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Louisiana

Supreme Court won’t hear racial slur case

06/01/2021

Can employers be liable for the single use of an offensive word? A disgruntled employee wanted the U.S. Supreme Court to rule on that question, but justices on May 17 declined to take his case.

ADA: You can make attendance ‘essential’

04/15/2021

Some employers require timely and regular attendance as an essential job function. However, the ADA imposes limits on those expectations, requiring reasonable accommodations of some absences. Key word: Some.

Workers might soon find it harder to file class actions

01/28/2021

It just became a lot harder to certify a class for a Fair Labor Standards Act lawsuit—at least in states covered by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.

EPA: Employer must prove pay bias didn’t relate to sex

01/21/2021

Some employers assume that employees who sue under the Equal Pay Act must prove that sex caused the disparity. That’s backwards. Courts want employers to prove the reason for the disparity was something other than sex.

Document, date every disciplinary detail

04/16/2020

Workers who suspect they are about to be fired may try to short-circuit the termination process by claiming discrimination, harassment or retaliation. It’s an intimidation tactic. Fight back with documentation of every step of the disciplinary process, with dates when key events occurred.

Confessing previous firing doesn’t equal defamation

03/02/2020

Potential employers often ask up-front whether an applicant has been fired for cause in the past. Recently, a fired worker tried to claim that having to reveal the past amounted to self-defamation. It didn’t work.

Demonstrate good faith by keeping thorough notes detailing your investigations

02/10/2020

Judges don’t want to second-guess employer decisions. But they do want to see that employers act in good faith when they terminate workers. That makes it essential to document every investigation that might lead to a firing.

When documenting discipline, note all details

02/10/2020

When an employee files a lawsuit alleging discriminatory discipline, she will point to other employees outside her protected class who were treated more leniently. It’s critical for employers to document the details that distinguish one case from another.

Beat potential discrimination lawsuits by documenting rationale for reorganizing

02/07/2020

Employees whose jobs are eliminated during a reorganization sometimes suspect that they got the axe because of some discriminatory reason. Then they sue. But employers don’t have to worry too much about those lawsuits—if they have documented the underlying reasons for the reorganization.

Check employee’s EEOC filings for missed deadlines

02/06/2020

Employers should always check EEOC complaints to make sure the deadline was met. If more than 300 days have passed, and the employee still sues, you can usually get the case tossed out.