The Employer Handbook Blog
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Just about the only folks guaranteed to get paid in an employment discrimination case are the lawyers. Continue reading
Articles Posted in Third Circuit Employment Law 101
Get your damn story straight if you’re going to fire someone who just returned from medical leave.
Image by DigitalShards from Pixabay
I’ve talked a fair amount recently about retaliation claims (here and here), mostly focusing on timing as the possible link between a protected activity (such as a complaint of discrimination) and an adverse employment action (like a firing).
The plaintiffs in those cases were unsuccessful in proving retaliation. And, in the case about which I’m blogging today, the employer almost prevailed on summary judgment too.
Almost. Continue reading
How many of you would risk the retaliation claim here? (I would)
Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay
You’ve been here before.
One of your employees just complained about discrimination in the workplace. Or maybe s/he just participated in an HR investigation. A few days or weeks later, s/he violates your work rules and you have clear grounds to fire the employee.
Now you have a conundrum. Do you fire the employee and risk the retaliation claim? Or do you give the employee a pass?
Continue reading
When do (or don’t) Facebook posts create a hostile work environment?
By Nut-hardware.jpg: Muke derivative work: Xoristzatziki (talk) – Nut-hardware.jpg, Public Domain, Link
I can tell you this. It takes more than a few posts from a couple of ‘Wingnuts.’
You can’t fire an employee while on FMLA leave. Except when you can.
Image Credit: Pixabay.com
Yesterday, I was reading this case about a woman who was fired while taking leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act. She later sued, claiming FMLA interference; i.e., that her employer had denied her FMLA benefits to which she was otherwise entitled.
An employee fired while on FMLA leave is usually a recipe for trouble for the employer.
But not this time. Continue reading
Discrimination 101
Ischa1, Helder [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
And I suppose that was a bit of a misnomer because there’s more to it. So, let’s talk about that today.
Hey Eric! Can I spy on my former employee’s Facebook messenger account?
Image Credit: Pexels.com (https://www.pexels.com/photo/facebook-glasses-privacy-privacy-policy-267372/)
Asking for a friend, of course. Continue reading
The woman who worked for a sex-toy store has … wait for it … a sex-plus claim.
Image Credit: http://www.freestockphotos.biz/stockphoto/14050 (nicubunu acquired from OCAL (Website))
On most days, I blog for you, my readers, to educate you on new legal issues and to keep you ahead of the HR-compliance curve.
This is not most days.
My conversation with the lawyer who, IMHO, just earned the biggest employment law win of 2018.
By Chris Potter (Flickr: 3D Judges Gavel) [CC BY 2.0 ], via Wikimedia Commons
If you missed my post, well, it was long. 1,888 words long. So, here’s the super-condensed version: The Third Circuit Court of Appeals concluded that a plaintiff might not complain about sexual harassment at work for several years but still have a viable hostile work environment claim if she genuinely believed — and the record supported — that it would be pointless to do so. Continue reading
It’s the most important employment law decision of 2018
By Wolfmann [CC BY-SA 4.0 ], from Wikimedia Commons
Minarsky v. Susquehanna County (opinion here) is a sexual harassment case. And there’s a lot to discuss. But the biggest takeaway is that any subsequent employer-defendant asserting a Faragher/Ellerth defense in the Third Circuit will find it very difficult to obtain summary judgment on any hostile work environment claim. Continue reading