man bands.

Or, retaliation lawsuits, for example.