You may recall our blog post last summer recapping the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia that held discrimination based on sexual orientation is prohibited by Title VII. After that decision, we encouraged each of you to update your EEO and harassment policies, update your application forms and websites, train your
Beware Poachers! NY Legislature Takes on “No Rehire” and Employee Poaching Issues
Do you typically include a “no rehire” clause in your settlements with soon to be former employees? How about agreements with other companies that you will not “poach” each other’s employees? If your answer to either of those questions is yes, you should keep an eye on some New York legislation that could impact those
Less May Actually Mean More: EEOC Stats on 2020 Filings
The EEOC has released its annual report on discrimination charges filed across the country for the fiscal year 2020. So, how does the data line up with the 2019 data (a rundown of which can be seen here)?
Charges Are Down Overall
Yet again, workplace discrimination charges are down – there were 67,448 new
The Whistleblower’s Show Can Go On: Georgia Supreme Court Allows Complaint to Proceed Despite Inconsistent Bankruptcy Filing
Your former employee sues you, but your employee-plaintiff filed for bankruptcy. You diligently research the bankruptcy filings and discover the employee did not disclose the lawsuit against you in those filings, which are sworn to under oath. You might have a winner to get out of the case, right? Well, it is not quite that
You Fired My Dad! Fifth Circuit Rules Title VII Retaliation Ban Does Not Cover Third-Party Claim
Retaliation claims in employment litigation have been on the rise for years. The typical scenario has an employee reporting some sort of alleged discriminatory act, either against them or a coworker, followed by the employer taking an adverse employment action against the reporting employee. We all know that Title VII prohibits retaliation against an employee
Unpaid Interns and a Lunch Order Gone Bad: Jury Returns FLSA Retaliation Verdict Against Martina McBride’s Production Company
A February 2020 jury verdict against county music star Martina McBride’s production company highlights – albeit indirectly – the perils of unpaid internship programs and the issues they can cause under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
The Facts
Martina McBride and her husband, John, own Blackbird Studios, which hired Richard Hanson as its operations
Charges Not as Large: EEOC Releases Stats on 2019 Filings
The EEOC has released its annual report on the number of discrimination charges filed across the country. As has been seen over the last few years, the total number of charges continued to decline –72,675 in 2019 as opposed to 76,418 in 2018. While sex and race continue to be popular choices for charges, the
Sunday May Still Be Sacred: Texas Jury Sides with Employee Who Chose Church Service Over Work
If an employee misses work to attend church on Sunday morning and the company subsequently fires her, is that religious discrimination? A jury in Texas recently said yes and awarded the plaintiff close to $350,000. The verdict is a reminder to employers to remember your religious accommodation obligations.
Trouble with supervisor and work scheduled for
For Whom the Whistle Blows: Preventing Retaliation Is Serious Business
Various federal statutes contain whistleblower provisions that protect employees who raise or report concerns that range from workplace safety, securities laws violation, or false claims submitted to the federal government. Different activities are protected depending on the statute at issue. Generally, retaliation protection kicks in if the employee reports conduct that he or she reasonably
The Door Gets a Little Wider: D.C. Circuit Rules Employee-Plaintiff Can Get Comparator Discovery to Prevent Dismissal of Case
If your employee sues you for discrimination, they don’t get to look at how the decision-makers treated everyone else, do they? Well, in Cruz vs. US Homeland Security, the D.C. Court of Appeals says yes they do. Although the district court granted summary judgment and did not let the plaintiff take discovery on how