Featured News

Add to Google
Lack of Complaint Undercuts Fired Harassers' Title VII Lawsuit
September 1, 2010

Male employees who were fired for engaging in sex-based conduct have not shown they were similarly situated to female employees who allegedly engaged in the same conduct, because the male employees never complained about the female employees' conduct, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled recently.

Read More
Single Incident Was Severe Enough To Create Hostile Work Environment
August 31, 2010

A male employee's grabbing of a female co-workers breasts, and rubbing her buttocks against his body, was severe enough behavior to create a hostile work environment in violation of Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled recently.

Read More
Employer Must Continue Interactive Process When Initial Accommodation Fails, Appeals Court Holds
August 30, 2010

An employer has a continuing obligation to engage a disabled employee in the search for an effective accommodation when the employee asks for a new accommodation or it knows that the initial accommodation is ineffective, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Aug. 27.

Read More
New Child Labor Rules Take Effect July 19
July 15, 2010

New child labor regulations, which the U.S. Department of Labor has called "the most ambitious and far-reaching revisions" in the past 30 years, go into effect Monday, July 19.

Read more »
California Law Determines Residents' Employment Status, Ninth Circuit Holds
July 14, 2010

Whether California residents hired as drivers by a Texas corporation are to be considered "employees" entitled to the protections of the California Labor Code must be determined by reference to California law, not by the laws of Texas, the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled July 13.

Read more »
Employee Who Got Accurate FMLA Information Loses Claim, But Inaccuracy Revives Second Suit
July 13, 2010

An employer that clearly advised an employee of the need to file a medical certification that he had a serious medical condition was able to defeat his Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) lawsuit, but another employee got a second chance to prove her interference claim due to alleged inaccuracies about her FMLA leave usage.

Read more »
Position Statement Needs Sworn Affidavit, EEOC Newsletter Says
July 12, 2010

An employer's position statement in response to a charge filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) will need to be accompanied by a sworn affidavit or other supplemental information, according to questions and answers that were published in the July newsletter of the EEOC's Boston Area Office.

Read more »
Emergency Dispatcher Not Entitled to Long-term Intermittent FMLA Leave, Eighth Circuit Holds
July 9, 2010

An emergency dispatcher did not have a right to long-term intermittent leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), since such a prolonged absence would have rendered her unqualified for duty, the 8th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held July 6.

Read more »
Pharmaceutical Sales Reps Not Exempt, 2nd Cir. Rules
July 8, 2010

Pharmaceutical sales representatives who urged doctors to prescribe certain drugs but did not actually sell them — and who did this work within "severe limits" imposed by their employer — did not qualify for either the outside sales or the administrative exemption from the Fair Labor Standards Act's overtime requirements, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has found.

Read more »