When an employer believes an employee may have mental health concerns, requiring counseling as a condition of continued employment can create serious legal risk. And after a 2024 Supreme Court decision lowered the legal bar for what counts as an “adverse action,” that choice could be a fast track to the courtroom. Continue reading
When an employee moonlights as a coworker’s unofficial lawyer – researching the law, contacting HR, and encouraging her to find a lawyer and pursue a charge with the EEOC – that role might be protected from retaliation. Overlook that and you could be handing them a legal claim. Continue reading
If you keep one employee and lay off another, you need to be able to explain why. Courts don’t expect employees to be identical, but they will take a close look at whether your comparisons—and your process—hold up. Continue reading
An employee has been out for months. She’s still recovering, still hopeful, and still not ready to come back. How much leave is too much? A recent Fourth Circuit decision shows how courts evaluate the point at which an employer is no longer obligated to wait. Continue reading
A new Eleventh Circuit decision shows just how limited associational disability discrimination claims can be. Continue reading
When a trucking company told a deaf applicant, “No, I’m sorry, we can’t hire you because of your deafness,” it wasn’t just a bad look—it was a multimillion-dollar ADA violation. The jury awarded $36 million (later capped), and the appeals court backed it up. Continue reading
What happens when an employee posts something offensive online—off the clock, but under their real name—and it causes a workplace backlash?
In one recent case, a government communications staffer wrote an inflammatory blog post opposing the Equality Act. The language he used was graphic and anti-LGBTQ+. The employer received complaints, workplace disruption followed, and he was suspended, ordered to attend anti-discrimination training, and eventually fired.
He claimed the First Amendment protected him. A federal appeals court disagreed. And while the decision binds only public employers, the lessons extend well into the private sector. Continue reading
A transit agency thought it had a clear-cut reason to fire an employee under its no-fault attendance policy. But a disputed call-out, followed by a retroactive FMLA approval, now means a jury gets to decide whether the termination was lawful. Continue reading
“He filled out the doctor’s section himself.” Sounds like fraud, right? Maybe. But if you fire someone on that hunch without following the FMLA’s rules, you could be the one in legal trouble. Continue reading
Some lawsuits simmer before they boil. This one arrived preheated—with a racist meme, a televangelist plaintiff, and a CEO who mocked him as “Tattoo,” texted a blackface-style image, and said, “Well if I’m your pimp where’s my money? Bring me my money!” When the plaintiff objected, the threats started. The judge didn’t laugh. Now a jury will decide whether this crossed the line from offensive to unlawful. Continue reading
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