Retaliation

What does it take to be individually liable for discrimination? A lot.

January 16, 2018 | by Eric B. Meyer

Image Credit: Photofunia.com

Most discrimination lawsuits involve a single, individual plaintiff and, on the other side of the “v,” a company as the sole defendant. But, sometimes, that plaintiff will name additional individual defendants too, such as a manager, supervisor, or even someone from Human Resources.

When that happens, what are the chances that the individual will end up legally responsible with the plaintiff prevails at trial?

Lawsuit: Google discriminates against male, white, and conservative employees.

January 9, 2018 | by Eric B. Meyer

Image Credit: Photofunia.com

Remember that male Google software engineer who got fired last year after posting a 3,300-word criticism of Google’s diversity policies on the company’s internal website. If you don’t check this out.

Well, guess what? Dude just filed this class-action lawsuit against Google.

Surprise! Your company could be liable under Title VII as a joint employer.

December 11, 2017 | by Eric B. Meyer

It’s late Sunday night. I just finished the Walking Dead mid-season finale (no spoilers) and I’m catching up on the latest news about Carson Wentz’s knee.

And somehow I managed to pull myself out of the fetal position to type this post. Continue reading

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.