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Ministerial Exception to Employment Discrimination Laws Upheld by Supreme Court in Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. E.E.O.C.

Written on 11 Jan, 2012 at 22:50

Supreme Court held under ministerial exemption church firing of teacher who is "minister" is not subject to employment discrimination law. ... (Continue reading)

“Occupy” Movement’s Oakland General Strike Raises Interesting Labor Law Issues

Written on 4 Nov, 2011 at 14:31

Employee participation in "Occupy" movement strike raises two labor law issues.... (Continue reading)

Discrimination Against Unemployed Applicants? EEOC Hears Experts.

Written on 26 Apr, 2011 at 10:00

Recently the EEOC held a public meeting to look into "the emerging practice of excluding unemployed persons from applicant pools” and whether such a practice is unlawful under federal discrimination laws.... (Continue reading)

Non-Decision-Maker Bias & Discrimination Liability Under Cat’s Paw Theory in Supreme Court’s Staub v. Proctor Hospital Decision. Part II — Commentary

Written on 22 Mar, 2011 at 14:52

We summarize commentary on Supreme Court's Staub case allowing discrimination liability based on non-decision-making supervisor bias ("Cat's Paw" theory) and offer some advice of our own. ... (Continue reading)

Correctly Treating Travel Time As Hours Worked Under Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Regulations

Written on 11 Mar, 2011 at 15:32

Many factors impact whether employers must treat travel time as hours worked, for which they must pay minimum wage or more and which count towards overtime. ... (Continue reading)

Non-Decision-Maker Bias & Discrimination Liability Under “Cat’s Paw” Theory in Supreme Court’s Staub v. Proctor Hospital Decision. Part I — The Decision.

Written on 1 Mar, 2011 at 21:05

By Beth Hanson, with George Lenard In Staub v. Proctor Hospital, a long awaited decision on the so-called “ cat’s paw ” theory of discrimination, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of a fired employee, deciding when “an employer may... (Continue reading)

Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Ruled Unconstitutional — Again

Written on 13 Feb, 2011 at 22:08

Recently, Judge Roger Vinson of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida ruled the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“PPACA,” known by its opponents as “Obamacare,” but arguably much more appropriately named “Americare”) unconstitutional. Vinson stated... (Continue reading)

Supreme Court Upholds Claim Alleging Employer Fired Man in Retaliation for Fiancée’s EEOC Charge; Avoids Setting “Bright Line” Rule — Part II, Assessing Thompson Decision’s Significance

Written on 11 Feb, 2011 at 11:55

This week, we analyze the Supreme Court's third-party retaliation decision in Thompson and its ramifications. With perspectives from legal professionals, including this Blawg's Owner George Lenard, we assess views of the Supreme Court, third-party retaliation claims, and... (Continue reading)

Family Responsibilities Discrimination Quiz

Written on 9 Feb, 2011 at 23:02

This quiz was created by The Center for WorkLife Law. It will help you identify family responsibilities discrimination (FRD) issues, and learn more about how employers can prevent FRD. Best of all, this quiz won’t be graded, so it should... (Continue reading)

Supreme Court Upholds Claim Alleging Employer Fired Man in Retaliation for Fiancée’s EEOC Charge; Avoids Setting “Bright Line” Rule — Part I, the Decision

Written on 31 Jan, 2011 at 5:00

The Supreme Court held that under some circumstances a friend or relative of an employee who complained of discrimination may pursue a claim that they suffered retaliation because of that complaint -- despite not having been the one who made... (Continue reading)

NLRB Announces Proposed Rule Requiring Posting of Notice on Employee Rights

Written on 23 Dec, 2010 at 13:54

On December 21, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) did something it rarely does: it indicated its intent to change labor law requirements through the regulatory process, rather than its normal process of case-by-case adjudication. See full text of NLRB’s... (Continue reading)

EEOC Getting Tough On Employer Use of Credit Reports

Written on 21 Dec, 2010 at 16:02

EEOC Files Disparate Impact Lawsuit Based on Use of Credit Records in Hiring In a press release today, the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) announced the filing of a nationwide hiring discrimination lawsuit against Kaplan Higher Education Corp. The EEOC... (Continue reading)

How to Browse Hundreds of Blogs On Employment Topics

Written on 21 Dec, 2010 at 12:41

We just completed a major review and update of our blogroll. It had been growing since the early days of this blog in 2003 and had become both huge and outdated, so we reorganized it, weeding out inactive blogs and... (Continue reading)

EEOC Hears Testimony on Age Discrimination

Written on 21 Nov, 2010 at 16:37

Agency Hears Poignant Testimony of Employee Discharged After 31 Years; Panelists Discuss Scope of Age Discrimination Age Charges Are Trending Up At a meeting on Wednesday, November 17, 2010, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) heard testimony that age discrimination... (Continue reading)

Can Recruiters Be Liable for Employment Discrimination?

