Category: Discrimination
Podcast: Employment Policies in the Trump Administration
In this Verrill Voices podcast, labor and employment attorneys Tawny Alvarez and Richard Moon discuss recent administrative and legislative developments, how they affect employers generally. More specifically, they discuss the current position in which the Department of Justice and the EEOC are taking separate and distinct positions on the...
Spouse’s “Unjustified Jealousy” is Sufficient to Maintain Sex Discrimination Claim
Has your attorney ever told you justice is not swift? Well just ask Yogi Dilek Edwards, she would likely have some general thoughts on the speed of justice. Three and a half years ago we posted that a Manhattan yoga instructor had filed a claim of gender discrimination after...
Podcast: Affinity Groups in the Workplace
While affinity groups can be a great marketing tool for employers to attract and retain workers, as well as to foster new ideas, they can also create a great deal of legal liability. For some background, affinity groups are generally formalized groups that share similarities of some sort, whether...
The Bay State Rules Qualified Medicinal Marijuana User Has Civil Remedy Against Her Employer
Last week, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts issued an opinion in Cristina Barbutos v. Advantage Sales and Marketing, LLC, SJC-12226 (Ma. July 17, 2017), finding that an employee qualified to use marijuana under the Commonwealth's medicinal marijuana statute had a cause of action against her former employer through...
Connecticut Pay Equity Bill Moves Forward
Earlier this week, bill HB5591 , which has been touted as legislation that will help to close the gender pay gap between Connecticut employees, cleared the House of Representatives with a vote of 139-9. The bill, unlike the Massachusetts law that goes into effect next year, does not include...
Seventh Circuit Holds Sexual Orientation Bias Exists Under Title VII
Earlier this week, the Seventh Circuit in an en banc (all members of the court participating as opposed to only three) decision held that Title VII's ban on sex discrimination encompasses discrimination based on sexual orientation. The 8-3 ruling represents the first federal court of appeals ruling to find...
Till Death Do Compensatory Damages Part . . . Or Not: Eight Circuit Finds Compensatory Damages Claim Under the ADA Lives Past Claimant’s Death
On Thursday, January 19, 2017, the Eighth Circuit issued an opinion in Guenther v. Griffin Constr. Co. , 16-1760 (8 th Cir. Jan. 19, 2017), and held that a claim for compensatory damages brought under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) survives the death of the aggrieved party. The...
While There WAS No "I" in Defendant, There Is Now: New Hampshire Supreme Court Finds Individual Liability in State Anti-Discrimination and Anti-Retaliation Statutes
Earlier this week the New Hampshire Supreme Court issued a decision in EEOC v. Fred Fuller Oil Company, Inc. , finding that New Hampshire's anti-discrimination statute imposes individual employee liability for aiding and abetting in discrimination in the workplace and that New Hampshire's anti-retaliation statute similarly imposes individual employee...
With a Little Help from my Friends: 8th Circuit Assumes Without Deciding that Associational Bias Claims Exist Under Title VII
Update regarding an issue we've previously blogged about . The Eighth Circuit assumed without deciding that individuals can sue for retaliation or discrimination under Title VII based on their association with a member of a protected class. The Second, Fifth, Sixth and Eleventh Circuits have explicitly ruled the statute...
Refusal of Employee’s Request for “Peaceful Calm Environment” Does Not Constitute Failure to Accommodate Under the ADA
Last week Judge Joseph N. Laplante of the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire issued a decision in Posteraro v. RBS Citizens, N.A. , Civil No. 13-cv-416 (D.N.H. Dec. 29, 2015), on Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment. The case involved a former Citizens Bank employee...
Come All Ye Faithful: Catholic School Receives Coal for Christmas in Recent Massachusetts Ruling
Last week, a Massachusetts state court ruled on a motion for summary judgment finding that an all-girls Catholic School (Fontbonne Academy in Milton, Massachusetts) had violated Matthew Barrett's civil rights when it withdrew a job offer after Barrett listed his husband as his emergency contact person on the school's...
Prospero Ano y Felicidad: Feliz Navidad and an "English Only" Policy in the Workplace
As Jose Feliciano wishes us a Merry Christmas from the bottom of his heart, it is important that we as employers recognize that in order to maintain a diverse workforce we are going to be faced with some difficult questions—including whether an "English Only" policy is necessary or appropriate...
It’s “In Style” to Follow Your Anti-Discrimination Policies
Yesterday marked the end of the Spring/Summer 2016 fashion shows in Milan. Some of next year's fashion has been described a "lyrical nerdiness," "romantic" and "pink and pretty"—so keep your eyes peeled for those trends next year. 1 But while my love for clothing is a priority, it's not...
In the Name of Religion
No matter the faith or belief, religion makes its way into the work environment more often than one would expect. This week's headlines serve as a prime example of that. Kim Davis, the Kentucky clerk who refused to sign marriage licenses after the Supreme Court's legalization of same-sex marriage...
You Accommodate Your Employees, But Do They Accommodate Your Customers?
Late last month we posted on Indiana's "Religious Freedom" bill. Since then, the bill has been amended and states (including Maine ) with similar pending legislation have reconsidered the propriety of such legislation. Additionally, recently the New York Times published an article focusing on delays and disruptions that were/are...
Indiana Discrimination Bill: A Higher Law?
By now you've likely heard about the "Indiana Discrimination Bill" that passed through the Indiana legislature on Monday after a vote of 63-31 . The Religious Freedom Restoration Act has been described as allowing any individual or corporation to cite their religious beliefs as a defense when sued by...
Fourth Circuit Affirm’s Exclusion of EEOC’s “Cherry-Picked” Data in Background Check Suit
Approximately 18 months ago we discussed the United States District Court for the District of Maryland's ruling that the EEOC had failed to show that an event-planning company's use of criminal background checks, as well as credit checks, resulted in a disparate impact against male and black applicants. On...
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