Employment Discrimination

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It’s a classic case of damned if you do, damned if you don’t.  Employers have an obligation to protect their employees from discrimination or harassment by third parties, including patients, customers, clients, vendors, and contractors.  But in the case of Blackburn v. State of Washington Dept. of Social and Health Servs., the employer’s attempt…

Hugging and kissing are not typically considered professional conduct in the business world (unless you’re from France) – but is it harassment? A recent federal case, Lozosky v. Keystone Business Products, Inc., provides support for that most sophisticated of legal defenses, “It’s not harassment, your Honor. It’s European.”

Patricia Lozosky was employed by…

I often say (only somewhat flippantly) that we are all disabled, but the newly released fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) seems to really go out of its way to make that point.  The DSM-5, which is produced by the American Psychiatric Association, serves as the authoritative guide on…

As sexual orientation becomes more mainstream (not that I’m saying it’s accepted everywhere, by any means), gender identity issues are getting attention in our society.  Think of Bradley/Chelsea Manning, for example – his gender identity change added a crazy twist to an already juicy story about betraying our country.  When someone chooses to identify with…

Menopause is approaching for me, and I am really looking forward to those momentary personal tropical vacations (i.e. hot flashes).  I hear from my more senior female friends that the symptoms of menopause – irrational emotional upheavals, poor sleep, dizziness, migraines, etc. – can be quite debilitating, as well as frustrating.  You might think that…

We all know that stereotyping can be unfair and sometimes just dumb.  But expecting people to be manly men and girly girls can actually get you into legal trouble.  Sex-stereotyping can be the basis of a claim under Title VII, which prohibits discrimination and harassment because of sex, among other things.  A recent example of…

Due to the federal government shutdown, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the Department of Labor (DOL) have issued contingency plans.  These plans set forth what the agencies will and will not do during the shutdown.

The EEOC’s contingency plan states that the EEOC will continue to perform…