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Employment Law

Court: Pregnancy plus slipshod discharge investigation doesn’t warrant negligence suit

08/01/2012
A federal court has refused to expand the ways an employee can sue for alleged pregnancy discrimination. Had the female plaintiff succeeded, the case might have opened the door to a runaway jury award.

Beware retaliation following internal bias investigation

08/01/2012
The 7th Circuit has held that employees who participate in employer internal investigations before administrative charges or lawsuits have been filed are not protected from retaliation. It’s different, however, after such charges have been filed.

Supreme Court to define ‘supervisor’ under Title VII

08/01/2012
The U.S. Supreme Court announced it will hear an important case next term on the definition of “supervisor” under Title VII harassment law. At issue: Whether the supervisor liability rule applies to employees who oversee and direct other’s daily work but have no formal authority to hire, fire, demote or promote.

Can we demand certification of violent employee’s alleged mental illness?

07/31/2012
Q. One of our employees physically threatened her co-workers. When confronted about the incident, the employee claimed that her behavior resulted from being bipolar. May we ask the employee to provide medical certification to prove that she is bipolar?

Texas agencies face federal sex discrimination lawsuits

07/31/2012
The U.S. Department of Justice is suing the Texas Department of Agriculture and the Texas General Land Office for alleged pay discrimination at the now-defunct Texas Department of Rural Affairs.

Coach–called a ‘poor fit’–files race bias suit

07/31/2012
When track coach and teacher Alvin Jackson was hired in September 2010, he became Frisco High School’s only black coach and core-subject teacher. Now he is suing the Frisco Independent School District, alleging that his contract wasn’t renewed this year because of race discrimination.

DOJ: Corpus Christi’s police tests biased against women

07/31/2012
Between 2005 and 2011, the Corpus Christi Police Department hired 113 male entry-level police officers—and just 12 women. The U.S. De­­part­­ment of Justice thinks it knows the reason for the disparity: a physical ability test that most men can pass but few women can.

Is it a slur, or a misinterpretation?

07/31/2012
No one tolerates the usual racial and ethnic slurs. But what about novel phrases that aren’t in the common lexicon? Can those be the basis for a racially hostile work environment claim?

Clarify internal rules for handling FMLA requests

07/31/2012
Make sure that whoever in your organization handles FMLA and other leave knows to contact HR as soon as a leave request comes in. Then make sure you send out the appropriate FMLA paperwork along with any other required documents.

State High Court nixes sky-high attorneys’ fees, says $450K for a $100K judgment is too much

07/31/2012
The Texas Supreme Court has dealt a blow to attorneys representing employees in Texas. While employers that lose a lawsuit are supposed to pay the employee’s attorneys’ fees, there are limits to how high those fees can go.