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The Employer Handbook BlogCan an Ignored Accommodation Request Turn a Performance Firing Into an ADA Claim?
The employee asked for help completing his work. Months later, the unfinished work became the reason for firing him. Continue reading
Articles Posted in Hiring & Firing
A DEI Training Split Staff by Race. The Employee Who Objected Was Black.
Browse the headlines about DEI-training backlash lawsuits and they usually go one way: a white employee gets offended and sues over it. This one, initiated by the EEOC, ain’t that at all.
When a Discrimination Complaint Comes Wrapped in Profanity, Can HR Discipline the Employee?
Workplace profanity was business as usual, right up until it accompanied a complaint about racism.
Tried to Waive the Jury, Failed. Got a Jury, It Didn’t Decide the Right Thing Either.
A supervisor approved the employee’s hairstyle at her interview, then sent her home for wearing it on day one. A federal appeals court says the case over what happened next isn’t finished, for either side.
A Supervisor Swore He Didn’t Know About the Disability. His Own Notes Said Otherwise.
A supervisor swore in an affidavit that he had no idea an employee was disabled. His own meeting notes said otherwise, and that contradiction just cost a Texas community college its win.
An Employer Told Two Different Stories About One Firing. How Do You Think It’s Going?
An employer told the EEOC one story to get a discrimination charge dismissed as too late. It told the court a different story to win summary judgment. The judge noticed.
A Railroad Thought It Had Cracked the Code on FMLA Dishonesty. A Jury Gets to Decide If It Did.
Roughly one in ten of a railroad’s train and engine employees marked off using FMLA leave on Christmas Day. The railroad ran that spike through an algorithm, then a hearing, then a dishonesty finding, and a federal court just said a jury needs to check that whole chain.
An HR Manager Reported Retaliation. Then She Became a Retaliation Case Herself.
She reported the harassment and lost her job. Her supervisor testified that the man she reported wasn’t disciplined; he got training instead.
A $10+ Million Verdict Against SHRM. A Second Fight Over Who Pays It.
Last year, a jury hit the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), the professional association many HR practitioners look to for certifications and guidance, with a $10 million punitive damages verdict. Now its own insurance company says that’s SHRM’s bill to pay, not theirs.
What Actually Gets Employers Sued — Live and Free on Zoom, August 21, 2026 at Noon ET
Let’s be honest: nobody dreams of ending up on the wrong end of an employment lawsuit. And yet, every year, well-meaning HR teams and in-house counsel find themselves scrambling to answer the question, “Wait, how did this become a case?” Continue reading