I’m the type of person who reads the ends of books first (which drives my book club friends crazy). I always want to know how things turn out, which can be a little frustrating in my area of practice. I provide advice and counsel to clients on how to deal with sticky employment situations, but
Employment Discrimination
EEOC Says Sexual Orientation Is Protected Under Title VII!
By Fiona W. Ong on
Posted in Employment Discrimination, Laws & Regulations
So I’ve noticed that the EEOC likes to adopt major policy shifts in sneaky ways. For example, when the EEOC first decided that pregnancy-related impairments may be disabilities under the amended Americans with Disabilities Act, it didn’t put in the revised regulations, but slid it into the Q&A document on the revised regulations. When the…
Same Sex Marriage in the Workplace
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, in which it held that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry, made headlines. This decision has a practical impact on employers – particularly on those with operations in states that to date had not recognized the validity of same-sex marriages.
There are a…
GINA and “The Mystery of the Devious Defecator”
By Fiona W. Ong on
Posted in Employment Discrimination, Litigation
I love cases with weird facts! And this one has the added benefit of providing an example of a violation of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act. When I do training on non-discrimination and harassment, I have all sorts of fun and interesting examples of other forms of discrimination – sex, race, age, etc. But not…
OSHA Releases Guide to Restroom Access for Transgender Workers
Transgender rights have been receiving a considerable amount of media attention this week, most of which has been sparked by the magazine Vanity Fair featuring a cover story about “Keeping up with the Kardashians” star and former Olympian Bruce Jenner as a trans woman (Caitlyn Jenner). On the same day that the cover story was…
Inability to Speak English Is a Disability?!!!
By Fiona W. Ong on
Posted in Employment Discrimination, Laws & Regulations
OK, I know that I frequently and flippantly say that, under the expanded American with Disabilities Act, we are all disabled. But the situation described in a recent Washington Post blog found by one of my law partners is really beyond ridiculous! Apparently, individuals who can’t speak English may receive federal Social Security disability benefits!…
Give Me a Coffee on the Clover, Hold the “Race Together” Please!!!
Posted in Employment Discrimination, Workplace Trends
I admit I am addicted to Starbucks coffee, particularly the concentrated brew that I can get for extra money on the Clover machine at my local joint. My husband insists I have a store locator chip in my brain (this before I had my i-Phone app with the actual – and BRILLIANT – store locator).…
Accommodating a Teacher’s Fear of Children?
By Fiona W. Ong on
I love these odd cases – like the one-armed man who wanted to be an “unarmed” security guard, about which I blogged previously. Here’s another one that tickled my funny bone – the teacher with pedophobia, which is a debilitating fear of children! (Let’s just absorb the irony of that for a moment, shall…
A New Boss Is Not A Reasonable Accommodation
By Fiona W. Ong on
The bad boss is a cliché. There have been many movies about evil supervisors- for example, “Horrible Bosses” and (because one wasn’t enough) “Horrible Bosses 2.” There are TV shows featuring frustrating or bad bosses – like Michael Scott in “The Office,” or Mr. Burns from “The Simpsons.” There’s even a website where you can…
Employee’s “Husband” Didn’t Sexually Harass Her
By Fiona W. Ong on
This one raised my eyebrows – definitely not your typical sexual harassment case.
In Waltz v. Dunning, the plaintiff began working for a company, BHC, in 2001. She reported directly to the CEO. They began a sexual relationship in 2003, which the plaintiff claimed was initially non-consensual (she said she only had sex with…