New California Law Makes It Easier for Employees to Establish Retaliation Claims

​California Gov. Gavin Newsom recently signed into law the Equal Pay and Anti-Retaliation Protection Act. The new law amends California Labor Code sections 98.6, 1102.5, and 1197.5 to create a rebuttable presumption... Read more »

Timing Critical in Discrimination, Retaliation Claims

​Takeaway: Suspicious timing can be an essential element of a discrimination or retaliation claim, but the temporal proximity of an equal employment opportunity protected activity and a materially adverse employment action does... Read more »

Public Employee Had No Due Process Rights Before Discharge

​Takeaway: While public employees often have an entitlement to continued employment under federal law and thus must receive due process protections before discharge, that is not always the case. Depending on state... Read more »

Allegations of Leering, One Unwanted Hug Insufficient to Establish Sexual Harassment

​Takeaway: An employee’s allegations that her supervisor leered at her, hugged her once, and made one comment about internet pornography sites that made her uncomfortable were not sufficient to legally establish sexual... Read more »

EEOC Chair Burrows Reconfirmed

The U.S. Senate confirmed Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Chair Charlotte Burrows for a third five-year term on Nov. 8, preserving the commission’s… Read more »

Whistleblower Claims Fail Where Employer Fired Worker for Performance

​Takeaway: An employee could not proceed with his whistleblower claims where the employer’s undisputed evidence showed that the employee, who was fired after he complained to HR about the conduct of a... Read more »

Court Finds Employer Had Legitimate Reason to Fire Nurse Who Complained of Discrimination

​A nurse recently lost her racial discrimination and retaliation case against a medical center in Huntsville, Ala., which claimed she was legally fired for unprofessional conduct. On Oct. 27, the 11th U.S.... Read more »

What Do You Do When an Employee Resigns, Then Asks to Stay?

​If an employee resigns, then rescinds the request, the employer has a choice: Do they want the worker to stay or go? If the employer determines they want the employee to stay,... Read more »

Veteran Wins Lawsuit Over Lack of Disability Accommodation

​A former Texas state trooper recently won a $2.4 million verdict in his lawsuit alleging the Texas Highway Patrol failed to accommodate a disability he sustained during military service. On Sept. 29,... Read more »

Weis Markets Sued for Misusing EAP Benefit

​Weis Markets allegedly subjected an employee to sexual harassment and fired her when she refused to comply with an unlawful directive to participate in the company’s employee assistance program (EAP), according to... Read more »