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True or False: An employer is free to fire a pregnant employee once she has exhausted all her leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act. The most accurate answer: It depends. The FMLA requires covered employers to provide up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave for the birth of a child. On the other […]
Employers paid more than $400 million to resolve discrimination cases filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in fiscal 2012, according to data released by the agency Jan. 28. Among private-sector workers, retaliation, race and sex discrimination, respectively, were the most common discrimination charges. Other highlights from the EEOC’s fiscal 2012 statistical summary: 99,412 […]
SCOTUS Case that Changed the Rules This change in the rules of retaliation was the result of a landmark Supreme Court case, Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Co v. White 126 S. CT. 2405 (2006), says Cotham. Here’s her outline of the famous case: Ms. White drove a forklift for Burlington, the railroad company. […]
A national retail chain will pay $2 million to settle claims it violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by requesting too much medical information from employees and automatically firing employees who had exhausted their sick leave. The agreement settles a 2008 lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in the U.S. District Court for […]
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) Youth@Work program is designed to educate working-age young people about their rights and responsibilities in the workplace and how they can protect themselves against illegal discrimination and harassment in the workplace. The program consists of three main components: the Youth@Work web site, free outreach events, and partnerships with business leaders, […]
In the suit, Fry Electronics worker America Rios complained to her boss, Ka Lam, that her manager was sexting her and inviting her to his house to drink. After Lam reported the harassment to Fry’s legal department, he was fired, allegedly for “declining performance.” Unfortunately, Lam’s work had been consistently commended. This, of course, is […]
Federal guidance on the Americans with Disabilities Act states that all employee medical information must be kept confidential, but that goes above and beyond what the statute requires, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Nov. 20. Despite what the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says, ADA protects only information obtained in response to […]
Panelists included Susan Webman, Of Counsel with FortneyScott in Washington, DC; John Husband, senior partner with Holland & Hart in the firm’s Denver, Colorado office; Linda Walton, attorney with Perkins Coie LLP in Seattle; and panel moderator Charles Plumb, partner with McAfee & Taft in the firm’s Tulsa, Oklahoma office. Hot Topics: Equal Pay Act […]
An employer will pay almost $5 million to settle claims it automatically fired employees who used 12 weeks of medical leave and were not ready to return to work, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced Nov. 9. The settlement resolves claims EEOC filed alleging that the automatic termination policy violated the reasonable accommodation provisions […]
Workers who experience domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking may be protected from discrimination by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act, according to new guidance from the federal government. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which is responsible for enforcing both of those laws, made the announcement in […]