Ver la versión en español aquí Two hours at the gym, a full face of make-up and your best feel-good outfit: that’s how many a girls’ night out begins. But this one ended abruptly when a young woman claims she was turned away from a bar whose owner thought she was pregnant. Last month, a … Continue Reading
Ver la versión en español aquí Stress. Anxiety. Paranoia. Anger. Fear. Depression. Angst. These are the types of words you would expect to hear from a plaintiff seeking compensatory damages (damages for alleged pain and suffering) in a discrimination or harassment case. How does a plaintiff prove the existence of pain and suffering? Often times, … Continue Reading
Ver la versión en español aquí Title VII does not protect against sexual orientation discrimination (though many state and local laws do). The battle to amend this most prominent of employment laws to protect sexual orientation has been waged for years, unsuccessfully. Yet, seemingly overnight, issues of gender identity or transgender discrimination have leapfrogged to … Continue Reading
Ver la versión en español aquí The NFL season is underway, but the sound of fan euphoria has been drowned out by daily reports of reprehensible off-the-field conduct, including domestic violence. Unfortunately, it frequently takes a high-profile incident (or in this case, a series of incidents) to bring important societal issues to the forefront. In … Continue Reading
Ver la versión en español aquí It’s the most wonderful time of the year … football season! In my house, it’s all football, all the time – college football (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday), pro football (Sunday, Monday and Thursday), NFL Total Access, ESPN Game Day etc. My husband and I even watched HBO’s “Hard Knocks,” … Continue Reading
“Think before you speak.” That’s a lesson we all learn at some point between childhood and early adolescence, right? Often, it’s a lesson instilled in us by our parents, and at times, we learn the lesson only after an embarrassing “foot in mouth” experience. Apparently, there is at least one full-grown adult out there who … Continue Reading
It’s unfortunate, but it’s reality. The list of politicians engaging in sexual “shenanigans” — from President on down — continues to grow. Just last week news broke that 40-year old Vance McAllister, a newly elected member of the U.S. House of Representatives, was caught on surveillance video kissing Melissa Peacock, McAllister’s 33-year old female staffer, … Continue Reading
A National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) administrative law judge recently found two code of conduct rules that prohibited comments exceeding “the bounds of fair criticism” and behavior that “is counter to promoting teamwork” violated the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Click here for copy of the case. The case arose after the William Beaumont Hospital terminated … Continue Reading
In the past few days, the United States Supreme Court has issued three decisions that significantly impact employment law. We offer a brief summary of the Court’s decisions and how they impact employers. American Express v. Italian Colors. The case was not an employment law case and dealt with the less-than-sexy issue of arbitration clauses. … Continue Reading
The National Labor Relations Board Acting General Counsel Lafe E. Solomon issued his third report on employees’ social media use on May 30. We previously blogged about the first report (see NLRB Issues Guidance on Social Media Policies) and several other NLRB cases involving social media. This recent report focuses on the lawfulness of several … Continue Reading
In a recent decision, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, which has jurisdiction over Florida, ruled that an employee who was terminated after complaining about the way her employer conducted a sexual harassment investigation did not have a claim for retaliation under Title VII. Brush v. Sears Holdings Corp. is interesting because the plaintiff, Brush, … Continue Reading
Christmas music was playing in the mall this past weekend…it’s official, the Holidays are here! The Holidays are a great opportunity for your employees to celebrate and unwind after a long year. The season can also bring employment issues including but not limited to claims of religious discrimination, sexual harassment and liability for your company. … Continue Reading
For the first time, in Hispanics United of Buffalo, Inc., an Administrative Law Judge has found a violation of the National Labor Relations Act in a social media case brought by the General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”). As addressed in the earlier post, NLRB OKs Employee Bad-Mouthing on Social Media, the General Counsel … Continue Reading
The U.S. Supreme Court ended its term this week. As the Justices start their three-month vacation, employers should reflect on two important decisions from the Court’s last term dealing with class actions. What are the takeaways? (1) One-size-fits-all class actions for discrimination cases won’t cut it. This year’s blockbuster case, Dukes v. Wal-Mart, was … Continue Reading
A Florida appellate court (Alexis v. Ventura, Fla. 3d DCA June 29, 2011) has revived an employee’s tortious interference against her former supervisor. Ketlyne Alexis originally sued her former employer, Arbor E & T, for harassment and discrimination. Alexis then added Lilliam Ventura, her immediate supervisor, as a defendant to a tortious interference claim in … Continue Reading
If you think you can fire an employee who bad mouths your company, think again. The National Labor Relations Board (“Board”) says it is ok for an employee to bad mouth an employer on social media web sites. Back in October 2010, the Board accused American Medical Response of Connecticut, Inc. (“AMR”) of wrongfully terminating … Continue Reading
A Florida appellate court, in Rivera v. Fla. Unemployment Appeals Commission and Pollo Operations, Inc., has directed Florida’s unemployment agency to give unemployment benefits to a woman who voluntarily quit her job. The woman, Nail Rivera, worked at Pollo Tropical restaurant for nine years when she complained that an assistant manager touched her buttocks. Ms. Rivera … Continue Reading
