The Department of Labor began to take steps to implement the Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. Windsor by issuing guidance regarding the eligibility of same-sex couples for FMLA leave. The agency removed references to DOMA in the FMLA and clarified the ability of same-sex couples to take leave…
The Employment Discrimination Report has an interesting look at whether a reasonable accommodation under the ADA requires that an employer provide an accommodation that the employee likes. In the case in question, a city laboratory employee who developed health problems as a result of the chemicals she was working with…
The Seventh Circuit recently handed down an expansive ruling that increases the ability of employees to seek damages against benefit plan fiduciaries under ERISA. The ruling had three components: 1) that an employee can seek “make-whole” money damages if the employer breached its fiduciary duty in misrepresenting the scope of…
Last week, the Fifth Circuit issued the first decision interpreting Dodd-Frank’s anti-retaliation provision. Importantly, the court stated that to be protected under the Act’s provisions, an individual must be a whistleblower, which is defined in the Act as requiring that the individual makes a report to the SEC. This holding…
With a slow post-Fourth of July news week and the recent end of the Supreme Court term, I first wanted to touch on an international article that shows the U.S. does not have a monopoly on failing to protect employee’s rights. The European Court of Justice recently ruled that Italy…
For the holiday, here are some links to interesting articles. Some of the topics have been touched on by this blog before, and some are new. In any event, have a safe and happy holiday weekend. Check back next week for more links and analysis. With the immigration bill moving…
Yesterday, the Supreme Court issued two important decisions that narrowed the scope of Title VII. In the first case, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center v. Nassar, the Court held retaliation claims to a higher standard of proof, while in Vance v. Ball State University, the Court narrowly described who qualifies as a supervisor. In Nassar,…
First up, the EEOC has taken action that was mentioned in its FY2013 strategic plan by more aggressively pursuing the use of criminal background checks as a type of disparate impact discrimination- where a facially neutral policy unfairly discriminates against people in a protected class. Essentially, the EEOC argues that…
In Virginia Beach, Robin Lang just won an important victory against the Virginia Beach Lifesaving Service after having alleged discrimination and retaliation related to her being passed over for a promotion because of her gender. She alleged that, after having been promoted to the position of Crew Chief in 2008,…
First up this week, the 6th Circuit held that an employer does not need to allow an employee to rescind her resignation as part of her FMLA rights. In the case, an employee went on FMLA medical leave following hospitalization. When she returned to work, she immediately submitted her resignation,…