July 28, 2016 Our nation passed a historic milestone when Hillary Clinton formally accepted the nomination of the Democratic Party for president. Americans disagree about how much her gender has helped or hurt her so far in this campaign and we will continue to debate this very important topic through November and beyond. But there […]
Affirmative action—few other topics will result in a more heated debate. However, with the recent Supreme Court decision Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, affirmative action has been declared constitutional, at least to increase diversity in schools. But what about in the workplace? Can employers use affirmative action to increase the diversity of their
Can Employers Use Affirmative Action to Boost Diversity? Read More »
Wal-Mart is the home of everyday low prices. For some employees, it is also the home of illegal employment practices. One Wal-Mart assistant manager found out the hard way that taking medical leave meant getting fired. A New Jersey jury and a federal appellate court found in the manager’s favor, and the company found out
Is Retaliation for Taking a Medical Leave Illegal? Read More »
Punitive damages punish a party for bad behavior. They are normally reserved for the most blatant cases of wrongdoing and can make a lawsuit far more expensive for an employer. In a recent California case, the defendant’s behavior was so egregious that the jury wanted the company to pay $22.8 million in punitive damages. The
How Are Punitive Damages Awarded? Read More »
Imagine the following situation: an employee believes she is being sexually harassed, so she submits a complaint to her employer and later files a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The EEOC holds a hearing where the employee testifies as to what she claims happened. An administrative law judge overseeing the hearing concludes that
Does Getting Fired for Lying Count as Retaliation? Read More »
Have questions about your potential legal case? Our Legal Leverage course has you covered! Depending on what you do and how much you are paid, a recent update to a federal Department of Labor regulation going into effect in December may affect how many hours you work and how much you will be paid. Normally,
If I’m Paid a Salary, Can I Earn Overtime Pay? Read More »
If you need to pass a drug test to get hired, you may be concerned if you are taking medication to treat a disability. If you are using the drug legitimately, with a prescription and under the care of a physician, it should not prevent you from being hired, so long as you can show
Could You Lose a Job Opportunity If You Test Positive for a Prescription Drug? Read More »
Retaliation is a legal term for punishing an employee because he or she does something protected by the law, such as filing a discrimination complaint or testifying on behalf of someone else who has. Normally, an employee who claims retaliation has the burden of showing that the person taking the adverse employment action was motivated
How Do You Show That an Investigation Was Retaliatory? Read More »
This is a guest post by Clay Hodges, a partner in the law firm of </ems/fmla-and-leave-discrimination>Harris, Sarratt & Hodges, LLP. Clay represents people harmed by defective artificial hips and other medical devices. His office is located in Raleigh, North Carolina. He frequently writes about product liability issues. Artificial hips are becoming more common and increasingly used by younger
Will I Qualify for FMLA Leave If I Need an Artificial Hip? Read More »
Can a discrimination case be based on required clothes? This is the main issue in a sex and age discrimination case pending in New York state court. The plaintiff, a 65-year-old bankruptcy attorney who moonlights as a lifeguard (or a lifeguard who moonlights as a bankruptcy attorney), claimed that to pass mandatory evaluations to work
Swimsuit Key to Age and Sex Discrimination Lawsuit Filed by Lawyer/Lifeguard Read More »
