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It’s called the FAIR Act, which stands for the Forced Arbitration Injustice Repeal Act. The FAIR Act would amend the Federal Arbitration Act to prohibit a pre-dispute arbitration agreement from being valid or enforceable if it requires arbitration of an employment, consumer, antitrust, or civil rights dispute. Continue reading

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I can often draw upon my years of experience as an employment lawyer to predict from reading the first paragraph of a federal court opinion how the court is going to decide the discrimination claim before it. Continue reading

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On Monday, I blogged (here) about a manager who commented on the hands of a female employee who had suffered severe nerve damages to them after a car accident. He called her hands “disgusting.”

It didn’t end well for the employer. Continue reading

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Fred the Oyster [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

One of the first hits when you Google ‘resignation letter’ is this career advice from Monster. The job board offers some tips for crafting a letter of resignation, among them: a statement of intent that you will be leaving your job, the date of your last day on the job, and your contact info. One of the optional items Monster suggests including is a highlight of your time there.

Monster’s advice is pretty spot on. Except, that is, when the individual later decides to assert claims of hostile work environment and constructive discharge.

Because, as you’ll find out in this post, nothing undermines those claims like a thoughtful resignation letter. Continue reading

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A few decades ago, some men sued Hooters Restaurant, claiming that the purveyor of chicken wings, burgers, beer, and shapely female servers in tight, revealing outfits, was discriminating against males who were denied employment as servers.

That case resolved in 1997, with Hooters serving up a multi-million dollar settlement and opening up a few gender-neutral positions at the restaurant.

But, not servers. Continue reading

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I don’t know much about workers’ compensation.

Apart from a few standard provisions that I have in my employment settlement agreements, I know just enough about it to call a workers’ comp lawyer when I have an issue.

Or, like today, I know just enough that a workers’ comp decision involving a man who died during sex with a French local while on a business trip (RIP) is something that my readers want to read.

Continue reading

You know that dream?

The one where the U.S. Department of Labor shows up on a Sunday to conduct a surprise wage-and-hour audit of your workplace, all the company payroll records have gone missing, and you’re in your underwear.

No? Oh, me neither. Continue reading

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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

“Doing What’s Right – Not Just What’s Legal”
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