So, I know there are a lot of jokes about retired folks becoming a Wal-Mart greeter, even though I’m sure Wal-Mart would say that their greeters can be any age. But this joke has actually taken on legal significance – the term, “Wal-Mart door greeter” now apparently equates with calling someone “old.” At least it
Litigation
“Funny Walk” Is a Disability? That’s Just Screwy.
By Fiona W. Ong on
I know that the amendments to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADAAA) were intended to expand coverage of the Act, but sometimes I think the extent of the expansion is just ridiculous. This was highlighted for me in a recent case, EEOC v. Staffmark Investment LLC, in which the court found that an employee…
Don’t Just Drop Those FMLA Notices in the Mailbox!
By Fiona W. Ong on
As (most) FMLA-covered employers know, once an employee requests Family and Medical Leave Act Leave, there are certain notices that are required. You have to provide the employee with an Eligibility Notice and a Rights and Responsibilities Notice within five business days of the request for leave, and once the employee has submitted enough information…
Don’t Let the Harasser Back – Even as a Volunteer
By Fiona W. Ong on
Posted in Employment Discrimination, Litigation
This one seems like a no-brainer. If you determine that an employee is behaving badly and you terminate him, you shouldn’t allow him back into the workplace. But that is what happened in the case of Frias v. Spencer.
A Hispanic employee complained that an African-American manager yelled at her. No action was taken…
Employers Get to Set the Schedule – Really!
By Fiona W. Ong on
Sometimes it feels like employees have so many rights, they get to choose what they will do and when they will do it. This may be true to some extent if the employee is entitled to a schedule adjustment as a reasonable accommodation for medical needs (American with Disabilities Act) or religious needs (Title VII),…
And Now a Slap for the DOL
By Fiona W. Ong on
Posted in Laws & Regulations, Litigation
Employers are on a roll lately! All too frequently they are unfairly targeted by others – whether a plaintiff or a government agency – and vindication is all too rare. As many of you sadly know, it is usually cheaper to settle a (meritless) claim than to fight. So I hope you enjoy it as…
Another Slap on the Wrist – for the Plaintiff
By Fiona W. Ong on
Posted in Litigation
It’s pretty clear I love a good comeuppance. In my last blog post, I reveled in an Administrative Law Judge’s reprimand of the General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board for bringing a frivolous complaint against an employer. In an earlier post, I discussed with glee a federal judge’s upbraiding of the…
Do You Have To Talk To Your Employee’s Lawyer?
By Fiona W. Ong on
You know how it goes. You have an employee with issues – performance, health, whatever. The relationship with the employee starts deteriorating. Now the employee wants his lawyer to be involved in any further discussions. What do you do?
As a general matter, an employee doesn’t have a right to bring his attorney to work. …
New Performance Standards Could Be Pretext for Discrimination
By Fiona W. Ong on
In our troubled economic times, many employers have focused on making their workforce leaner and more efficient. This frequently involves raising performance standards for employees. But it is important to do so in a thoughtful and legally defensible way.
An illustration of this point can be found in the case of Dupont v. Allina Health …
“Hen House” Statement Can Be Evidence of Discrimination
By Fiona W. Ong on
Posted in Employment Discrimination, Litigation
“Too many hens in the hen house.” Quaint remark, isn’t it? The problem is, these quaint remarks can end up as evidence of discrimination, as one employer learned to its sorrow in Ford v. E.J. Leizerman & Associates, LLC.
In that case, an older female attorney sued her law firm for age and sex …