Employment Discrimination

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In light of pandemic fears over the past several years, health care facilities have been more aggressive about mandating employee flu vaccinations, on the reasonable basis that such vaccinations are required to protect the health and safety of employees, patients and others.  On March 5, 2012, the EEOC issued an informal discussion letter on this…

As employers know, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires employers to provide “reasonable accommodation” to employees with disabilities to enable them to perform the essential function of their jobs.  What employees demand as a “reasonable accommodation” under the Americans with Disabilities Act, however, may not always be so reasonable.  Fortunately, courts are generally more…

Almost every nonunion company’s employee handbook has the standard clause: employment is at-will.  This indisputably is a permissible term of employment, right?  The answer to that question depends on how the policy is phrased.   According to recent pronouncements from the NLRB, if a “reasonable employee” could read such a policy as making unionization futile, then…

Human resources personnel recognize that they are usually not the decision-maker when it comes to employment decisions about other employees – rather, the decision-makers typically are those in the employees’ direct chain of command.  Courts have generally held that inappropriate remarks by non-decision-makers are not direct evidence of discrimination.  As noted by the federal district…

Most companies know that it is critical to have a harassment policy.  The U.S. Supreme Court has held that an effective harassment policy can help an employer avoid liability, where the policy is communicated to employees but the employees fail to follow the policy’s complaint procedure.  The communication and content of the policy is essential…

On October 1, 2012, Maryland’s first-in-the-nation law prohibiting employers from requiring – or even requesting – that employees provide pass codes to personal websites and devices took effect.  Colloquially, this is the “Facebook Privacy Right.”  Employers that fail to hire an applicant or discipline or discharge an employee for refusing to disclose a personal pass…

An employee has requested a religious accommodation – do you need to grant it?  Federal and state anti-discrimination laws require employers to provide reasonable accommodation for the religious practices and beliefs of employees, but relieves companies of the obligation if doing so will cause an undue hardship on the business.

Accommodations might include modified schedules,…

Many employers are aware that, before filing a discrimination lawsuit in federal court, an employee must file a timely charge of discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.  The charge filing, which must occur within 180 days of the allegedly discriminatory act (or 300 days where there is a state agency with whom the charge…

When can an employer ask about an employee’s health?  Multiple federal laws restrict when and what may be asked of applicants and employees.  In a recent letter, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency responsible for the enforcement of federal antidiscrimination laws, offered some guidance on medical inquiries under the Americans with…