Written on 29 Oct, 2010 at 16:33

Introduction (a Quiz) Which of the following is true: 1. Third-party recruiters can’t be liable for discrimination in recruiting, because discrimination laws apply only to employers. 2. Third-party recruiters can’t be liable for discrimination in recruiting, because they don’t actually... (Continue reading)

What Does Climbing the St. Louis Arch Have To Do With Proving Discrimination?

Written on 29 Oct, 2010 at 15:34

Learning Employment Discrimination Law Basics From a Classic Civil Rights Story Introduction This article explains the most common way employment discrimination is proven, disparate treatment, by stepping back to an earlier era and a much different America — one in... (Continue reading)

How Employers Can Minimize the Risk of Family Responsibilities Discrimination (FRD): Developing a Prevention Plan

Written on 12 Oct, 2010 at 18:14

Introducing the WorkLife Law Family Responsibilities Discrimination (FRD) Prevention Plan, a/k/a “How to Minimize Risk Before Your Company, in Legal Trouble, Asks You: ‘How Did We Get Here? What Do We Do Now?’” Here is a useful exercise: Imagine that... (Continue reading)

“The Company You Keep”: Association Discrimination under the ADA

Written on 31 Aug, 2010 at 11:22

Avoiding Discrimination against Employees Who Care for Disabled Family Members Most employers and HR managers understand the discrimination laws in terms of protecting people based on “protected characteristics,” such as race, national origin, religion, gender, age, or disability. A protected... (Continue reading)

A Tale of Two Reference Check Responses — Liability for One, But Not the Other

Written on 10 Feb, 2010 at 6:00

The Lawsuit Alleging Misrepresentations in Responding to Reference Checks In a 2008 federal court of appeals case, two medical employers responded to reference checks for the same anesthesiologist, Dr. Robert Berry. Dr. Berry was then hired by the inquiring hospital,... (Continue reading)

Negligent Hiring Claim: California Case Demonstrates Outer Limits to Liability

Written on 5 Jan, 2010 at 6:00

This California Negligent Hiring Decision Is Potentially Relevant To All Employers, Wherever They Are Located Avoiding negligent hiring lawsuits is an important subject to anyone concerned with risk management in connection with employment decision making. It is a major reason... (Continue reading)

Ricci v. DeStefano, a/k/a The New Haven Firefighters’ Case, Part I:
The Basics: the Facts and Holding of the Ricci case

Written on 6 Jul, 2009 at 15:41

There’s no way I can get the “scoop” on what has been perhaps the most eagerly awaited Supreme Court decision of the term: Ricci v. DeStefano, No. 07-1428 (June 29, 2009). Since the Court’s 5-4 decision was announced last week,... (Continue reading)

Male Sex Stereotyping: Going Where No Man Has Gone Before

Written on 8 Jun, 2009 at 5:30

The following guest post is by attorney Ellen Simon, who has been listed as one of The Best Lawyers in America for her landmark work representing individuals in precedent-setting cases. Ellen blogs at the Employee Rights Post. Stereotyped Statements As... (Continue reading)

Job Applicant Rejection Letter Dos and Donts — Writing an Appropriate “Dear John” Letter to an Unsuccessful Applicant

Written on 31 May, 2009 at 12:53

Back in 2006, we covered the topic of applicant rejection letters in a post linking to an article in Assessment Council News (“Considerations in Rejecting Applicants,” on p.4). Since today’s economy is resulting in more applications — and thus more... (Continue reading)

Expensive Trade Secret Protection Lesson for Employer — $17.5 Million Verdict in Lawsuit Over Employee’s Hard Drive

Written on 20 Apr, 2009 at 5:00

Trade Secret Protection Efforts Land Company in Losing Lawsuit Earlier this month, after a seven-week trial, a California jury awarded $17.5 million to a former employee in his lawsuit against his former employer for breaking into a laptop owned by... (Continue reading)

Supreme Court’s Decision on Arbitration of Statutory Discrimination Claims Under Collective Bargaining Agreement Will Have Little Real World Effect

Written on 8 Apr, 2009 at 20:53

I had the honor of being asked to comment on the Supreme Court’s decision in 14 Penn Plaza LLC v. Pyett, for the Jurist. I started with these thoughts: In the academic world, this case will be a law professor’s... (Continue reading)